Note: I have reached my capacity to support proposals for the February 2012 SSHRC Insight Development Grant. It is never too early to get help with plans for the 2012 Insight competition or the 2013 IDG.
You’d really like to get a grant. Those resources would enable you to do more of the research you want to do sooner. It wouldn’t hurt your promotion prospects either.
You don’t want writing the proposal to take up your whole summer, though. And the success rates make you wonder if the time spent is going to be worth it. Maybe you should just lower your sights and work on stuff you can do without the grant. Avoid all that frustration.
It doesn’t have to be like that
Preparing a grant application helps you clarify your research goals. The first win is that your proposal can help you use your research time more effectively even before you get the money.
Thanks again! Even if I don’t get the grant, this process will definitely be useful in keeping me on track, because I will complete this project one way or another. (Catherine Hundleby, University of Windsor)
The level of competition is high. No athlete, no matter how talented, goes to the Olympics without the help of a coach. I can’t guarantee that you’ll get funding, but I can help you put in the best possible proposal.
I am very pleased with your work and feel you have an uncanny ability to get inside a researcher’s head to know what needed to be said…awesome job! (Sandra Ingram, University of Manitoba)
Grant proposals are written for a different audience than most of your writing. And the genre has some particular characteristics. A fresh set of eyes can make a big difference to the quality of your application.
I do not think I have ever had so much constructive and useful feedback on anything I have ever written before! I look forward to sitting down for a day next week and working on this again. (Catherine, Thompson Rivers University)
I’ve been helping social science and humanities academics with grant proposals since 2005. My clients have been very pleased with the service, recommending me to others and getting my help on multiple proposals.
Working with me will result in
- a better proposal
- renewed motivation to do the research
- more effective use of your research time
How it works
We start with a 1-hour phone conversation about your research in which we clarify the objectives and figure out a rough plan for the proposal. Explaining it to me orally can be a good way to rough out the main elements needed. If you’ve had a previous unsuccessful application, we will also talk through the comments you received and figure out the best way to proceed.
You go away and write the proposal. You can e-mail me any questions you have as you go along. If you want some gentle accountability about actually working on the proposal, you can send me weekly e-mail/Twitter updates on what you’ve accomplished. Cheering (by e-mail or twitter) is free!
When you have a decent draft (and I’ll remind you that it’s a draft), you send it to me for review. I read it and send you back detailed comments so you can revise it and put in the best proposal possible.
This basic service is $575 (plus applicable taxes)*
This may be an eligible expense from your existing grant funds or your internal research funds. Check with your research office or research accountant in the finance office.
(Also, if they read this page and say it is eligible but that they would prefer a different short description on the receipt, I can do that.)
Start early for best results
Part of the value of hiring me is that I can reduce your frustration with the process and help you use your time more effectively. For the best results, you should contact me before you start doing substantial work on the proposal. Or right after you receive the comments on an unsuccessful application.
I know how much time a grant proposal takes and how valuable other things you could be doing with that time are. Though I don’t have a magic wand to make the hard work disappear, I can help reduce the time spent on worrying, unnecessary details, and procrastination, and make the time you do spend on this proposal more effective.
I can also help you plan your workload so you don’t end up trying to write a grant proposal in the chaotic first weeks of a new academic year, or over the mid-winter holidays.
For the second part of the service, I try to provide comments within a week of receiving your draft but during busy times, it may take longer. I will give you an estimate of when you’ll receive the comments when you submit your draft.
You need time to really consider the comments, and I assume you are also getting comments from someone within your discipline. It’s much easier to deal with criticism (even constructive criticism) if you give yourself enough time.
Ready to start?
$575 for grant proposal development support: 1 hour conversation + proposal review
Still not sure?
If you aren’t sure if you are ready to apply or reapply, I understand. Competition is tough. And that unsuccessful application might need more than a better proposal.
You might be better off writing a couple of articles and submitting them to journals or doing some of the preliminary research so you have a stronger basis for an application.
I can help you make that decision and make the most effective use of the research time you have this summer whether you are applying for a grant this fall, next February, or next year.
A one-hour conversation (without the proposal review) is $175 plus applicable taxes
If you decide to apply for the grant after our conversation and want me to review the proposal, I’ll bill you for the balance later.
More questions? (including not wanting to use PayPal) contact me and I’ll see what I can do.