Research grant writing tips and advice

Writing a research grant proposal is a challenge. The biggest challenge relates to writing a grant without understanding the audience. There are two audiences one needs to have in mind when planning to write a grant. The first audience is the agency to which you plan to submit the grant application and the second audience is your own institution. You need to ensure that whatever research idea you plan to put forward not only fits the funding agency's research priorities but also that it aligns with your organisation's research priorities. If you fail to articulate your grant application within these two parameters, then you know that it may not necessarily be competitive. Hence, you need to look back and try to understand whether you are aware of the funding agency's mission, research agenda, and guidelines, especially grant submission rules and inclusion and exclusion criteria. You do not want to waste your time putting a grant proposal and then realise at the last minute that you are not going to be eligible. In this paper I outline some of the tips to help you make your grant writing journey a rewarding exercise.