Strategic Grant Reviews
Researchers I work with share very common grant writing challenges.
Does the following sound familiar?
You have a fantastic research idea you’re excited about and you know deserves to get funded…
…but when you read through your writing you’re not sure that your grant reviewers will be convinced about the importance and ground-breaking nature of your proposed research.
You’ve received useful feedback from colleagues and your university grants office…
…but this feedback hasn’t helped you work out how to craft a clear and compelling narrative which will appeal to reviewers outside your immediate subject area.
My Strategic Grant Reviews can help.
I’ve helped researchers reframe and refine the narrative of their grant by closely reading their proposals from the perspective of a non-subject specialist academic reviewer. This enables me to tell you what impression your proposal makes on an external reader. I also identify how you can change the order, structure, and flow of your ideas so that reviewers can easily understand and appreciate the importance of your work.
What researchers have said about working with me…
“I was struggling to write a compelling narrative which captures the complexity and my knowledge of the topic. After working with Natalie I’m confident that different audiences can appreciate the importance of my proposed research.”
— Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor),
University of Exeter
“I now have a more balanced and effective proposal, where evaluators will have an easy time locating the elements relevant to their assessment. I am confident the project now has a better chance to be assessed on its real merits.”
— Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Bern
“Working with Natalie was incredibly helpful for my successful ERC AdG proposal. She offered valuable meta-perspective on how the grant could be interpreted, as well as insightful micro-suggestions that greatly improved the overall clarity and focus. Her extensive experience with similar proposals made her feedback especially valuable. She was patient, open, and genuinely engaged in helping me explore different options. It felt more like a collaborative exchange than just receiving feedback.”
— Professor, University of Vienna
“I was struggling to present the nuanced and complicated conceptual ideas of my proposal in a clear and simple way. Natalie helped me to tease out the major arguments and develop a coherent narrative in the research proposal. She tried to think from both my perspective as the PI of the project and the potential reviewers’ perspective, helping me to strike a good balance between conceptual deepness and clarity.”
— Assistant Professor, University of Hong Kong
How does a Strategic Grant Review work?
The purpose of the Strategic Grant Review service is to offer a detailed reading of the proposal from the perspective of a reviewer who possesses advanced social science expertise but who may not necessarily have the specific subject expertise of the proposal. In this way it aims to identify key areas in need of improvement that relate to the communication of key arguments, justification for the proposal’s significance, and the overall narrative of the proposal.
A Strategic Grant Review from me provides detailed written feedback and suggestions. In addition, a 1-hour follow-up Zoom call with me provides an opportunity to reflect on the written feedback with you, and to have a focused discussion on the necessary next steps for developing the proposal into a polished submission.
My services are considered part of researcher professional development and can usually be covered by university funds. Universities that have funded my services include:
University of Cambridge
University of Edinburgh
University of Amsterdam
Oslo University
University of Liverpool
University of Melbourne
University of Antwerp
University of Zurich
Autonomous University of Barcelona
University of Cologne
University of Hong Kong
University of Birmingham
University of Bergen
University of Vienna
Interested in finding out more?
We can arrange to have a free informal Zoom call where you can tell me about your grant project and ask me anything about how I work. Simply fill out the contact form to arrange a time for us to meet.
I’m a friendly person to speak to and never push people to make any commitment, so don’t hesitate to get in touch, it would be lovely to hear from you!
Contact form:
FAQs
Could you tell me more about the type of grant support you provide during Strategic Grant Reviews?
The type of grant support I provide falls into the category of ‘developmental editing’. In academia, developmental editors assist researchers by providing strategic feedback on research writing drafts (such as grant proposals, journal articles and book proposals). For research grants, this feedback specifically improves the key arguments, structure, and narrative of the writing so that it is highly appealing to grant review panels. Some developmental editors that have an established research background, like myself, can also help researchers to better explain the impact and theoretical contributions of their work as well as identify avenues for extending these even further.
Do you only work on grants in the social sciences and humanities?
Yes, I specialise in grants that relate to the broad fields of social sciences and humanities in order for my work to directly draw on my many years of research and grant writing. I have experience working with researchers in the fields of:
- Anthropology
- Cultural Studies
- Education
- Educational Sociology
- Geography
- International Relations
- Media Studies
- Social Policy
- Social studies of science / STS
- Sociology
- Political Science
- Public Health
- Public Policy & Administration / Policy Studies
- Architecture studies
- English Literature
- History
- Archaeology
- Classics
Can you help with the interdisciplinary aspect of my grant proposal?
Yes. During my research career I won presitigious grants by developing proposals that combined different areas of the social sciences. As you probably already know, being able to craft interdisciplinary grant proposals is increasingly essential for demonstrating that your ideas are highly original and innovative. So if you’re preparing a grant which combines multiple areas of the social sciences and humanities (or indeed engages with scientific areas beyond these), I’m well placed to help you think through how do this successfully.
How long before a grant deadline can I start working with you?
It’s never too early to get in touch about a possible Strategic Grant Review because my work schedule is often fully booked for a few months ahead.
I think I’d be interested in a Strategic Grant Review for my current grant project but would like to ask you a few questions before I make a decision – how can I get in touch?
You can get in touch to schedule an informal Zoom call to help you work out whether a Strategic Grant Review would suit your needs. To get in touch please fill out the contact form below.
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