In my many years of working with academic STEM PIs, I’ve yet to encounter one who said they got into their career because they just love writing. Even among those who enjoy writing (and they do exist), that part wasn’t the major driver of their decision. Yet, for PIs, writing is central to advancing curiosity-driven pursuits, for example, by preparing … Read More
Why—and How—to Talk with Program Officers at Funding Agencies
Advice abounds on what to do when applying for research grants, and one common suggestion causes a sticking point for less-experienced PIs: contacting the funding agency’s program staff to discuss the upcoming application. We use this advice across our workshops, Q&A sessions, and one-on-one consultations, and investigators often provide some insight into what prevents them from taking this advice. The … Read More
What is ‘grantsmanship’? How strategic thinking improves your chances of success in the grant application process
In sectors where grant funding provides key support to the research enterprise, grant writing is a valued skill. In fact, training and support for grant writing represents the top service demand for our team at CareerVolt. In the context of these services, we often emphasize the equal value of “grantsmanship” (which we sometimes refer to as grant crafting or grant … Read More
Preparing a Compelling Scientific Grant Application
Grants, especially from federal funders, provide an important source of support for advancing scientific and public health research. For example, within the US, federal grants are the second-largest source of research and development dollars, after private businesses (before the 1980s, federal funds were the largest share). Yet, you are probably also intensely aware that there is a lot of competition … Read More
Cultivating Thought Partners to Enhance Your Research
Research is an intellectual pursuit in which discovery arises from asking questions and thinking deeply about where to go next. We often assume that we must have our ideas all worked out before we verbalize them to someone else, especially in the professional setting where we might be concerned about the way our ideas are received (i.e., looking like we … Read More