What is a Grant Proposal? Grants are non-repayable funds given out by grant makers, often a government department, corporation, foundation, to a recipient, often a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business, or an individual. To receive a grant, "Grant Writing“ is required, which is referred to as either a grant proposal or a grant application.

1. How to Avoid
Grant Proposal Rejection?

2. What is a Grant Proposal?
• Grants are non-repayable funds given
out by grant makers, often a
government department, corporation,
foundation, to a recipient, often a
nonprofit entity, educational
institution, business, or an individual.
• To receive a grant, "Grant Writing“
is required, which is referred to as
either a grant proposal or a grant
application.

3. WHAT ARE THE FEATURES OF A
GOOD GRANT PROPOSAL?

4. 1. Clarity
• Your proposal should be clear and should
flow well. You should state the objectives of
the research and exactly how you plan to
attain them.
• Ensure that all the objectives directly relate
to your hypothesis. Thus, the grant
committee will understand the clear thought
behind the proposal.
Ask yourself:
Is my proposal well presented?

5. 2. Impact
• Most grant agencies expect proposals to be
holistic. A proposal whose impact can extend
beyond research labs and benefit a larger
group can likely get accepted.
• If your proposal can bring about collaboration
between disciplines, have multiple uses,
influence students’ learning, or inspire
further research, it has chances of getting
endorsed.
Ask yourself:
Does my proposal have sufficient impact?

6. 3. Realistic approach
Realistic
• Your proposal should provide a logical and
realistic account of the methods you intend
to use, the estimated timelines, and the
resources required.
• A proposal promising to deliver precise
results may not get a positive response.
Instead, grant makers may prefer a proposal
that can provide interesting results even if all
the objectives are not met.
Ask yourself:
Is my proposal realistic?

7. WHY ARE GRANT PROPOSALS
REJECTED?

8. 1. The proposal is not suitable for the agency
!
• Your idea may have been innovative and
great. But if it does not match the scope
and needs of the funding institute, the
reviewers may decide to reject your
proposal.
• Every agency/institute has its own goals
and priorities, and these will be the
deciding factors for all the proposals
submitted to it.

9. 2. The proposal is badly written
• Usually, grants have to be written according
to the guidelines and requirements of the
agency you apply to. You should also ensure
that your proposal is well structured, well
edited, and free of grammatical and
linguistic errors.
• A haphazardly written proposal that
disregards guidelines and lacks editing might
be ignored by funding bodies.

10. 3. The proposal is not persuasive and
lacks citations
• Your proposal should be written such
that the grant committee is convinced
about the potential high impact and
importance of your proposal. Providing a
background for the idea and citing
research that prompted your idea would
give a solid foundation to your proposal.
• You should cite literature wherever
required and provide statistics, which will
help set your idea in a proper context.

11. What should you do if your proposal is
rejected?
• If your grant proposal gets rejected despite taking all
necessary steps:
Read the reviewers’ comments carefully. They may have pointed out some
problems in your proposal you had not foreseen.
Check with the grant committee if
resubmission of the proposal is possible.
If resubmission is not an option, find some other agency that is
better suited for your proposal.
Ultimately, treat the grant application process
as a learning experience.

12. Resources
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_(money)
• http://chronicle.com/article/How-Your-Grant-Proposal/47471/
• http://chronicle.com/article/RejectionItsDiscontents/139403/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en