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Showing posts from November, 2012

What it's like to be a grant reviewer (and how to make your reviewer's life better)

As you develop your next grant, I'd like to ask you one thing: have you really considered what it's like to be your grant reviewer? Most grant writers don't give that nearly enough thought. They write as if they're submitting their proposal to some big, anonymous "machine" at the other end that simply sorts, collates, and ranks proposals.  But it is not a machine. There are real humans involved, and what you say, how you say it, and how you present yourself have a lot to do with how you make those humans feel. How you make your readers feel has a lot to do with whether they're going to support your grant or not. Yeah, I know, we academics aren't supposed to talk about feelings. That sounds woo-woo and touchy-feely.  It's not proper. That is why most writers overlook this most basic of human phenomena, which drives nearly all of our day-to-day decisions… decisions that include whether to support your grant … or not! Yes, feelings…. Let's talk a