Should you hire a grant writer?
by Ann Peterson, MTIP Program Manager
In our recent SBIR/STTR proposal workshops, a question about hiring grant writers came up. Our initial cringe at hearing this question resulted from one too many prospective applicants who think that hiring a grant writer will allow them to off-load the hard work of writing a compelling SBIR/STTR proposal.
It just doesn’t work that way.
However, a professional grant-writer can be an important member of your SBIR/STTR proposal preparation team and I had a chance to meet a few great writers on my visit to Missoula.
MTIP’s no cost services for you include a full proposal review. We do not provide grant-writing assistance. We will help you with developing and writing your commercialization plans required for most phase I and all phase II proposals. Keep the following in mind:
1) SBIR/STTR reviewers and program managers are looking for sufficient details in your technical proposal to convince them that you understand their needs, have an innovative approach with compelling technical and scientific merit and that your team is the right team to fund. No amount of good writing will compensate for a weak technical proposal.
2) Develop a strong proposal preparation schedule and assign tasks to each member of your team. Refer to our resources page for links to help you with a proposal preparation schedule, required registrations, and talking with SBIR topic authors.
3) The best professional grant writers act as the project manager for your proposal development team. Heed their recommendations. Your principal investigator and key technical team members will write the technical proposal. Your grant writer will co-write, ensure it reads well and addresses the required components outlined in the solicitation and the topic.
Questions or thoughts? Reach out to discuss more.