This online self-guided workshop is offered three times a year and is intended for scholars who are planning to submit applications to NIH agencies. The lessons and community support is valuable no matter which granting agency you’re applying to.
All are welcome to join and get a head start on your next application. Your future self will give you a high five for starting early.
Next workshop begins in July 8. Register
The Grant Writing Fundamentals Workshop includes
- Six core video lessons covering planning, strategy, and writing techniques
- Twice-monthly Q&As to answer specific questions about writing your grant
- Bonus lessons and activities
Encourage your mentees to complete the Grant Writing Fundamentals Workshop.
Over 2,500 researchers have taken this workshop, and 98% would recommend it to a colleague.
Session 1
- The type of prep work you should do to make your grant more competitive
- How to use the call for applications to your advantage when writing your grant1
Session 2
- How to break down your grant writing into chunks to combat overwhelm
- How to plan your writing time to align with your energy/cognitive capacity
- Why scheduling is just as important as planning
Session 3
- Three key grant writing principles that will improve every grant you write for the rest of your career
- What you’re really trying to accomplish when you write a grant
- How to make your proposal more appealing to reviewers
Session 4
- How (and why) to strategically frame your research
- The Problem, Gap, Hook, Solution framework
- Where to apply PGHS in your proposal
Session 5
- The key components of most health research grant applications
- Your implicit and explicit arguments in each section
- A framework for identifying and addressing weaknesses in your proposal
Session 6
- The types of feedback you should get on your application
- How to ask for feedback that will be useful to you
- How to use (or not use) the feedback you get
Sarah Dobson, MSc
Sarah Dobson, Research Grant Consultant, is an editor, grant writer, and writing coach based in Vancouver, BC.
Sarah has an MSc in community health from the Université de Montréal. She has worked in research management and grant facilitation in academic institutions across Canada for more than a decade.
As a grant consultant and academic editor, she consistently receives strong ratings for this workshop that has grown out of more than 18 years of experience working with clinical and translational scientists on grants and academic publications.
Over 2,500 researchers have taken this workshop, and 98% would recommend it to a colleague. Participants have praised the “fresh perspective” and specific tools, templates, and guidelines that are easy to apply to grant writing. As one writer said, “I know my content, but I struggled with communicating it. This workshop really helped me to see through my reviewer’s eyes.”
Many have been so encouraged by the online community that they finished drafts of their grants more than a month before the deadline, allowing time for internal feedback.
So often, the really important information is buried deep in the grant because we don't really know what we're doing, on some level, and it comes out in the grant. Sarah makes you really think through what you want to do. She makes you do the work, not the reviewer.
~ Workshop Participant
Sarah’s training offers a clear, focused approach, and she provides a framework to help you do what you need to do to get the reviewers interested in your project.
~ Workshop Participant
Associate Professor
- R01
Research Assistant Professor
- DOD
Assistant Professor
- I01
- IK2
Assistant Professor of Medicine
- K08
