Will you write the grant for me?
Not exactly. Most of our work is editing, structuring, and strengthening what you and your team draft. You bring the subject-matter expertise. We help make the proposal clear, persuasive, and easy to review.
We will help tightening vague language, spot weaknesses, improve flow and logic, and make sure the proposal is aligned with the opportunity and guidelines.
What guarantee can you provide?
We will improve your proposal. No one can guarantee NIH/NSF funding, but our many years of experience, and what we've learned from successes within their system, will be at your disposal.
Will you work with early-career researchers? Established researchers?
Yes and yes. We work with first-time grant writers, early-career faculty, and established investigators. Sometime you need help understanding the system. Sometimes you need hands-on editing; sometimes you need someone to take the load off so you can focus on your program. Either way, we're happy to help.
How do I pay for this? Can I pay out of pocket or use my current grant?
You can pay out of pocket, but we generally discourage it if there are institutional options.
It’s rarely allowable to use existing grant funds to pay for grant writing. Common alternatives are unrestricted funds, departmental/center funds, startup funds, internal seed/bridge funds, or discretionary accounts.
Many universities have ways to support proposal development because it’s a good investment for them, especially given the indirect costs that come with funded grants. An investment in an experienced grant writer is relatively small compared to the potential rewards.
Can your role be written into the grant?
Grant writing itself can’t be budgeted into proposals.
Depending on availability, Cecil can be included in proposals for contributing programmatic expertise (not pre-award writing). Cecil's background includes metagenomics and microbiome research, ethics and governance, sample and data stewardship (including American Indian/Alaska Native contexts), community-engaged research, and training programs from K–12 STEM through faculty development.