Skip to main content

Grant Application Tips

Jump to section:

Tips for submitting your first fellowship grant

Read guidelines and follow formatting

Thoroughly read the Specific Funding Opportunity (NOFO) and the General Guidelines :

Tip: Grant application requirements vary. Be sure to follow the correct formatting and other guidelines from the start. Check to see if a Letter of Intent or other preliminary is required to apply.

Review successful applications

This practice can help you gain insights and understand what works as you develop your application.

Tip: Identify successful applications on NIH Reporter or ask colleagues for their funded examples.

Start early

  • Writing Time: Allocate 3-6 months or more 
  • Training: Begin early in your research career  

Tip: Don’t procrastinate: Start small. Outline your scientific story and break the writing into smaller deliverables. Don’t get bogged down in perfecting figures—these may change as you write.

Get feedback

  • Gather feedback and guidance from the start. 
  • The Grant Development Office, your mentor, the Program Officer (PO), and NC TraCS are all resources you can draw on. 

Tip: Get scientific and grantsmanship suggestions before you write. Sign up to meet with a UNC Lineberger Grant Developer/Science Editor to discuss your ideas or draft Aims.

Notify the Pre-Award Team early

UNC Lineberger has dedicated Pre-Award Specialists that can assist you with:  

  • Developing a submission checklist and timeline 
  • Answering guideline-related questions 
  • Creating or associating your eRA Commons username 
  • Checking biosketch formatting and content 
  • Formatting and converting final documents to PDFs for submission 
  • Routing your Internal Processing Form (IPF) and obtaining approvals 
  • Compiling and validating your application 

Tip: For UNC Lineberger members, use this form to notify Pre-Award of your application at least six weeks before the deadline: UNC Lineberger Members – Request Pre-Award Support 

Submit routing items early

Send these to pre-award at least 1.5 weeks before the deadline.

Tip: The more documents you finalize earlier, the saner you and your Pre-Award Specialist will be! 

Nonnegotiable: Complete your application early

  • All documents should be with your Pre-Award Specialist three days before the funding entity’s deadline 
  • Remind your references to have their letters submitted well before the deadline

Resubmit if necessary

Winning funding takes time. First attempts may not succeed, but reviewer comments point the way forward. Try again! 

Writing best practices

Before you write

  • Have a research question you can clearly articulate (that famous “elevator pitch”) 
  • Gather data (your own and from the literature) and develop insight and hypotheses  
  • Choose to apply only to grants that fit your career stage and research interest 
  • Be honest with yourself about the time and effort writing a proposal will require. There is no bigger waste of your time than submitting a rushed application that makes a poor impression.  

Writing the scientific portion of your application

At all steps: Gather and apply timely feedback from mentors, peers, and grant support staff

  1. Write an outline and key take-away message(s)  
    • What literature and preliminary data led to your hypotheses? 
    • What do you expect to learn or prove? 
    • What will be the next step and longer-term impact of the work? 
    • Work from your outline and any rough figures 
  2. Define and refine your Specific Aims page 
    • Summarize the why (unmet need/possible impact), what (variables, populations, outcomes) and how (approach, technologies, methods) of your research plan 
  3. Draft the research strategy or project plan 
    • Consider working out of order, first writing experimental plans and expected results and then writing the framing background needed to understand the proposed work 
    • Put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes: Strive to provide context, consistency and continuity, presenting only relevant facts in a logical order using defined terms 
    • Ignore awkward sentences or other distractions at this stage – get a full draft done before going back to review 
  4. Draft figures and tables 
    • Keep in mind that data figures in a grant are typically much less critical than in a manuscript—allot time accordingly 
  5. Revise and polish 
    • Find fresh eyes, ideally from scientists outside your laboratory/immediate circle 
    • Finish writing ahead of the submission deadline so there is time for a final proofreading with a chance to correct any issues 
    • The wrong formatting or length could get your application rejected without a review—be sure to dot i’s and cross ‘t’s! 
  6. Pat yourself on the back for getting the job done! Take a moment to reflect on what did and didn’t go well from your point of view and what practices you’ll keep or change next time. 

Additional grant development resources

Internal resources / UNC Lineberger

  • UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center Pre-Award Services
  • Editorial support: Book time to meet with UNC Lineberger Science Writer Mary Lee MacKichan for: 
    • Scientific editing – “first-reviewer” input on research aims and strategy 
    • Storytelling – advise on clarity, flow or impact in the writing 
    • Copyediting – check for spelling, grammar and readability 
    • Ancillary documents – drafting or revising, e.g. Facilities & Resources, Letters of Support, and Biosketches
  • UNC Lineberger Training & Education Events: UNC Lineberger’s training and education programs are part of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Research Training and Education Coordination (CRTEC) program. CRTEC offerings includes opportunities for graduate, predoctoral and postdoctoral students at UNC Lineberger.
  • Data Sharing and Management:

External resources

General

Writing

Figures

  • BioRender: BioRender is a web-based program that helps you create scientific figures. Create publication-quality figures in minutes – no drawing skills required! BioRender Premium is available for free at UNC Lineberger.