July 22-23

Writing research proposals involves several skills and techniques, from understanding funding agency priorities to conceptualizing impactful, yet feasible, research questions, articulating the study design, and creating detailed budgets and other supporting documents. This course covers the detailed, practical aspects of designing and writing effective qualitative proposals for a variety of funders, and navigating institutional practices and policies. The course emphasizes the importance of storytelling in grant-writing, which includes identifying and articulating key threads that are carried through each section of a proposal.

With backgrounds in public health, healthcare, mental health, public administration, and anthropology, Drs. Gilbert and Hamilton have applied for multiple awards that vary in size and scope, with successes and rejections. Their successful proposals have been awarded by a range of agency types including governmental and non-governmental agencies, large and small foundations, and community partners. Lessons learned from the co-instructors’ past efforts, many of which have focused on advancing research on health equity and health disparities experienced by vulnerable populations, inform course content.

Course topics include:

• unique opportunities and challenges associated with different types of funding agencies;
• crafting of aims, background, significance, and conceptual framing;
• practical suggestions to address methodological topics, including sampling, data collection, analysis approaches, and plans for optimizing validity and human subjects protections;
• strategies for budgets and budget justifications;
• community-engagement approaches and structures (e.g., community advisory boards);
• biosketches and letters of support;
• “red flags” in unsuccessful proposals; and
• techniques for responding to reviewer critiques.

Participants are encouraged to bring their grant ideas and/or draft materials to the course, as time will be allotted for in-class exercises (e.g., crafting research questions and specific aims).