December 31, 2016
Writing a grant proposal is rarely, if ever, a solo activity. Unless you are starting a nonprofit on your own and trying to secure that first grant, preparing a grant application requires multiple people.
Proposal teams can be configured in different ways. You might have several people writing content, or one person handling the bulk of the writing and a handful of reviewers. Either way, more than one person will be involved. For most grant applications, you’ll also need a finance person to prepare the budget unless it is a simple application requiring only a summary budget figure. You may also need HR staff to obtain copies of existing staff CVs or to understand the process for posting positions if the proposed project requires recruiting new staff.
All of these individuals—the writers, the reviewers, the finance people, the HR staff—require coordination. Central to that coordination is regular, clear communication. If you are planning to serve in the role of the team coordinator for a proposal, clear and effective communication (particularly written communication) is an essential skill you’ll need to cultivate.
Writing clear emails that actually get read takes practice.
Keep the emails short. If there is too much to share, keep it short, move some of the content to a Word document, and attach it to the email, or consider holding in-person meetings or conference calls.
Use bullets to highlight key points so they don't get lost.
Keep paragraphs short. An email with lots of “white space” is easier to read and less overwhelming; and
Close the email with a summary of key points. If the email is informational with no action items, a bulleted list summarizing the main points will suffice. If you need the reader to take action, end the email with a clear call to action (e.g., “Due Dates” or “Next Steps”).
Managing a proposal team can be challenging because the members may represent a variety of technical areas and have different communication preferences and work styles, and even (in the case of large proposal teams representing multiple partners) different employers. You may also have team members who work remotely and in a different time zone from the majority of the team. With all of these variables, communication within the team can quickly go awry, with deadlines misunderstood or missed, decisions about the proposal’s direction misinterpreted or ignored, and persistent confusion about team roles.
No matter how strong your organizational skills, miscommunication will occur to some degree during the proposal-writing phase. You may find yourself repeatedly handling questions such as:
When is my section due?
When is the proposal due?
Who is on the proposal team?
How do I contact the other team members?
What is going on? I haven’t heard an update on the proposal in a while.
Where can I get a copy of the proposal?
Where can I get a copy of the proposal calendar?
Where can I get a copy of the funding opportunity announcement?
The following six communication strategies can help reduce questions like this and encourage better team communication and more effective collaboration.
1. Discuss how team communication will be handled
Once a decision has been made to move forward with a grant opportunity, schedule a meeting with all stakeholders as soon as possible to discuss the proposal timeline, roles for each team member, and the proposal strategy.
During this kick-off meeting, the team members should decide how they will communicate with one another. Some things to discuss include:
Will all communications be handled via email? If so, will all team members be included in all communications, or will there be subgroups (e.g., budget-related items will go to the finance and proposal leads only)?
If email is not the primary form of communication, what will be used? Will the group rely on a web-based platform, such as Microsoft SharePoint, to post questions and background content, store proposal drafts, and manage the review process? If a Web-based worksite will be used, ensure everyone can access it, the site is secure, and your files are regularly backed up. If SharePoint or a similar platform is chosen, it is important to confirm team members' willingness to use a Web-based site instead of relying on email.
How often will the group meet? Weekly? Daily check-ins? Will the meetings be in person or by phone/Skype? What time works for the meeting, accounting for all time zones represented by the group?
2. Collect and distribute contact information
At the launch meeting, if not before, you should create a team contact list. Information to collect includes name, email address, phone number, and/or Skype address, role on the team, and organizational affiliation (if multiple partners are involved with the proposal). The contact list should be distributed to team members following the kick-off meeting. This will give everyone time to review the list and confirm that their information is complete and correct.
3. Maintain a proposal calendar with current due dates
A proposal calendar can be informal, such as a bulleted list with due dates and deliverables, or formal, with a weekly calendar showing due dates for each deliverable listed under the appropriate date.
The bulleted list approach may be best if you are planning to use email for all team communications; a more traditional calendar works well if the proposal will be managed through a platform like SharePoint, which includes a customizable calendar feature. Regardless of the format you choose, it's important to keep the calendar up to date and share the revised version with the team.
4. Send reminders of upcoming deadlines
Sending individual team members reminders about upcoming deadlines is usually appreciated, especially for those who tend to leave writing assignments to the last minute. However, it can be tricky to calibrate your reminders so you are sending the right number of reminders at the right time. Too many reminders can come across as nagging, while too few or reminders too close to the deadline may not serve their intended purpose.
To address these challenges, one approach is to review how reminders will be handled during the initial team meeting to avoid surprises during the proposal period. For example, you can notify the team that "email reminders will be sent out 3 days before every deadline."
5. Create an email template so team members learn what to expect from your communications
It doesn’t have to be a formal template, but a standardized flow for your email updates will help team members know what to expect from your communications and make it easier for them to scan the messages. As an example, you might find that an effective structure for emails consists of the following parts:
Reminder of upcoming deadlines
Summary of the most recent team meeting
Status report on the latest proposal draft
Updates on team members (e.g., change in contact information or schedules)
A copy of the current proposal calendar
Before you settle on an email template or outline, you may want to test different email formats during the first 1-2 weeks of the proposal process to determine what gets read and what is most helpful to the team.
6. Keep the team members informed with regular status updates--even when there is nothing to report
Related to #5 above, if you committed to sending a weekly update to the team at the kickoff meeting, send it even when you don’t have any new information. A brief update stating “No new updates for this week—here are a few reminders of upcoming deadlines” would be appreciated. It will also prevent team members from coming to you, wondering what is going on when there is no update.