Grant writing is an art in itself – much like answering exam questions, or delivering an effective pitch, there are particular tips and techniques which help you to maximise your chance of success. In this article, we’ll talk about the top areas for improvement we see when we review grant applications.

Writing style

There’s a certain style that’s used for grant writing. It’s called an economic style which uses short sentences and active tense, making it very concise. Writing style is an area in which we usually see opportunity for improvement when we review grant applications, as so many people provide lengthy descriptions or excessive detail which leaves less room for the more important information.

Overuse of AI

The second thing that we notice a lot is the use of AI. When we have coached a business on how to write their application, and then later review their work, we spend so much time writing in an economic style and adding evidence, that you know if AI is used for proofreading as it can strip out key evidence and adds unnecessary conclusions.

Each word in an application needs to work hard, so the conclusions that AI provides just aren’t necessary and use up precious word count. AI can be used to create a first draft of a grant application, which you then later improve and iterate, but it shouldn’t be used in the final stages – and does require human editing to ensure you really use the word count effectively and meet the application requirements.

A weak project plan

Another area of improvement is the project plan, because there is a certain way that grants grant funding.

Organisations like to see project plans, which means using work packages and showing your project management style as well as tools you plan to use. It must be clear who is leading the project, why they’re best placed to lead it, and presenting this information clearly. You need to demonstrate the strength and credibility of your team.

If work packages are being used, sometimes they can be very long, which is another point to watch for. If this is the case, consider breaking them down into shorter packages which may appeal more to assessors, as they will seem more achievable and lower risk.

You can use subheadings within the project plan to show what’s happening in a certain period to make this part clearer.

Lack of financial clarity

Another area of improvement are finances. It’s incredibly important to demonstrate value for money in your application. There are a lot of rules around grant funding, and UKRI does provide a lot of information and guidance about this on their website – familiarise yourself with this before you even start writing your application, as if you can’t demonstrate the value for money, you will not be successful.

Grant funding is an investment and should be considered in the same way you would consider pitching for private investment. Investors must see a clear return on their investment, and when it comes to grants, the taxpayer is the investor, and it’s the responsibility of UKRI to ensure they are investing wisely into businesses who will contribute to the economy.

One very positive thing about getting good at grant applications is the transferable skills you build, which are applicable to other methods of fundraising later on. Not only that, but other investors will be happy to see a company that has maximised all other sources of funding and really knows their numbers.

Lack of evidence

The final area of improvement that we often see reviewing grant applications is evidence – or a lack of evidence.

Evidence is a crucially important part of your application. You must support everyone you say in your application with clear evidence. If you can quantify anything, that’s great. If you can link it to reports or strategies it all helps to build credibility and trust in your grant application. You need to be building confidence quickly in your assessors around the innovation your project will deliver, your team’s ability to deliver it, and the return on investment it will bring.

So, we hope this article has helped you to avoid making some of the most common mistakes we see when we review grant applications. If you have any questions about what you’ve read, or would like support with an application, please get in touch with our team today.