Texas Tech University

Grant Writing Seminars’ Workshops

Writing Winning Grant Proposals

February 20, 2024 • 8:30 - 4:30

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This presentation comprehensively addresses the practical, conceptual, and rhetorical aspects of writing competitive grant proposals. Dr. Robertson will cover:

  1. Critical steps for organizing and planning your proposal (all of the things you need to do before you start writing a full proposal in order to have a competitive edge)
  2. Understanding the role (and mindset) of your reviewers
  3. Our 4-paragraph rhetorical strategy for writing a compelling Specific Aims page (NIH), Overview & Objectives (NSF) section, or the equivalent for other funding agencies
  4. Specific strategies and tips for each major section of a grant proposal
    Emphasis is placed on doing the “extra” things that can make the difference between being funded versus not. Regardless of the target agency, participants are taught to write with a linear progression of logic, which leads reviewers through an application without them knowing that they are being led. We also emphasize the fact that applicants are writing for two different audiences – the assigned reviewers, who read the application in its entirety, and non-assigned reviewers who may have read little, or none, of the proposal before the meeting of the review panel.

All participants can use the seminar for new ideas on gaining a competitive edge in “proposalship,” how to write for a broad spectrum of reviewers, and/or for strategies in how to mentor others in proposal writing.
This seminar will focus on proposal writing for a broad range of funding agencies.

Note that the majority of this content will be relevant and usable for individuals applying to various funding entities (e.g., private foundations, professional organizations, and state/other federal agencies). This is because the core structure/format of most grant proposals, and the review criteria for most grant proposals, are very similar across funding entities, often merely called something different.

About the PresenterJohn Robertson

John D. Robertson, Ph.D. 
Managing Member 
Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops 

Dr. Robertson received his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin in pharmacology and toxicology in 1999.  From 1999-2003, he was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.  He was subsequently hired in 2004 by the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS, where he was a faculty member in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, and an associate member of the University of Kansas Cancer Center.  In 2010, he was recruited to teach grantsmanship by Grant Writers' Seminars and Workshops as an Associate Member.  In 2017, he became the Managing Member of the company. 

Dr. Robertson has been the recipient of competitive extramural funding from both the NIH and non-federal sources.  He has authored 30 peer-reviewed journal articles and three book chapters.  He has been a member of grant review panels, a reviewer for a number of biomedical journals, and served on editorial boards.  In addition, he has been routinely recognized for excellence in teaching. 

For more information about Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops, please visit our website at www.grantcentral.com