How to Write Medical Grants
Physicians and medical researchers rely on grants to fund projects that are important for public health. These grants are funded by philanthropists, taxpayers and businesses interested in advancing medical science. Every grant made available to medical professionals is accompanied by high competition among thousands of fellow researchers. Researchers need to write medical grants that explain why their projects are more worthy of funding than competing applications.
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Instructions
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Begin the medical grant writing process at least four months ahead of the grant's due date. Every week of this preparatory period should be planned for writing, editing, assembly and review before submitting grants for final approval.
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Itemize the funding you will need for your medical research with an extensive budget attached to your grant. This budget should cover everything from test tubes and computers to research assistants to maintain transparency with the organization providing the grant.
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Explain the short-term and long-term impacts of your research in every section of your medical grant. Each section on methodology, staff needs and expected outcomes should show why this research is important to the general public.
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Copy notes and reports from preliminary experiments to add as evidence to your medical grant. These experiments allow reviewers to see the potential for further research on major medical issues like Alzheimer's disease, cancer and AIDS. Make sure that each report is a complete account of an experiment to show your thorough research skills.
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Outline the standards, techniques and methodologies used by your laboratory to complete experiments in a responsible manner. The section on methodology for potential research will form a significant portion of your grant because reviewers are concerned with the steps taken to reach scientific conclusions.
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Spell out the timeline needed to complete your research in days, weeks and months for the benefit of the reviewer. Your timeline should account in detail for days spent finding test subjects, conducting experiments and waiting for results.
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Write biographical sketches of each member of your medical research team and attach CVs for review. The grant provider will look for a medical team with a mixture of experienced physicians, researchers and research assistants to secure reliable research. Each researcher's salary and budget should be detailed in the budget to help justify their role in the project.
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Collect several copies of supporting documents and materials before completing your medical grant. Most grants require staff CVs, institutional documents, preliminary research results and letters of recommendation to be considered complete.
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Run your medical grant through an elaborate editing process with an experienced grant writer and a medical expert. Ask your colleagues to review individual sections of the grant as well as the entire grant to ensure a compelling and thorough report.
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Tips & Warnings
Maintain a file with rejection letters and review notes from grant providers that inform future medical grants. Reviewers and grant boards provide advice to rejected applicants that are designed to improve future applications to the organization. Spend time looking through these notes and rejected grants before sending out another round of queries.
Demonstrate your knowledge of ethical quandaries and issues in your medical grant to ease concerns for funding organizations. An experienced researcher should point out precautions taken at every step to treat human and animal subjects with dignity.
Keep your grant language simple for the benefit of non-medical readers on the review board. Medical researchers and professors may use academic jargon when describing their methods that put off reviewers who are looking for clear, concise writing.
Resources
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