Grants & Technical Writing
The process that both begins and ends most research and consulting
projects is writing. Before a project can ever take off it must be funded,
so proposal writing is an essential part of a consultant's job. In addition,
the final products of any research project are typically one or more
reports, presentations, or publications.
Successful grant or proposal writing requires a number of important skills: 1) the ability to write persuasively; 2) being able to convey technical details to non-experts; 3) attention to detail; and 4) the ability to meet hard deadlines. In my 15 years of academic grantwriting, I successfully obtained 24 federal grants, totaling over a million dollars in small project funding. In addition, I have served as a panelist on a federal (NASA) funding committee, an experience which enables me to view project funding from multiple perspectives, giving me a clear advantage as I design new proposals.
Technical writing uses slightly different skills than grantwriting, primarily due to targeting a different audience. Here the goal is to be both explicit and concise, as well as choosing representative figures and data tables wisely. One of the more important skills required for completing a scientific paper is the ability to incorporate the often diverse perspectives of one’s co-authors while still reaching consensus in a timely manner. Similarly, in the case of final reports for consulting projects, there are frequently multiple stakeholders to consider when finalizing deliverables. In my 15 years of authorship in scientific journals, I amassed more than 25 refereed publications. I also served as a technical reviewer for scientific journals multiple times.
