Writing and receiving feedback is the only way of developing the skill of writing grant applications.
Coursework
You should set yourself the goal of completing one of the following writing tasks and seeking feedback, either from a helpful colleague, or as a paid service provided by Parker Derrington Ltd:-
- Write a set of PIPPIN key sentences. This should be easily achievable in a few hours with access to the on-line learning materials. Here is a word document with prompts to make the writing easier.
- Write a draft case for support that has the PIPPIN structure. This should be achievable in a month with access to the on-line learning materials.
There are three points you should consider to get the best return on your effort.
- It is impossible to write a good set of PIPPIN sentences unless you know what your project consists of and have divided it into work packages. It is easier to write a good set of PIPPIN sentences if you use a project that has already been done and written up as a thesis or a set of papers. You need to be able to write how the project will be done, what it is likely to produce, and what makes it important to carry out the project. All these details will be easy to extract from a published thesis, a paper or a series of related papers. All you have to do is imagine you are writing before the work began.
- If you have worked out all the details of your project, getting feedback on a set of PIPPIN key sentences is an excellent preparation for writing the case for support and enables you to do it much faster.
- If you are writing a draft case for support and you do not intend to use the PIPPIN structure, this course is not for you.
Feedback
Some of our on-line courses include a feedback session as part of the course, however, anybody can arrange a coaching session to get feedbackon a case for support at any time. For prices see this page.
To arrange a coaching session use the contact form. If you arrange the session in advance we can usually schedule it within 24 hours of receiving your document. We use zoom for feedback sessions and after the session you will receive a recording of the session and our notes on your document.