How Grants are Awarded—the Postapplication Phase

Abstract

The Postapplication Phase should be the easiest part of the application process but in reality it is the most difficult of all for some applicants; it is the phase during which the initiative is entirely in the hands of the funding organization, and all the applicant can do is stand and wait. The urge to “do something” during this period is irresistible for some and they rush about telephoning friends who might be influential, checking on date, time, and place of review committee meetings, or bombarding the program officer with questions about the status of the application and the possibilities of its being approved. No one knows for certain whether this does or does not help because no study has been done—at least no well-publicized one—to indicate that such activities affect the outcome of a proposal one way or another. Not that it matters very much; individuals who are disposed to take action during a waiting period will not be deterred by statistical evidence that it doesn’t help, because it helps them. They are constitutionally unable to await the results of any pending decision in which they have a stake. But it is useful to understand exactly what the process is and especially to know the estimated time lag between the date a proposal is submitted and the date an announcement of awards can be expected.