Bid Proposals

Abstract

Staying in science is not cheap. As such, it is likely that you will (at some point of your career) be involved with bid writing. Nowadays, the writing of bid proposals is not a solo effort and quite often you will be working in a team, with colleagues and/or external collaborators. Whatever your role may be in the bidding process, it is important that you have sufficient knowledge, so that you can deliver your part with confidence. The goal of this chapter is to give you that knowledge. As there are different types of bid proposals, it is impossible for me to cover this topic extensively in a single chapter. As such I have decided to focus on a particular type of bid proposal, i.e. research grants.

The first part of the chapter gives you the necessary background information that you will need, particularly to understand the steps behind the grant process (in which there are three main phases). Although I cannot tell you exactly what you should put into your bid proposal, my main focus here is to discuss some of the more common elements that are often found in grant proposals. In order to increase your chances of securing grant funding, I will also be giving you practical guidelines on how to achieve excellence in your writing and how to avoid making some common mistakes.