Grant writing is no easy feat. Yet MU’s grant writers seemingly tackle the overwhelming task with ease.
The University of Missouri Grant Writer Network is sharing its expertise in a newly published book, Grant Seeking in Higher Education: Strategies and Tools for College Faculty (Jossey-Bass, 2012). The book is a how-to guide for college and university educators preparing their own grant proposals.
The Grant Writer Network started in 1998, before most institutions had anything similar.
Its 17 writers are located in various schools, colleges and research centers on campus. Since its inception, the network has written more than
$2 billion in grant proposals and helped the university receive $300 million in awards.
The concept of Grant Seeking in Higher Education existed for years among campus grant writers. However, it was pure chance that brought it to publication.
According to Mary M. Licklider, lead author of the book and founding director of the MU Office of Grant Writing and Publications, a happenstance meeting between grant writer Bob Glidewell and a sales associate for Wiley Publishing, a sister company to Jossey-Bass, generated interest in the project.
In 2011, Glidewell mentioned the network’s idea to the sales associate.
With the sales associate’s good word, the concept was passed on to an upper-level editor who requested to speak with the network. The book was published in August.
The guide has four sections. The first discusses different aspects of and approaches to grant proposals. The second provides templates and other tools for putting proposals together.
Section three helps educators develop their proposals, and the last section suggests ways of building a “grants culture” at a learning institution.
The network hopes the book can fill a void for educators wanting to learn how to write grant proposals.
Grant Seeking in Higher Education is available in paperback at select bookstores, from Kindle and online at Amazon.com.
— Ashley Carman