Grant Support Workflow

Our modular workflow adapts to your project

Are you about ready to submit, but need an external perspective to make sure everything is perfect? Or maybe you’re just getting started and need some orientation about the call and how to move forward. Or perhaps you need someone to guide your team through the entire process?

We have built a modular workflow that gives you just the level of support you need, depending on the level of maturity of your project. You can access all of these modules individually, or you can link multiple modules together to created a tailored workflow for your project.

Choose the support modules you need for your project

Pre-proposal Assessment

You have…
…identified the grant you want to apply for, conceptualised the raw ideas, and you’re ready to build it into a solid research project.

You need…
…help with building the concept, and aligning it with the aims of the funding call.

How we can help
We support you in developing your ideas in line with the call’s focus, and start shaping the core ideas to develop the key sections of the proposal (e.g. scientific/societal need, challenge, objectives, methodology, impacts). 

Deliverables
We send you a pre-proposal template to guide you in developing the key sections. We review your pre-proposal, give feedback and recommendations on your ideas, and how they fit the call. We organise a call to discuss this.

Structural Writing

You have…
…developed the foundations for your proposal, and have started to put your ideas down on paper.

You need…
…help to efficiently structure the ideas, build good connectivity throughout the proposal, and to avoid wasting time on details and language.

How we can help
We teach you a writing technique and help you use it to accelerate your writing process, and establish good structure to make it easy for the evaluators to navigate your proposal.

Deliverables
We send you an annotated template to guide you in developing the key aspects to address in each section. We review your outline in terms of structure, organisation, and connectivity, and give feedback to improve the flow of concepts and content.

Initial review

You have…
…already developed the first draft of your proposal.

You need…
…help to nail the focus of the project, and clarify the message in each section.

How we can help
We help you identify the underdeveloped parts of your proposal, and suggest how to polish the big-picture concepts.

Deliverables
You send us your first draft, and we analyse how well it addresses the key aspects of the call. We make specific recommendations to deal with any potential shortcomings at this early stage.

Extended Review

You have…
…developed an advanced draft of your proposal.

You need…
…help to step back from the details, and assess the content and communication objectively.

How we can help
We review your proposal in depth to ensure that all sections are developed in full detail and are coherent with each other. We guide you in ensuring that the key ideas of your project are simple, clear, compelling, and adapted to the aims of the call.

Deliverables
You send us a complete draft, and we review it in detail to identify all aspects that need clarification or further development. We report on specific recommendations on aspects to improve, and we organise a call to go through these points in detail.

Pre-submission Review

You have…
…developed the final draft of your proposal.

You need…
…help to polish it and bring it up to submission-ready standard.

How we can help
We help to improve clarity, style, and simplicity of your proposal text, and detect any final, easy-to-remedy, issues or inconsistencies.

Deliverables
You send us the final draft. We directly edit your proposal, introducing changes to create an appealing, easy-to-read submission-ready draft.

Interview Preparation

You have…
…been invited to the interview stage of the application’s evaluation. Congratulations, you’re almost there!

You need…
…help to orient yourself and prepare for this unfamiliar presentation and defence scenario.

How we can help
We help you identify the key aspects of your project to include in the presentation, prepare a polished scientific communication, and practise a method for answering your evaluator’s questions during the Q&A session.

Deliverables
You send us the graphic support for your presentation. We organise two mock interview sessions and provide orientation to improve your communication.

Four ways we help you

Stepping out of your own mind
For all scientists, it’s challenging to communicate with others about topics on which we are expert. We give you an external perspective to view your project through the eyes of a reviewer, who is an experienced scientist, but not an expert in your topic.

Separating Roles
When writing a grant, your role is topic expert. Ideally, you should not have to also take on the role of project manager, meeting coordinator, email writer, proposal reviewer, or text editor. We help with these additional roles so you can focus on the science.

Understanding the call
Call documentation for grants is notoriously extensive and difficult to interpret. And it will slow down your work on the scientific project. We have already pre-digested this voluminous information for you, and we can also offer some insights on any sections you’re less familiar with.

Confidence
When you apply for funding, there’s a lot at stake, and it’s not just the money. We offer you the extra help needed to make sure all the details are taken care of, but without losing sight of the big picture.

Dr. Ananya Ashok, Researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences, Barcelona

"TPM identified areas of opportunity very well. Their feedback contributed to reducing disagreements within the proposal team and facilitated a more consensual approach to improving the proposal. Provided a well-written overview of the strengths and improvement potential of the application. Provided useful edits and comments allowing me to determine changes as deemed best. Provided a one-on-one session to discuss the feedback and clarify any questions. Overall, insightful, structured, objective and constructive review process."

Prof. Pedro Cermeño, Senior researcher at the Marine Sciences Institute, Barcelona

"The review was very competent and professional. The proposal was greatly improved by the advice from the TPM team. I highly appreciate the online exchanges, comments on the proposal, speed of the review and availability even after the agreed deadline."

Prof. Nicola Poccia, Group Leader at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Dresden

"The support I received from TPM was excellent. I appreciate the professional and friendly interaction during all the way. "

Group Leader at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center

"When developing a scientific proposal, it is very common to get lost in the scientific/technical details and neglect key aspects that are crucial for the evaluation. The feedback I received was very useful to identify and address these aspects. I also value very much the different exchanges I had with the grant support manager, to solve doubts and discuss the best ways to address the feedback."

Group Leader, Civil and Environmental Engineering at UPC, Barcelona

"I am very satisfied with the accompaniment during the project, the different focus of each module, the comments and review in the proposal’s documents to improve the proposal, the materials you provided me with and the language improvements you added."

Group Leader, Molecular Biosciences, The Wenner-Green Institute, Stockholm University

"The Application was read accurately, and I had the best comments and discussions. I felt that I received very good comments. The grammar was beautifully corrected, and the sentences were simpler and much easier to read. Overall, it was a heart-warming journey with TPM and I felt encouraged throughout the process of grant writing."

Group leader, Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research, Dresden

"Excellent overall guidance. Excellent service and timely delivery! I am very satisfied."