Grant Writing Help

Grant Writing Help

The Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) is committed to supporting researchers in grant development and grant writing. To that end, we have contracted Hanover Research, a company that helps organizations in higher education increase grant submissions and funding success. We are working with Hanover to help researchers develop proposals from seed to standard to large, complex proposal submissions. See the complete list of grant writing help services below and click the button to get started.

Hanover Services

Research faculty and personnel who want to improve their grant-seeking and grant-writing skills are eligible to request the below services from Hanover:

• Proposal review* – a high-level review (not a review of the science) with in-margin comments addressing where the proposal can better align with funder guidelines and priorities.
• Proposal revision* – a more in-depth review that includes line-item edits that may range from proofreading to developmental editing, depending on the agreed-upon scope.
• Proposal overview (1-2 pages) – review of initial 1-2 pages of proposal presenting the topic overview and problem statement, goals, objectives or aims, and approach.
• Program search to fund a project – discuss your project ideas with a consultant to target an appropriate program to submit a proposal.
• Faculty consultation to discuss program fit – discuss how well your project topic, goals, objectives or aims, and approach align with program goals and priorities.
• Letter of Interest (LOI) or pre-proposal – depending on the agreed-upon scope, a high-level or in-depth review and writing assistance (not a review of the science) addressing alignment with funder guidelines and priorities. The goal is for the program to invite submission of a full proposal.
• Specific required component** (logic model, data management plan, etc.) – depending on researcher needs, a consultant reviews documents specifically required by a funding program.
• Grant writing training – request training to meet specific proposal writing and grant funding challenges. Depending on needs, researchers may be referred to existing training resources.

*Hanover consultants focus on the project narrative and the project summary for proposal review and proposal revision. See the FAQs for a more in-depth comparison of proposal reviews versus proposal revisions.

**Hanover does not typically review budgets or supporting documents unless specifically requested.

Hanover also provides pre-recorded webinars to help answer common grant-seeking questions and access information about specific federal funding program requirements. Researchers can also sign up for grant funding calendars that send reminders to researchers about upcoming programs and funding opportunities.

Getting Started

To get started, please complete the Hanover Request Form. 

Only one employee at a time can use Hanover’s services, so the queueing process will try to accommodate as many researchers as possible, with consideration given to previous commitments, proposal submission timelines, and the required time needed to use Hanover’s services.

After you complete the form, you will be added to the Hanover queue. After securing a place in the queue, an initial scoping call is established with Erin Waters, Grants Content Director with Hanover, to determine the scope and scale of what the researcher is seeking and to evaluate how to proceed. Erin locates the appropriate consultant and manages the timeline and correspondence with the consultant, including scheduling a debriefing call between the researcher and Hanover consultant.

Different consultants will be matched with different researchers based on project topic and target funding agency. Consultants will visit with faculty in a debriefing call after providing reviews and an overview of information contained in the review. The debriefing call is an opportunity to visit with the consultant and clarify feedback.

Timeline for Hanover processes

Below is a typical timeline for requesting and using Hanover’s services.

* For proposal review or grant writing training, plan on a 6-week process. One week means 5 working days, so be sure to account for holidays.

** For proposal revision, letter of interest (LOI), pre-proposal review, or program search to fund a project, plan on a 7-week process to grant submission.

*** For faculty consultation to discuss program fit, proposal overview (1-2 pages), review of a specific required component (e.g., logic model, data management plan, etc.), plan on a 4-week process (not considering final proposal submission).

Additional training and other services

Training falls into categories of on-demand, pre-recorded webinars through the Grants Learning Center and in the Hanover Digital Portal, and customized training sessions.

Grants Learning Center

Hanover’s Grants Learning Center provides self-paced modules to help develop successful proposals. Hanover’s modules currently focus on the NIH R-series and NSF CAREER proposals. Hanover plans to provide additional modules soon.

The two on-demand modules in the Grants Learning Center include:

1. NIH introductory course — this program is designed to strengthen PI competitiveness with NIH-specific resources, uncovering keys to success for different funding pathways. This module includes a course on NIH’s most prevalent Research Project Grants (R-series), helping PIs to decipher which R activity code best fits their research goals. The module includes tips for drafting application components for a competitive submission that aligns with the NIH’s standards and is specific to its target mechanism.
2. NSF CAREER proposals — this training is designed to support faculty in developing a complete and competitive proposal includes step-by-step guidance to help PIs know if the timing is right for them and how to best start a relationship with their CAREER program officer (PO).

To access the Grants Learning Center resources, please register on the Hanover website and use the institutional referral code Tusk.

Digital Portal

Hanover’s Digital Portal provides access to Bi-weekly Grant Funding Calendars and monthly webinars. Please register here to obtain access.

Department heads and AES administrators have access to a greater range of materials in the digital portal. Hanover has a series of dashboards to track trends and inform decision-making, including the Federal Award Benchmarking Dashboard. If you are seeking research about trends in higher education, your department head may have access to information available in the digital portal. Please contact your department head or hanover@uark.edu if you do not find what you are seeking in the digital portal.

Customized training sessions may be requested for training in specific areas of grant development. If you have a request for training, please contact hanover@uark.edu to determine if that is something that can be incorporated into the queue for all AES employees. Training will be scheduled in the queue as requested and fits between faculty consultations.

FAQs

If you have a question not answered below, please contact us at hanover@uark.edu.

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