Support for Grant Writing

This page describes one-on-one writing support for those who are writing grant proposals. It also provides links to additional resources that will be useful to those who are writing grant proposals.

One-on-One Support

Dana Nowlin-Russell is available to consult one-on-one with Pitt faculty who are writing grant proposals. If you are brainstorming or in the early stages of working on your proposal, working with Dana in the Writing Center could be particularly helpful.

Dana regularly teaches the Grant Writing course in the English Department, and she has recently added a Grant Writing for Research course to the undergraduate course catalog. She is especially interested in helping faculty writers organize proposal information, generate and clarify ideas, work through writer’s block, and develop language appropriate for funders. 

Dana offers individual appointments on a first-come, first-served basis. You can choose to book either a one-hour appointment or a 30-minute appointment online. To make an appointment, visit the Writing Center schedule (select the in-person schedule at OSC or the online schedule) and book your appointment with Dana. This fall she is offering in-person appointments on Mondays and Tuesdays, and online appointments on Wednesdays and Thursdays.

When you are scheduling your appointment, please set clear intentions. Provide a few sentences that answer these questions: “How can we make the most out of this session?” and “What am I writing about (or what do I want to write about)?” If possible, note any relevant proposal information, such as the funder's name (if applicable), focus area(s), and deadlines. 

Questions? Email Dana

Resources

If you are a Pitt facuty member, visit the site for the Research Concierge Program. You will find links to the Proposal Editing Service and the Research Navigator.

Dominic Bordelon is a Research Data Librarian with ULS who can consult with faculty on their data management plans.

The Office of Sponsored Program's Research Development Team offers a wealth of resources, including guidelines and examples for NEH, NIH, NSF, and Fulbright proposals.

And they can help you learn to use Pivot in order to identify potential grant opportunities.

If you are a faculty member in the DSAS, you can consult with the new grant writers Pearl Nielsen and Jacki Weaver, who work with the Sponsored Projects team. They can help with the development of grant proposals, letters of intent, progress reports, and other related documents, including both technical and non-technical documents such as biographical sketches and facilities descriptions. If you are a faculty member interested in seeking the services of the grant writers on an upcoming project, please contact Jeff Petsis, Director of Sponsored Projects Administration in the Dietrich School (jwp60@pitt.edu) as early as possible in the process. 

Examples

Sometimes writers find it useful to see examples of successful grants. 

Open Grants is an open repository of funding proposals that you can browse.

You can browse successful National Endowment for the Humanities funded projects from the University of Pittsburgh.

You can also browse funded Mellon Foundation projects from Pitt faculty.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services maintains a list of funded grants, and you can see projects specifically from the University of Pittsburgh.