Amazingly, it has already been about a year since we started sharing these bi-weekly grant writing tips, and so it seems like a good time to share how the UC Davis Proposal Development Services (PDS) team helps University of California, Davis researchers apply for extramural funding! 

What our team does... 

Our job typically begins when faculty email us with a funding opportunity that they are excited about (or frustrated, or possibly overwhelmed with...) and are looking for guidance on how to create the most competitive proposal possible. We aim to reduce any pain points in the grant writing process by assisting with: 

• Understanding agency and program guidelines 
• Interpreting reviewer feedback to prepare a resubmission 
• Checklists and workflow calendars to plan out proposal preparations 
• Developmental editing to help build a strong proposal foundation 
• Pivoting a proposal for a different agency/program 
• Coordinating collaborative and center proposals 
• Guidance for preparing supplemental documents 
• Budget support where appropriate 
• Copy editing and final checks 

What we also do... 

Some investigators reach out to us because they have never applied for a grant before and do not have a clear idea of what funding they could (or should) apply for, while others are simply looking to learn more about grant writing itself! In these cases, our team assists by: 

• Helping early career faculty develop a funding plan 
• Introducing researchers to UC Davis resources for finding funding 
• Guiding researchers to other helpful resources on campus 
• Sharing our extensive resources for improving grantsmanship 
• Hosting presentations and workshops on grantsmanship 

How to get our help

Our team is here to support UC Davis faculty of all disciplines and career stages fund their work, so UCD investigators are welcome to reach out to us at pds@ucdavis.edu. And if you’re still in the early stages of looking for funding, we recommend starting with the Office of Research’s Funding Opportunities page where you can sign up for weekly funding newsletters and search for funding opportunities!