You are likely reading this because you had a proposal rejected. If so, welcome to the club! The good news is that proposal rejection is just part of the process and provides you with an opportunity to improve your grantsmanship, and write a stronger proposal with a clearer vision. Our team recently published an extensive Canvas module in our Grantsmanship Learning Lab focusing on Revising and Resubmitting proposals, but here are a few of our tips for sorting through reviewer comments when revising and resubmitting a grant.

Approach comments with productive mindset

Take time to process your frustration and disappointment, allowing your emotions time to subside before diving into your reviewer comments. Important things to remember:

• Most proposals are not funding on the first attempt
• Rejection of a proposal ≠ a rejection of your interests, work, or project
• Resubmission offers a learning opportunity and often makes your next proposal better

Sorting through your feedback

When you’re ready, go through the feedback systematically. Sort it by topic, priority, and/or section. Make notes for how to revise and respond to each critique. Don’t forget to collect the positive comments (look for green lights)! Keep track of how consistent (or not) the feedback is across reviewers to get a sense of how ubiquitous the issues are.

Proposal critiques often fall into common categories (below are just a few), so think about the areas where you need to improve.

• Administrative -> mistakes following instructions, formatting, or guidelines
• Investigator -> issues with PI experience or eligibility
• Project design -> scope too big or too small, topic not suitable, issues with methodology
• Budget -> inaccurate, inappropriate, or inconsistent with the project

Do you need to add, subtract, or just clarify?

Sometimes, poor scores and critical comments are due to factors that influence the reading of your work, such as clarity, readability, visual appeal, and storytelling efficacy. When sorting your feedback, reflect on whether the critiques are really about elements that need to be added or taken out, or whether the issue stems from how your ideas are presented (both in terms of writing as well as visuals).

Respond thoughtfully

When you’re ready to start integrating revisions, remember "There is nothing to gain and everything to lose by contesting a comment" (Ogden & Goldberg, 2002). Even if you disagree with a reviewer comment, use it as an opportunity to develop better ways to convince a skeptical reviewer that you have carefully thought through the plan that you presented. And, when you're ready, it's always a good idea to discuss the feedback with colleagues, peers, your program officer, and/or research development professionals (like our team) before resubmitting!

Ogden, T. E., & Goldberg, I. A. (2002). Research proposals: A guide to success. Academic Press.