After submitting a proposal, you feel a big sense of relief. Take a break; it’s well deserved. However, don’t fall into the trap of putting funding out of your mind as you wait for a decision. Many, if not most, decisions arrive later than you might have expected.

PIs are often are surprised by the length of time that takes. They are understandably anxious. Having been on the inside, I’m familiar with the reasons decisions or announcements can be delayed. They often include difficulty lining up evaluators and budget delays. It’s nothing to worry about.

While a proposal is pending, continue to pursue funding. This may or may not mean writing other proposals. If you decide to take a break from proposals, focus on outreach.

PIs underestimate the amount of outreach they should be doing. Here’s why you want to keep things moving forward when proposal outcomes are unknown:

• ‘Pending’ periods are often longer than expected. Six months can turn to nine quickly. Be patient.

• Actually, you’ll feel more confident (not desperate!) in conversations with funders when you have something pending, rather than having just received a rejection.

• You’ll be better able to ramp up effort if you get a decline, rather than starting a new push from scratch.

•  The outreach you do in this period can lead to putting Plan B in place if the pending proposal isn’t supported.

• You become conditioned to, and comfortable with, a continuous proposal cycle. Efforts to acquire funding should not be something you ever shut down. While important, this need not mean that your efforts will always be of the same intensity.

Yes, one needs breaks from proposal writing. With that in mind, here are a few high-value actions that do not involve much writing:

• Use LinkedIn to connect with funders, industry figures and potential collaborators.

• Email requests for meetings with funders. Some will require a whitepaper before meeting, but not all will. Set up those meetings.

• Reach out to PIs you’ve spoken with about collaborations to possibly advance those conversations.

• Consider up-leveling outreach and/or work with your community, inquiring about potential opportunities there.

• Search funder categories you don’t normally consider, such as foundations.

Last week I wrote about taking care of yourself. That’s important. I’m not saying you’ve got to be in a constant go mode. But while a proposal is pending, ensure you don’t neglect the housekeeping fundamentals.

If you maintain momentum, you’ll feel less bad with a Decline. And when you get an Accept and you’ve made parallel progress, you’ll be thrilled. You can’t lose with this approach.

Registration Now Open 🥳 

For the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) PI Intensive for New Faculty and Researchers: Building the Tools for Your Career in Research

This day-and-a-half workshop will take place in Chicago on October 24-25th.

We will dive into topics such as

✔️ Understanding the responsibilities of a principal investigator
✔️ Developing competitive grant applications
✔️ Negotiating effectively with your institution
✔️ Employing project management approaches in research

I am co-leading this event. Please see this page for more information and to register. Note that this is an SRAI (not a Wise Investigator) event.

It would be wonderful to meet some newsletter subscribers in person in Chicago. Please send me an email ([email protected]) if you have any questions. 👋 

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 10-week program to get you there.

Want a done-for-you website that highlights your research impact? Let us do that for you. (We even write all the content for you!)

Ready to book a call to discuss our training, websites, or to have Dr. Barzyk provide training at your institution? Let’s chat!