"The GREW fellowship has been an eye-opener for me," said Erica Forsberg, a biochemistry professor. "This program has been extremely supportive of my grant
writing efforts and has also opened communication between myself and other new faculty
for potential collaborative projects."
Grants Research and Enterprise Writing Fellowship
Former GREW fellow Jeremy Long researches relationships between plants and their herbivores, and how these interactions shape ecosystems.
What is GREW?
The Grants Research and Enterprise Writing (GREW) fellowship teaches early-career faculty members how to communicate effectively with grant officers, develop successful proposals and share their research with media and other stakeholders. The program began in 2014.
GREW highlighted in SDSU NewsCenter!
Benefits of participating
In addition to learning a lot about successful proposal development, fellows receive a $3,000 stipend and many have participated in trips to Washington, D.C. to visit major funding organizations and meet grant officers face-to-face. Plus, fellows have a much higher proposal approval rate than the national average.
Key lessons
- How to write effective funding requests
- How to communicate and pitch themselves to a variety of audiences
- How to research funding opportunities
- How to build relationships with collaborators and influential program officers
- How to work with the media
How to apply
Contact John McMillian and/or Nadia Campbell, directors of research advancement at SDSU. GREW occurs two to three times a year and cohorts are generally kept small. Space is limited.
Measures of success
The GREW Fellowship program is in its 8th year of supporting new faculty in the development of their research programs. Of the 166 faculty who have participated to date, 81% have submitted at least one research proposal. Grew Fellows submitted 315 proposals in FY 20-21, bringing the total number of proposals submitted to 1,293. In FY 20-21 GREW Fellows received 93 awards totaling $16.9M, generating $4M in F&A. This brings the total number of awards to 497, generating $65.3M in research funding and $14.6M in F&A since its inception in 2014.
GREW testimonials
“Writing a grant is about a lot more than writing a grant," says Jeffrey Gustafson, a chemistry professor. "It's an entire endeavor, and GREW really hits that home."
“Part of grant writing is being efficient because we all have a limited amount of
time available and constructing proposals is a huge effort," says Byron Purse, a chemistry professor, "so we learned how to have the right conversations with the
right people to increase the odds of funding.”
“Before, it felt like applying for research grants was like playing the lottery,” says Melody Schiaffino, a public health professor. “Now I feel I have a chance. This fast-forwarded me a few years.”
"GREW was especially valuable to me in learning and practicing aspects of grant preparation beyond the writing process," says Christal Sohl, a chemistry professor. "This program gives its fellows confidence and means to develop relationships with program officers."
"This program is perhaps one of the most valuable faculty enrichment programs that SDSU has to offer," says Rebecca Bartel, a religious studies professor. "I can say confidently that my grant writing skills have improved, I have learned invaluable lessons about the culture of granting agencies, and developed best practices for being in the top of a very competitive arena."