Grant Writing and Funding (GWF) Program
Accelerating impactful research through the mobilization of resources
Quality research and social innovation require resources and partnerships. As a researcher, you are responsible for everything from preparation to write-up. Each piece of the research process has a cost, whether in money or time. Because we care so much about the outcomes of the research, we may find ourselves writing off costs, self-funding aspects of the research, or severely limiting the scope of our work. The ever-increasing demands for rigorous research mean that we need to develop and implement cutting-edge research designs and tools. This comes at an increasing cost. The Grant Writing and Funding (GWF) Program 2025 is about identifying the true cost of our research and the real value that our research and social innovation have for key stakeholders and broader society. When we know how to articulate the value of our work, we can garner significant resources and engage broader audiences for social impact.
About the Program
The Grant Writing and Funding Program is a flagship program of the Leaders of Africa Institute. The program builds on the curriculum of the Institute’s award-winning Research Methods Program by offering personalized mentorship, stakeholder and resource mobilization skills, rigorous and advanced grant writing instruction, and a supportive international research community. The program is open to all fields and to individuals from all countries internationally. It is a perfect fit for researchers, lecturers and professors, graduate students, practitioners, monitoring and evaluation specialists, institutional administrators, and social innovators.
Important Dates & Info
Applications Open: January 23, 2025
Applications Close: February 21, 2025
Program Dates: March 2025 – May 2025
Program Format:
Live Virtual Cloud Classroom (3 hours per week) and Individual Meetings with Professors
- Applications Open: January 23, 2025
- Applications Deadline: February 21, 2025
- Program Dates: March 2025 - May 2025
- Program Format: Live Virtual Cloud Classroom (3 hours per week) and Individual Meetings with Professors
Features
Finding and Assessing Funding Opportunities
The Grant Writing and Funding (GWF) Program provides instruction and support for finding and assessing grant opportunities. Putting together a funding application is time-consuming. Therefore, one of the key tenets of funding success is applying to the right opportunities and not chasing every existing opportunity. In the GWF, we cover different types of funding opportunities, where to find quality opportunities, how to read a call for proposals, and how to assess the fit for our research projects. We will also discuss background research on funding opportunities, including using specialized tools and platforms for sourcing grants and interpreting a funder’s existing portfolio of support. Assessing funding opportunities is the first step in understanding what the funder actually wants and requires.
Crafting Grant Proposals
Grant writing is just one genre of research writing and has a specific set of expectations. During the program, we examine different rubrics for assessing grant proposals and discuss how the assessment criteria should shape our approach to the grant proposal. The program covers standard and non-standard grant proposal templates. In the program, we provide instruction on how to exceed the expectations for each section of a grant proposal (e.g., framing, work plan, original contribution, social impact, and public engagement). We also discuss implementing tools like LaTeX for writing proposals, as well as the ethical implementation of AI tools for bringing together information to help brainstorm the framing of grant proposals. Recognizing its importance for a successful proposal, we prioritize effectively communicating the value of our research and social impact efforts by highlighting strategies for measuring and articulating social impact clearly.
Transparent Budgeting
A major part of a grant proposal or application is the financial ask. The program covers processes for creating budgets that will reasonably cover the research and social innovation work from start to finish and how to justify budgetary items in the funding proposal.
Research Writing
Grant writing involves framing your research and social innovation work and emphasizing the expected impact in ways that can be understood by reviewers within and outside (or adjacent to) your area of expertise. Many calls for proposals and applications are broad enough that non-experts may review your proposal. In the program, we practice balancing our in-depth field knowledge with accessibility.
Engagement with Funding Stakeholders
Engaging with relevant organizations and individuals in advance of sharing a grant proposal can be beneficial in most cases. Many times, this occurs indirectly through our previous research and collaborations, and other times directly by reaching out to relevant stakeholders. The program provides approaches to strategically engaging with stakeholders so that mobilizing support and resources becomes more likely and consistent.
Personal Mentorship
The program offers mentoring and a personalized relationship with instructors. The program also offers a framework for international networking and building research relationships that span the globe. Scholars will also have access to the Leaders of Africa Institute’s professional network.
Benefits & Qualifications
Official LoAI Certificate
A Partial or Completed Grant for a Specific Opportunity OR a Template for Future Opportunities
Experience with Grant Budgeting
Access to the Leaders of Africa Institute Professional Network
Application Requirements
- Basic contact information
- Curriculum vitae / resume
- Statement of Interest (maximum of 500 words)
- What are your research, thematic, and professional interests?
- What shaped your interest in research and/or social innovation?
- What do you hope to learn from the Grant Writing and Funding Program at the Leaders of Africa Institute?
- What is your experience applying for research funding and grants? What successes have you had and what challenges have you faced? If you do not have experience, you can share this.
- How will this program help you meet or achieve your career and educational goals?
