How to Write a Winning Proposal

1. Make sure SARE is the right granting program for your project.  Take a few moments to review the proposal guidelines, focal areas and evaluation criteria in the Call for Proposals for your region. Every year, we receive a number of well-written, well-designed proposals that don't clearly address SARE's unique goals and criteria.

2. SARE encourages proposals that involve extension educators and farmers in every phase of the project. The strongest proposals clearly demonstrate that the project will be relevant to producers, providing practical answers to their questions. The best way to accomplish this goal is to involve extension educators and farmers in the planning, design and implementation of the project.

3. Collaborate.  SARE encourages projects that examine multiple issues simultaneously. To be successful, such projects must involve a variety of disciplines.

4. Look beyond state lines, both in terms of direct project participants and your eventual outreach audience. SARE is a regional program. Your project stands a better chance if it addresses issues in a way that's relevant to several states and builds on the expertise and knowledge available regionally.

5. Keep the writing simple.  Proposals with clear objectives and methods are generally the most successful.

6. Help reviewers understand the importance of your project. Don't assume reviewers are intimately familiar with the issues your proposal addresses. SARE's technical review panels are composed of farmers and experts in a variety of disciplines.

7.  Avoid jargon. Also be sure to spell out the full names of any acronyms.

8.  Make sure the methods and team are appropriate to accomplish your goals.  If the project involves experimentation, are plot sizes, replications, and controls adequate to provide meaningful information? Be sure to consult with a statistician in developing your experimental design. Also, make sure the proposal shows that your team has both the background and expertise to carry out the project.

9.  Have someone proofread your proposal. A fresh set of eyes can help you identify sections that are unclear and catch typographical errors.

10. Follow directions. Every year, proposals are disqualified because the writer failed to follow general format directions regarding the number of pages, appendices, fonts, spacing etc.  Reviewers rank proposals lower when writers fail to follow instructions regarding what content goes in which section of the proposal.

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