The Grant Life Cycle

Receiving grants is more than just a case of making money. In fact, it can be the difference between studying and researching and not doing anything at all. Grants are a lifeline to the student beyond their monetary value.

That’s why it’s incredibly important to understand the life cycle of grants. Understanding this cycle, which we’ll give you the power to do within this article, will allow you to better organize, plan and execute your ambitions for receiving grants.

As we stated before, this is incredibly important. Remember, you might not think that this is necessary, but any grant procedure is competitive, so if you’re not learning this information, you might lose out to a competitor who is!

The Three Stages of The Grant Life Cycle

There are numerous processes involved in a grant life cycle. We’ve broken them down into three separate categories: The pre-award phase, the award phase and the post-award phase.

The Pre-Award Phase

The Pre-Award phase of the grant life cycle is everything that comes before you submit your application for funding. Essentially, this includes the research and planning stages. Which grants are you eligible for? What funding are you likely to receive? What is the nature of your project and what exactly do you mean to do with your grant money should you receive it?

Those are a sample of the questions you’ll need to answer.

The Award Phase                                    

The Award Phase is the point up to which the awards and grants are given to the successful candidates. From the minute you submit your application, it is being worked on by the awarding body. You may have interviews or requests for further information. Obviously, you must do your best to ensure that you achieve your aims by aligning yourself with the goals of the awarding body.

The Post-Award Phase

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. This is true about grants as much as anything else. When you have received notification of the grant, you will need to negotiate and set up your account. You will then need to deliver targets and goals. Finally, you will have to go through the closeout stage of your funding.

All of these steps are crucial in their own way. You must make sure that you (and your team, if this is a collective application) are ready for each stage before it occurs.

Final Thoughts

Many people think of attaining a grant for research or study as a simple application form to fill out. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Instead, you need to realize your project of intended study as aligned with the rules and guidance of the regulatory body. After all, you will receive funding based on your ability to appeal to the awarding body – it is not a case of the awarding body simply wishing to give you money for nothing.

Understanding the three fundamental stages and preparing for them accordingly will give you many advantages over those who neglect to do so. As always, an hour or two’s research will save you many months of extra stress further down the road.