Introduction

You’re rolling the dice, you’re going to apply for the career grant. You have analyzed the funding agency’s and your own situation and defined your strategy. Now you are ready for the exciting step of writing the proposal. The list below gives several keys to success:

• Plan. This is the detailed script for the scientific work to come: what, when, where, by whom, in what order, and with what risks. It will be evaluated by the panel members and reviewers, some of whom may be pretty experienced in your field, while others will be less knowledgeable of the specifics but will still have long experience of running scientific projects. How can you write a convincing script?

• Impact. Now predict the success your script will have. What types of success should you think of upon completion of the work plan? And how about successes in the mid- and long-term, perhaps long after the work plan has been finished? When would your prediction seem realistic in the eye of the evaluators?

• Abstract. Does your abstract outline your main problem, your reasons for tackling it, the predicted success, and the most convincing factors showing how you are going to achieve this success?

• Title. Does your title clearly reflect the intention of your scientific proposal? Which title formats work best?

• Budget. Have you asked the funding agency for enough money (but no more than strictly required) to finance all that you have promised to do in your work plan? And how can you actually know or reasonably estimate the costs?

• Résumé. Does your résumé demonstrate your leadership with a track record packed with convincing facts, exciting facts, astonishing facts? Do the most important ones really stand out well?