WRITING RETREAT

You are invited to apply to participate in a 6-month social science research proposal writing group that will lead you through the process of conceptualizing, writing, and submitting a grant proposal for submission to the National Science Foundation or other federal or private funder. Each group of 6-8 faculty members will be facilitated by an experienced faculty member or research development professional with a record of submitting and winning social science grants.

Purpose

Writing groups will meet virtually at least once a month from November 2023 to May 2024, excluding the month of December. Writers will receive tips on communicating with agency program directors, instruction in strategically writing a competitive proposal, assistance with composing a budget and budget justification, peer review feedback from the mentor and other writers in your group, and advice on working with your campus grants office to submit the final proposal package. Mentors may also assist groups in scheduling additional “Write on Site” sessions to facilitate writing accountability. We expect to convene up to ten groups of 6-8 writers in each group, and they will be organized by discipline, topic area, grant submission deadline, and/or target grant program.

Application Timeline

Deadline: Friday, September 29, 2023 at 11:59pm PDT.
Notification: Applicants will be notified of their application status by Monday, October 9th, 2023.

APPLY HERE

Eligibility

Social and behavioral scientists who hold full time ladder-rank faculty appointments at any of the campuses of the California State University and University of California are eligible to apply. Applicants are also required to have attended or watched the recording of any three CAHSSA webinars, which can be accessed here: https://cahssa.ucsb.edu/webcast-resources/. Participants should be ready to start writing or revising an existing grant proposal that they intend to submit in the next year. You should expect to dedicate an average of 6-8 hours per month on proposal writing and attending synchronous virtual meetings with your group. You must be willing to review draft grant proposals from your group members and give constructive feedback as well as receive constructive feedback on your proposal.

Application Submission Process

Applications must be submitted by Friday, September 29, 2023 at 11:59pm PDT.
The application form will ask for your: 

  • Name
  • Contact information
  • Institutional and disciplinary affiliations
  • Target funding agency(ies) and program(s)
  • Project title and keywords
  • 250 word synopsis of your proposed research project
  • List of 3+ CAHSSA webinars attended (or recordings that were viewed)

Questions about the CAHSSA Mentored Writing Groups can be directed to: CAHSSA@research.ucsb.edu

Writing Group Code of Conduct

  • Commit to attending all required group meetings – missing part or all of a meeting decreases the value of your participation and negatively impacts your group members.
  • Keep the content and quality of the draft proposals confidential.
  • Don’t plagiarize or borrow ideas from others in your group.
  • You are expected to provide feedback to your peers in a timely manner, either in writing or verbally at group meetings.
  • All feedback and interactions should be collegial, sincere, constructive, and intended to strengthen each other’s writing

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