Another Successful Cohort is Launched Grant Writers' Bootcamp 2021

As part of the effort to enhance faculty development and grant writing capabilities, the Office of Research hosted Chapman University’s third Grant Writers’ Bootcamp on August 17th and 18th. Participants were required to submit a proposal for seed funding and were selected based on their proposal potential.  This spectacular class was composed of a diverse group of 27 faculty from a variety of disciplines and departments across campus. Their efforts were supported by faculty mentors with gained experience in funded research, as well as by the Office of Research staff and guest speakers from funding agencies with deep knowledge of proposal development.

The cohort heard from a panel of successful investigators,  grant recipient veterans who discussed the elements of a great proposal, as well as attended breakout sessions given by guests from the NEH, NIA, and a previous administrator from the NSF. The cohort was placed in discipline-specific working groups and then guided through the grant simulation process, from proposal development to award notification.  Post workshop, participants will revise their original proposal and upon successful submission will receive a seed grant of $4,000 from the Office of Research.

Bootcamp participant feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the majority reporting that the Bootcamp increased their knowledge of the diverse funding opportunities available to them,  their awareness of the key elements of a successful proposal, as well as the tools and resources available to them at Chapman University. In the words of the participants,

“I appreciated the expert feedback from our group’s mentor the most; this was invaluable.”

“The peer review panel  was my favorite – I wasn’t sure how effective it would be, but it turned out to be a great resource and our group is actually going to continue meeting during fall & spring semesters!!”

“I most appreciated that I got a broader view about what agencies look for, and how I can improve my storytelling to make it more accessible for reviewers.”

On behalf of the Office of Research, we would like to thank all the participants including the faculty, guest speakers, and mentors who attended and supported the 2021 Chapman Grant Writers’ Bootcamp. This will likely be offered again next year with an announcement coming out in spring 2022.