Do I Need a Grant Writer or a Project Manager?
Writing a grant proposal requires much more than just a grant writer. It requires content experts, the implementation team (including folx who will be responsible for managing the financial part of any grant award), and sign off from whichever executive is guiding the organization’s strategy. Over the years, I have learned that so much of what is required of me as a grant writer is to play the role of project manager.
When prospective clients approach me, nine times out of ten they are looking for a project manager. I didn’t always appreciate that. It’s taken more than two years of meeting with people as a consultant, learning about their work and their capital needs, to hear beyond the compelling statistics about their program, the good they’re working to affect in the world, to understand the basic need: Will you manage this process for me?
Tips for Success When Contracting Out Project Management
With that in mind, it’s important to understand that the process looks a little different when you hire a consultant rather than a dedicated, internal project manager. There are likely to be challenges with accessing files, login information, and navigating the organization. Here are a few tips for success when thinking about hiring a consultant to manage a grant proposal or an entire portfolio:
Ensure access. This can mean different versions of the same thing depending on your organization. Access to passwords. Access to the right personnel. Access to files and folders. Without access, forward movement is challenging.
Agree on benchmarks. This one is fairly easy when you’re working on a single grant proposal with clearly defined deadlines and deliverables. It can get a little trickier when you’re working on prospecting or managing a portfolio. Many small tasks add up to a lot of time without the same sort of deliverables you might find in a creative project or a single application. Be sure to get comfortable on both sides when lining up benchmarks for this sometimes-amorphous work.
Identify and remove bottlenecks. A major part of project management is preemptively avoiding obstacles through careful planning. But when you’re working with a consultant operating outside your organization, avoiding some of those challenges can take on a different tone. Set everyone up for success by identifying roles and responsibilities early on in the engagement. That sometimes includes a helpful reminder at the executive level.
And that’s it! Trust each other and your roadmap, and you will get it done.
