Grant Writing as Strategic Communication

Strong proposals don’t simply present good ideas—they frame them persuasively, structure them clearly, and communicate their value to readers outside the applicant’s field. This is not just an administrative task; it is a rhetorical and strategic exercise.

I support individuals and institutions in developing high-quality proposals through consulting, editing, training, and co-authorship. My focus is on helping applicants articulate their ideas more effectively, with particular attention to language, structure, and audience orientation.

Since 2016, I have been training and supporting researchers in developing effective, persuasive grant proposals. My work combines theoretical insight with practical experience as a professional grant writer, offering an engaging and critical external perspective. I work with both early-career and established researchers to help them communicate their ideas more clearly, position their projects strategically, and successfully secure funding.

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Expert Support for Grant and Award Applications

Consulting and strategic feedback
External perspective is essential: it’s often difficult to translate disciplinary knowledge into compelling proposals for non-expert evaluators. I work with researchers to sharpen their positioning, structure their content, and align their proposals with funder priorities.

Rhetorical editing and sparring partnering
I act as a critical reader, challenging content and assumptions where needed and refining the language to strengthen clarity and impact. This applies to both content development and final-stage editing.

Proposal co-authoring and development
I collaborate closely with applicants in drafting or revising proposals. This includes both early-stage conceptual development and late-stage refinement.

My approach to grant writing is grounded in the understanding that it is a promotional genre—effective proposals require clear positioning, persuasive language, and strategic framing. Central to this is the way problems are articulated: value emerges when a proposal clearly defines the problem it addresses and demonstrates its relevance beyond the applicant’s own field. A strong structural logic is also essential, with goals, methods, outputs, and outcomes clearly aligned. Just as importantly, writing is not simply a way of presenting ideas—it is a thinking process in itself. Through writing, ideas are refined, clarified, and made more compelling.

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Grant Writing Workshop

I offer a practical workshop and 1:1 coaching that introduces researchers to international grant writing as a persuasive genre. My work addresses:

• The rhetorical structure of successful proposals
• Framing project ideas in terms of problems, solutions, and impact
• Aligning goals, objectives, actions, and outputs
• Using writing as a thinking and planning tool
• Practical and ethical uses of AI within the grant writing process

Below are examples of materials I have developed for use on this workshop. They are freely available to use (with correct attributions).

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It was a real pleasure to work with Paul. He has an outstanding expertise of in-depth copy editing of EU project proposals and provided an excellent and careful guiding for the design of our application. Although we thought to have a clear set of ideas for the content of our text, he improved the strategic outline with perfect formulations and the appropriate style for the call. We were amazed by the product which came out.

Dr Gabriele Slezak
Head of Public Relations & Scientific Communication / Austrian Foundation for Development Research (ÖFSE)

I participated in the training on “Grants and Funding Applications – Writing Proposals in English” by Paul Talbot and found it great! The training was clear and well-structured and the content both interesting and useful. Although it took place online, Paul managed to keep it interactive, organized constructive and fun group exercises and managed to create a real group dynamic. All along, he was very attentive to our questions and needs and prepared a very complete training documentation that I will definitely use for my future projects. I enjoyed this training a lot and can only recommend it!

Mag. Sandra Benecci
PhD Student / Department for African Studies, University of Vienna

Seit 2021 arbeiten wir im Rahmen der Verleihung des HR Excellence in Research Labels der Europäischen Kommission an die mdw – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien eng mit Paul zusammen. Er übersetzte und redigierte äußerst anspruchsvolle Texte – darunter Richtlinien und einen umfangreichen, mehrteiligen Projektantrag. Dank seiner Expertise im Grant Writing und seines fundierten Verständnisses des akademischen Kontexts gelang es ihm, das komplexe Setting einer Kunstuniversität bestmöglich abzubilden. Der Erfolg spricht für sich. Wir danken Paul für sein Engagement und freuen uns auf die weitere Zusammenarbeit im Rahmen des Projekts. 

Julia Kordina
HRS4R Project Lead – mdw- University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna ​​

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