The Grant Writing Spectrum: Generalists to Specialists When you start working on a grant topic that is unfamiliar to you, is this exciting or does it cause alarm bells to ring inside your head? As grant writers, we are often confronted with new (and challenging) applications and guidelines and must dig deep into our trove of grants knowledge to craft strong, and hopefully winning, proposals. Some of us are confronted with an ever‐changing assortment of proposal topics and types while others specialize in a specific area, and we should think about how each approach helps shape the writing process. Let’s start at the beginning: What is a generalist vs. a specialist? I consider a generalist to be someone who can prepare an application on a multitude of topics‐‐anything from health and human services to education to environmental conservation. The types of applications can vary from responding to federal and state requests for proposals (RFPs) to crafting proposals that fit online corporate foundation guidelines to preparing letters of inquiry. These folks tend to focus more on the process of writing and creating a strong proposal rather than cultivating a particular field of expertise such as healthcare or K‐
12 education. On the other hand, specialists seem to focus more on a particular niche, application type, or topic area, and many of them are subject matter experts (e.g.., those with PhDs in hard sciences). While crafting a strong proposal is still important for these writers, the specialists are able to use a unique, in‐depth knowledge set that they weave into the narrative. Over the course of one’s career, it is possible to flow between Generalist and Specialist roles, and it is important to have a little bit of both in order to be a successful grant writer. You can start out as a federal grant writing specialist, but then begin to focus on grants for which you have been most successful (such as public safety) and build up your adaptability to respond to different RFPs. What are the pros of being a generalist vs. a specialist? Specialist Generalist  Increased flexibility and adaptability to write  Strong subject matter expertise in a about unfamiliar topics particular field or series of topics  Broad range of expertise  Increased likelihood of providing in‐depth  Ability to quickly gather information to adapt review support on applications where into different proposals knowledge of a particular subject is  Strong awareness of multiple proposal types paramount and the requirements of each one  Ability to focus on writing particular  Writes applications on a multitude of applications programs or for different types of clients  Strong technical writing with access to specific information to strengthen proposal Which path should you take? Let’s consider the following:  Do you work with multiple clients or for an organization that has multiple programs?  Is your educational background in a certain topic area or do you have varied levels of expertise?  Do you enjoy writing particular types of grants?  Are you more successful in some grants more than others? 
Are you comfortable working on applications for which you have limited experience or do you prefer having a fair amount of background on the topic? If you want to build up your skills as a specialist, join an association, read trade journals, or participate in trainings on the topic. If you need to enhance your skills as a generalist, learn more about the grant writing process and how to gather information to enhance your application submissions. The GPA Conference is coming up‐‐this is a great opportunity to beef up your skills and figure out where you fit in the spectrum of grant writers.