Here's how you can avoid the consequences of missing grant application deadlines.

The preparation for the grant application is very tricky business to consolidate ideas and documents. If it's happening in team work, then one should be nominated as time keeper to alert ?? all regarding deadlines. This activity gives good results to meet all deadlines. If, application is missed then the exercise needed to be postmortem and weak areas needed to be improved before appearing for another application process.

Set milestones (could be different parts of the application) and timeframe for completing each of the set milestones. It may also be helpful to allocate the team lead for each milestone who will keep track and check of the progress before the set timeframe. This will ensure that every important part of the application is given sufficient time and resources before putting the whole application together.

Capture planning must commence way in advance before opportunities become live so that there is ample time for competitor analysis, consortia formation, resource acquisition for financing pre-award costs like needs assessments, design workshops etc. An opportunity development calendar is vital and must include critical milestones in a RACI format i.e. responsible, accountable, consulted and informed; a chronological sequence of the timelines from the intel gathering, research, signage of pre and/or teaming agreements/MoUs, setting up of a centralised virtual repository, writing, reviews, sign offs and submission as well the overall opportunity coordinators/managers at various levels i.e. In-country and Support/Member Office level.

after identifying the opportunities, score the most relevant CfPs and rank then, estimate working days, add them all up and see results. Choose wisely!

Attend as many pre-NOFO webinars and comment periods for specific grant-making programs and agencies as you are able. If you can ask questions early on and/or submit your own specific comments, this will better position you or your client when the the grant hits the streets and it is "go time".

Well, well, well. Good timing is everything in proposal writing, so delegate wisely also... if you wany to control the process rather than delegate seek collaborations, co-workers usually struggle to process data and format it. So delegate the data collection but note necessarily the production of the final text or section. But certainly, delegate on those you know you can count (only), and if nonetheless you do delegate on the you cannot trust so much and you do not want to miss the deadline, coach them closely, it is more than just check ups!

Creating and curating a spreadsheet or other tracking tool online with the factors and tasks clearly parsed out is key. Make sure that you have not only the names of the right leads / supporters / resources filled in for every line item, but also contact information, due dates, and levels of importance. Be sure to set a schedule and keep it updated on a near-religious basis.

The RACI matrix is handy in terms of specifying who is responsible and accountable for what, who must be consulted on what and who must be kept informed on what. This clear delineation of tasks provides clarity about what is expected from all concerned parties to avoid dropping of balls to a great extent because I have come to learn from experience that 'everybody's responsibility is ultimately nobody's responsibility.

Explore organizations that help grant-writers, such as the Grant Professionals Association. Project management and file-sharing tools such as Microsoft Teams, Google Docs, ClickUp, and other collaboration platforms, can be effective for facilitating grant writing across teams. There are many great resources out there that can be very effective when used properly. For example, writing AIs like ChatGPT can be used to help outline grants and determine grant timelines. When using these tools, it’s important to fact-check information to ensure accuracy. It’s important to add a touch of human connection to anything ChatGPT does, as its work can come across as robotic and impersonal.

..."meetings" sounds very serious and tie consuming. I would prefer to create a WhatsApp or email group to keep people updated or progress at any given moment. Use meetings to review finalised drafts such as the workplan, budget, narrative of LFM only.

I have also come to discover that WhatsApp groups specific to the grant opportunity are also very instrumental in ensuring team collaboration and follow ups over the somewhat formal setups like Teams, S4B Slack etc.

Building common understanding and managing expectation and cascading the key requirements of the donnor and clear understanding of how to turn those requirements in to action and doing the necessary resource on the ground to lead the action

Complete a synopsis of the grant requirements including any matching components. Review if the goals of the grant are matched by your organization. Timelines, timelines, timelines. Also, how is the grant to be submitted - mail, in person, or online (what is their process). Creative ideas on how to intrigue the grant owners - the "hook."

Sometimes guidelines are not very clear and AI can help. Feed it the guidelines, ask an specific question in various forms and ask for justification to each reply. AI can also go find examples of projects funded by the dame donor and tell you what the percentage was. BUT never work without clear understanding of ach and every requirement in the guidelines!

It is important to fully comprehend the grant guidelines in terms of what is allowable and what is not, if match funding is required or not and what type as well as amount of co-financing is expected be it cash or in kind, what costs are eligible or not, what consortia configuration are allowable or not, what kind of data is admissible or not etc., what submission format is expected e.g. virtual and/or print/hard copy etc..

Give yourself time and avoid choosing to apply to a CfP for which you know the time available is going to be short. Quality, attention to detail and full coherence across application document are PARAPINT. Do not risk, do not rush or chances of wining will be very slim and it is about winning, rather than applying!