1.3. Proposal writing service provided by the Research Administration Office

When preparing a proposal, the researchers and staff members of Tallinn University of Technology can involve the project proposal writers from the Research Administration Office, who have experience in writing various proposals. The contact details can be found on the university’s intranet.

The proposal writers can help you at three possible service levels:

Level 1. Commenting and editing proposals before submission (Contact: 3 months before deadline)

To this end, we need an almost complete proposal to have something to comment on. Please let us know of the proposal you are preparing as soon as possible, so that we can agree on the term for reviewing and commenting on the proposal. The review should preferably take place more than 2 weeks before the deadline for submitting the proposal to the funder, in order to allow time for agreeing on the amendments and modifications with the partners and incorporating them into the proposal.

Reviewing of proposals and preparation of feedback requires up to 16 hours of project writer's working hours. To plan this time for you, please contact us 3 months before the scheduled deadline for submitting your proposal! The exact time for examining and commenting on the request will then be agreed. The review should preferably take place more than 2 weeks before the deadline for submitting the proposal to the funder, in order to allow time for agreeing on the amendments and modifications with the partners and incorporating them into the proposal. On the agreed day and time, you will send all parts of your proposal to your project writer that are ready for this moment. The project writer will send back the reviewed proposal and it will be agreed whether and when the feedback meeting will take place.

Level 2. Preparing various parts of a proposal in compliance with the previously agreed schedule and scope of work  (Contact: 3 months before deadline)

Support for preparation of different parts of the application (e.g. ethics, management, budget, work plan, etc.) is offered. To ensure the free time and quality of the work of writers, contact the team of project writers at least 3 months before the deadline for submitting the application to the planned funder. Together, you will identify the parts which you need most help with and agree on who and when to help you with these parts. 

Level 3. Comprehensive consultancy for proposal development and writing (Contact: 6-12 months before deadline) 

Consulting the principle investigator, his/her team and partners on all matters related the preparation of a specific proposal: development of an idea, preparation of a work plan, schedule, budgeting, ethics, submission of the proposal to the funder, etc. To ensure feasibility of a proposal and plan time, please contact the project writers team preferably 6-12 months (but not less than 3 months) before the closing date of the call. In this case, there is also sufficient time to think through the idea, search for partners and prepare the application. As a rule, fast-track applications are not successful in intense national or international competition - the thoughtfulness and details of applications are increasingly crucial.