Start the grant proposal that could fund the next five years of your research.
Three live classes, three co-working sessions, and one focused week to go from "I should really apply for that grant" to a proposal in motion. Especially for scientists preparing for ERC, NWO, DFG and other competitive funding.
Live on Zoom · Replays included
For PIs and postdocs ready to actually start the grant proposal they've been postponing… A strategy you can stick to for all your future funding instead of a deadline-season panic you'd rather forget!
Maybe since last year. Maybe longer.
You have the publications. You have the ideas (probably too many of them, if we're honest). Your colleagues keep telling you that you should go for that ERC, that Vidi, that fellowship.
And every September you tell yourself this is the year.
Then the semester starts. The teaching, the supervision, the reviews you said yes to in a weak moment. The proposal moves quietly to the bottom of the list, where it waits until the deadline gets close enough to be scary.
And THAT is when it finally gets written. In six frantic weeks, squeezed between everything else, sounding more like a very long scientific paper than the ambitious vision it was supposed to be.
Reviewers can tell. I promise you, they can tell.
Here is what I've learned after working with hundreds of researchers on their funding: the difference between the proposals that get funded and the ones that get "unfortunately, on this occasion" is rarely the quality of the science. It's the strategy, the story, and the time the writer gave themselves to develop both.
It's mid-September. The semester chaos is arriving, as it does. But this time your grant idea is defined. You know which call you're writing for and why. You have a realistic timeline that doesn't depend on a miraculously quiet month appearing in your agenda (spoiler: it won't).
And you've already written the first pieces of it, sitting alongside other researchers doing exactly the same thing.
The researchers who win big grants are usually the ones who start early enough. So they have time to think, to read, to write, and to discuss all that with their support team.
That start is what this workshop week gives you.
One week, live on Zoom, to kickstart your next grant proposal.
From 7 to 10 September, we meet for three live classes, each followed by a co-working session where you apply what you just learned to your own proposal.
There is also a self-study day in the middle, because thinking time is part of the method, and I want you to have it while we're together.
This is a working week. You won't leave with a folder of notes to revisit "when things calm down". You'll leave with your grant idea defined and on paper, your strategy mapped for the coming months, and all the support around you arranged.
Start the grant proposal that could fund the next five years of your research.
Most scientists waste MONTHS struggling to start. You can solve it in ONE workshop for just 47€ (+VAT)
✨ Your grant idea, defined and sharpened into something a panel can fall in love with (even if you arrive with three half-formed ideas, or none at all).
✨ A realistic timeline from today to submission, built around your actual semester, so you always know what to work on next and when.
✨ The first pieces of your proposal already written, because with three co-working sessions, you start writing during the week itself.
✨ A renewed confidence that yes, you can write this proposal, and that your idea deserves the funding.
We start with the honest question: why do you actually want this grant? (The answer shapes everything, and it's rarely what people write in their motivation letters.)
✨ We'll focus on the first trap that stops excellent researchers from ever submitting: How to generate and choose the idea that's worth your next years of work?
✨ You'll identify your storyline that is best for the panel where you'll submit.
✨ We'll then use our custom GPT to help you define your idea, and work with a custom workbook with questions that will help you clarify it further.
Block it in your calendar as if it were a class, because it is one.
You'll work on your grant idea with the exercises from Day 1 and our custom GPT, so you arrive at Wednesday's class with something concrete on paper.
After the idea, the call and the storyline are clear, it's time to land it all in a plan. Because not having one is what makes most academics not submit their grant proposals.
✨ Learn my system to allocate time effectively across multiple writing projects.
✨ Use a plug-and-play template to map out your writing plan for the next few months.
✨Create a daily and weekly schedule that allows you to block time for writing this proposal.
This last day is to bring everything together and build accountability around your writing.
✨ You'll build your support team. You'll send first emails and include the team in your plan.
✨ You'll write your 1-page idea and design a PowerPoint to discuss with colleagues
✨Create a schedule that allows you to block time for writing this proposal.
Can't make a session live? Replays of every class and Q&A are uploaded to your platform the same day.
Ninety minutes of teaching is only useful if you apply it, so each class is followed by a 2.5 hour co-working session (from 15.00-17.30, Amsterdam time). We meet on Zoom, we work in focused silence on our own proposals, and I'm there for questions and live editing at the end.
This is where the proposal actually starts to exist.
(and the reason to join now instead of waiting...so you can start using them!)
My clients call this one life-changing, and I've stopped arguing with them. A great activity for the summer months while the workshop approaches.
This bonus alone costs as much as the entire workshop. And it's only included for a few weeks ⏰.
We'll use it together during the week, but you get access immediately. It asks you the questions a good grant coach would ask, and it's surprisingly good at catching the vague spots in an idea.
It's trained on funded ERC projects, but you can apply it to any type of funding call.
Funding is a multi-year game, and the researchers who treat it that way apply calmer and win more. This class gives you clarity on your bigger funding picture, with things you can start acting on now, months before the workshop.
AND IF WE HAVEN'T MET YET...
I'm the founder of "I focus and write", where we help scientists like you focus and write with a mindful approach. One that got us published in Nature here and here. Since 2020, we've worked with hundreds of scientists from different fields and at different stages in their careers.
I've taken everything I've learned from more than 15 years of doing research as PhD and then postdoc, and from supervising Ph.D. researchers and collaborating with top researchers in the fields of Ecology and Entomology. Through my courses, writing retreats, and free materials, we follow a mindful approach to getting things done. But the things that matter to you!
My mission is to make this world better by helping scientists have a more productive, more creative, and happier research life. Should we start?
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? HERE SOME ANSWERS!
I'm not sure I can attend all sessions live. Is it still worth it?
Yes. Replays of every class and Q&A go up the same day, and the co-working structure works even if you do your focused sessions at another time. That said, the live week is where the magic is, so protect what you can.
I don't have my grant idea defined yet. Can I still join?
That's exactly the right moment to join. Defining your idea is what Day 1 and the custom GPT are for. Arriving with three half-formed ideas is a perfectly good starting point.
What happens after the week?
You'll have your proposal in motion and a clear plan to keep going. If you want deeper support afterwards, I'll tell you about the ways we can keep working together, with zero pressure. The week stands completely on its own.
Which grants does this apply to?
The strategy, idea generation, and writing principles apply to any competitive research funding: ERC, MSCA, national schemes like NWO or DFG, and fellowships. We use European examples because that's where most of my clients apply, and where I know the system inside out.
I already started my proposal. Will this still help?
Very much. Most drafts I see started without a strategy, and the week will show you what to strengthen before you invest more months in it.
What time zone are the sessions in?
All times are Amsterdam time (CEST). If you're elsewhere in Europe you're at most an hour away, and the replays cover the rest of the world.
For less than the cost of a fancy meal, you’ll gain a system that saves you hours of stress.
This special offer won’t be available for long. If you want a clear system to start writing all your grants, now is the time to join!
DISCLAIMER
Just by purchasing this program, your grant proposals won’t materialize out of thin air. You’ll have to actually do the work. Your results may vary depending on your writing skills, the time you spend on the course, and the complexity of your work.
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