Putting together a tender bid or grant application can be a lengthy exercise. Often, it requires input from numerous different people within an organisation, or across multiple partners, which can lead to repetition, omissions and an inconsistent style. It can also be easy to run away with the story of what you’re selling, offering or proposing and forget to answer the very specific questions you’re being asked.
For that reason, a whole range of clients have turned to us to help collate, write, standardise and quality check their submissions.
Helping an NHS trust craft persuasive research grant applications
We’ve worked with a leading London-based NHS trust on several occasions to support them with grant applications for research projects. These applications are all incredibly complex and often involve a range of different partners across healthcare, academia and industry.
For one particular project we were responsible for converting notes and bullet points from a variety of stakeholders into an engaging, concise and accurate narrative about the project, its goals and the proposed approach. Working with one key point of contact we highlighted gaps in the information provided and suggested areas where the messaging could be strengthened with more precise information.
We managed version control by holding the master file and sharing via email and by using shared file storage systems such as Dropbox.
Thanks so much for your help with our research grant application – you’ve been amazing.
Christina Sothinathan, Innovation Business Partner, Chelsea and Westminster NHS Foundation Trust
Quality checking tender bids for a mental health services provider
When a growing mental health services provider wanted to ensure the highest standards in their tender submissions, they turned to us for support with editing, proofreading and sense checking the content against their clients’ requirements.
In this instance, the submissions were being worked on by several people in their team and the content was largely well-formed. We were asked to review the content in each submission section by section to ensure consistency of style and tone, and to check that it clearly answered the question being asked and didn’t unnecessarily repeat content from elsewhere.
We worked on the documents directly in Microsoft SharePoint, tracking our changes and adding comments where we felt the content could be improved.
Making sure our client’s proposals always hit the mark
A longstanding client of Sorted Communications is a health economics consultancy which regularly seeks our support in reviewing their proposals. Often these are bespoke proposals and so there is rarely an application form or guidance notes to refer to. In these cases, we focus on making sure the content flows and tells the story our client is trying to tell in the most concise and engaging way.
We may also need to move the content into the client’s branded template, add in standard pages, such as ‘About us’, and make sure the proposal follows the client’s designated structure. Finally, we check carefully for consistency in tone and style and complete a full proofread to ensure there are no distracting typos or grammatical errors.
Supporting an academic health science network to secure funding
We have also supported an academic health science network with applications for funding for several research projects. Our focus is on making the content they provide for the proposal’s key evidence sections clearer and more organised. This content comes from different team members, so our job is to edit it into a cohesive and engaging narrative.
We also proofread the submissions in full, carefully editing it where needed. On one occasion, we needed to shorten the document from its original 11 pages to a concise 6-page version as requested by the funder, whilst making sure all the important information remained. Throughout this process, we kept the writing style and tone consistent. We also reviewed each section to make sure it directly answered the specific questions asked and avoided any unnecessary repetition of content.
Telling clear and compelling stories
As a result of our expertise, our clients can submit their proposals, bids and applications with the confidence that their story has been told compellingly and clearly – with no risk of the recipient being put off by poor grammar and spelling errors.
We regularly receive fantastic feedback and gratitude from our clients for enabling them to focus on developing their plans rather than spending hours worrying about how to get them down onto paper. What’s more, many of them return to us time and time again when they have a new submission on the horizon.