Abstract

Generative AI offers exciting new opportunities to streamline proposal writing for researchers as well as for grant writing professionals. However, there is still some resistance to adopting these new tools as part of the everyday workflow due to perceived risks, such as potential over-reliance on AI and a decrease in creativity. Furthermore, concerns around data privacy and security also pose significant barriers to widespread use among grant writers.

Our session is designed to explore how generative AI is transforming the field of funding proposal preparation. We will dive into practical applications, share best practices, and tackle the main challenges faced by professionals. We believe that by sharing our challenges and solutions, we can learn and grow as AI users together. This event is a peer-to-peer learning platform, where we emphasize the importance of human decision-making and the courage to try new things and to learn from mistakes.

We will briefly share our knowledge and experiences and provide practical examples to foster a collaborative environment where the participants share their experience and discuss challenges and hurdles, they may have faced when working with AI. We will consider specific generative AI tools and how they can be integrated into daily workflows, recognizing the importance of collaboration between AI and human expertise. At the end of the event, we will summarize the key takeaways from this joint learning session: When generative AI tools have been successfully used? How have they been used? And when AI language tools should not be used and why not? All this from the perspective of research funding professionals.

By the end of this workshop, participants will have a deeper understanding of the capabilities and limitations of AI in proposal preparation. They will have gained insights into practical applications and best practices, as well as strategies for mitigating challenges. This session will provide valuable takeaways for professionals looking to leverage AI to enhance their proposal writing processes, ultimately contributing to more efficient and successful research funding endeavors.

We would be happy to facilitate this engaging session where we learn from each other and improve our proposal preparation skills together.