SciSpace Academy
Tutorial

Using SciSpace for Grant Writing: Evidence for Stronger Proposals

Prof. Benita OlivierEnglishGrant writing

TL;DR

1-min read

With grant success rates low and the stakes high, it is tempting to let an AI tool draft an entire proposal. In this tutorial, Professor Benita Olivier explains why that approach backfires and sets out a more effective alternative. She presents a framework for using SciSpace at specific points in grant development while the argument, framing and case for the research remain with the applicant. It is intended for researchers at any career stage who are preparing proposals and want to handle the evidence base more efficiently.

Key takeaways

  • Handing the whole proposal to AI is a mistake, because reviewers look for a clear argument, original framing and a credible team, and those must come from you.
  • SciSpace is most useful for supporting tasks: scoping the existing evidence, summarising literature and mapping the research field your project sits within.
  • A strong research gap starts with mapping what is already known, including key studies, methods, populations and open questions.
  • Inconsistent findings, under-studied groups or outdated methods often point to a gap, but your proposal should also explain why addressing it matters now and how your project will do it.
  • Any gap surfaced with AI literature tools should be confirmed against the papers themselves before it goes into an application.
  • Many funders have rules on AI use, so their guidance is worth checking before you submit.
Apply it

To put this into practice, use SciSpace to scope and map the evidence for your next proposal, then write the case for your project yourself using what that mapping reveals.

How to do it

  1. Upload or summarize the call, guidance, scoring criteria, and organizational constraints.

    Convert the funding call into a compliance matrix with eligibility, required sections, scoring criteria, page limits, dates, and organizational constraints. Verify each item in the original call.

  2. Ask SciSpace to create a compliance and evidence matrix for every required section.

    Create an evidence matrix for significance, gap, approach, innovation, feasibility, impact, and team capability. Mark where evidence or preliminary work is still missing.

  3. Search for literature and data that support the problem, gap, approach, and impact pathway.

    Search for literature and data that support the problem and proposed pathway, then verify the sources. Do not use AI-generated statistics or funder priorities without an authoritative reference.

  4. Draft section outlines linked to verified evidence rather than generating the whole proposal at once.

    Draft section outlines linked to the matrix before writing prose. Keep aims, methods, milestones, evaluation, and risks aligned across the whole proposal.

  5. Run a reviewer-style critique and revise claims, risks, milestones, and citations.

    Run a reviewer-style critique against the scoring criteria and revise unsupported claims, feasibility gaps, citations, milestones, and compliance issues before submission.

Watch the tutorial40 min

Using SciSpace for Grant Writing: Evidence for Stronger ProposalsPlay video: Using SciSpace for Grant Writing: Evidence for Stronger Proposals

Chapters

  1. Welcome and speaker introduction
  2. When should you start writing a grant proposal?
  3. Should you let AI write your grant proposal?
  4. What SciSpace can and cannot do for grant writing
  5. Use AI for the evidence, not the argument
  6. Who is responsible for funder fit, novelty and the research gap?
  7. How to find research gaps and seminal papers with AI
  8. How to use similar studies to choose a study design and outcome measures
  9. How to find grant funders with SciSpace Agent
  10. Deep research vs systematic review vs biomedical mode in SciSpace Agent
  11. How to use a SciSpace deep review report to start your grant
  12. Chat with PDF: ask about limitations, podcast mode and related papers
  13. How to extract methods, limitations and research gaps into a paper table
  14. How to defend your research gap in a grant or viva
  15. How to find seminal papers with a citation map in SciSpace
  16. Do you need to disclose AI use in a grant application?
  17. What to do with the time AI saves you

Try this on SciSpace

Frequently asked questions

Can AI write a grant proposal for me?

AI can help with supporting tasks such as gathering evidence, summarising literature and checking structure, but it should not write the core case. Reviewers look for a clear argument, original framing and a credible team, which must come from the applicant. Many funders also have rules on AI use, so check their guidance before submitting.

How do I identify a research gap for a grant proposal?

Start by mapping what is already known: key studies, methods, populations and unresolved questions. Look for inconsistent findings, under-studied groups or outdated methods. Then explain why filling that gap matters now and how your project will do it. AI literature tools can speed up the mapping, but the gap should be verified against the papers themselves.

Related tutorials