Crafting your proposal takes time; it requires articulation of clear lines of inquiry around any number of research questions, and the outlining of research objectives. The more precise you can be in what you're seeking to study or address, the easier it will be to write your proposal.

Advanced Draft Feedback

HSS Researchers are encouraged to contact a Grant Facilitator to arrange a meeting to discuss any funding applications. Grants Facilitators can provide Advanced Draft Feedback for any opportunity if requested well in advance of competition deadlines. For popular opportunities such as SSHRC Insight & Partnership grant programs, we provide deadlines for such feedback in order to facilitate such requests so that prospective applicants have enough time to review feedback prior to submitting their proposals. See Advanced Draft Feedback for more information.

Writing Strategies

A useful strategy once you have your research questions clarified, is to examine the opportunity budget requirements, including eligible expenses, and to map out possible expenses. It may seem counter intuitive to work on your budget early, but it often helps applicants as the budget provides constraints on what is possible and fundable for a particular grant. It means fitting your ideas into the funds you can apply for, and use, over a specific amount of time. You can always tinker and edit your proposal descriptions, tweaking turns of phrase and language up until submission. It's much harder to do last minute adjustments to budgets, especially if there are matching contributions and documentation required. 

For more assistance with your budget see Designing your Budget.