Hanover Research is a grant development and market research firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. Hanover’s grant professionals have collectively more than 150 years of grantsmanship experience that cuts across a wide range of foundations and federal agencies. The Purdue Polytechnic Institute has a Research Partnership with Hanover to provide a combination of services to support faculty development of research proposals. Learn more about the Hanover Research partnership here.
Hanover's services are available to faculty members who hold a primary appointment at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Preference will be given to tenure-track Assistant Professors who are working on proposals.
Hanover's services focus on external grant submissions and are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Form Review Process: PPI Research Office will make every effort to contact the faculty member within five (5) business days to confirm receipt of Hanover Request Form and service needs.
To inquire status, please send an email to polytechnicresearch@purdue.edu.
Service Offerings
Faculty members can request a stand-alone service or a combination of services, including individual consultation sessions, proposal reviews and proposal revisions. The determination of which specific services Hanover provides to a faculty member will depend on several factors, most notably proposal readiness, funding sponsor deadline and the number of projects in Hanover’s queue.
The PPI research office manages the Hanover pipeline, which is capped at two concurrent projects. Every effort is made to accommodate all PI requests.
Consultation Sessions
Grants consultant delivers expert advice on how to frame a research project to match the funder’s priorities.
Proposal Review
Grants consultant identifies strengths and weaknesses; opportunities for shaping a more competitive proposal are outlined.
Turnaround Time: 10 business days
Proposal Revision
Grants consultant uses track changes and margin comments to suggest revisions to the research proposal. Special focus on achieving clarity and effective use of language.
Turnaround Time: 15 business days
Consultations are an excellent option for PIs seeking advice on how to frame a research project to match a funder’s priorities. Sessions are conducted via conference call and are generally one hour in length with the PI option to close out Hanover’s engagement with a subsequently scheduled 30-minute follow-up call. Hanover offers three types of consultation sessions:
- Unfunded Proposal Consult: For PIs preparing to resubmit a previously declined proposal but uncertain how to address reviewer feedback and other critiques within the rewrite.
- Research Design Consult: For PIs needing guidance on how to pitch a research idea to a program officer.
- Grantseeking Strategy Consult: For PIs looking for expert advice on how to frame a research idea to better align with a funder’s strategic priorities.
A Hanover grants consultant provides a peer review of the research proposal, assessing the narrative for its degree of alignment with the funding opportunity announcement and evaluating the proposal based on review criteria. A proposal review is most suitable for PIs who are in the early stages of the proposal writing process. A representative example is the PI who has just completed a first draft of the specific aims page and research strategy sections. Hanover’s services are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. It is recommended that you submit a request form early in your proposal planning process to secure a reviewer for your project.
A Hanover grants consultant takes proposal review a step further by using track changes and margin comments to suggest revisions to the proposal narrative. Track changes focus on achieving clarity and effective use of language, including punctuation and grammar. A proposal revision is most suitable for PIs that are in the later stages of their writing process. For example, the PI who has a final or near-final draft of his/her specific aims page and research strategy sections. Hanover’s services are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis. It is recommended that you submit a request form early in your proposal planning process to secure a reviewer for your project.
FAQ
The PPI research office manages the pipeline of projects submitted to Hanover Research. Several factors are taken into consideration when evaluating projects for Hanover Research, including but not limited to the faculty member’s willingness to share proposal materials and honor agreed-upon deadlines, the completeness of proposal documents, sponsor deadlines, and current pipeline capacity. Purdue Polytechnic's contract with Hanover Research caps the pipeline at two active projects at a time. Every effort is made to accommodate all PI requests, but some worthwhile projects may not be accepted into the pipeline due to this limitation.
To be eligible for Hanover’s services, the PI must be a faculty member with a primary appointment at Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Preference will be given to tenure-track Assistant Professors.
Hanover makes no claim that its grants consultants are subject matter experts who can evaluate the specific science underpinning a research proposal. Rather, Hanover’s value lies in its understanding of proposal and agency nuances that can help PIs competitively reframe proposals in response to a specific solicitation. Hanover seeks to achieve cohesion in the grant narrative and to align the proposal with funding requirements. A Hanover grants consultant may address general scientific elements of a proposal, such as:
- Construct or structure of the hypothesis and methodology. While Hanover does not purport to provide “scientific reviews” that evaluate the specific science underpinning proposals, its grants consultants will flag where they think research questions, aims, and hypotheses could be strengthened and better aligned.
- Literature review. Hanover grants consultants will note places where a citation is needed and has not been included.
- Clarity and focus. When they suspect that narrative content lacks sufficient clarity, consistency, or rigor, Hanover grants consultants will pose questions to encourage the PI to verify the science, and/or suggest a review by a senior colleague or program officer.
After a PI project is accepted in Hanover Research’s pipeline, Hanover Research emails the PI to introduce the assigned grants consultant. Consultation sessions are generally one hour in length and take place via conference call. For proposal review and revision services, Hanover Research first schedules a project initiation conference call prior to the start of work. Project initiation calls give the PI an opportunity to discuss specific areas of concern with the assigned grants consultant and to share reviewer feedback (if available). After Hanover releases its deliverables, the PI is afforded the opportunity for a debrief conference call to discuss Hanover’s critique and to address any outstanding questions or concerns.
Hanover’s proposal critiques focus on the narrative components of research proposals – namely the specific aims page, research strategy, and (for resubmissions) the introduction. For resubmission proposals, the PI should be prepared to provide a copy of the unfunded proposal along with reviewer feedback.
Hanover Research (Hanover) works with research proposals that have been/will be submitted to an external funding sponsor. Hanover has the expertise to review a wide range of proposal types and sponsors, from individual grants to program project, center, and institutional training grants. Hanover can work with new submissions, resubmission proposals, and competing renewal applications. For resubmissions of unfunded proposals and competing renewal applications, PIs will be asked to provide a copy of the original submission along with reviewers’ comments (e.g., summary statement).
To inquire status, please send an email to polytechnicresearch@purdue.edu.
About Hanover Research
Established in 2003, Hanover Research is a grant development and market research firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. Hanover’s grant professionals have collectively more than 150 years of grantsmanship experience that cuts across a wide range of foundations and federal agencies. Hanover has worked extensively with higher education institutions to grow their research portfolios and has helped clients to secure more than $800 million in awarded grants. The company’s grants practice supports both junior faculty members and seasoned investigators seeking to strengthen their grantsmanship skills. Hanover has considerable expertise in relation to the mechanisms and agencies commonly targeted by PIs at the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. Grant mechanisms include individual grants, program project grants, center grants, and institutional training grants. Representative funders include the NIH, NSF, DOD, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.