Reasons for Rejection of an Application

There are many and various reasons for rejection of an application.  Some of these are as follows:

• The grant proposal is poorly written.
• The project is a poor fit with the need and will not do much to alleviate that need.
• The proposed activities are not clearly thought out and do not seem feasible.
• The competition from other applications is overwhelming.
• The application is good and the need is great, but other projects will serve even needier populations.
• The funding agency does not have confidence that the applicant has the capacity to successfully carry out the project.
• The applicant has had problems in administering other grants.

Part of the problem is getting to the real root of the rejection.  This can sometimes be difficult.

A debriefing is a discussion with the funding agency as to why the application was not funded.  Many governmental agencies will be happy to discuss the reasons for rejection.  However, I would urge the grant writer to listen to the debriefings with a bit of caution.  Feedback is sometimes given by staff members who were not actually reviewers and were not charged with the responsibility of assigning points to the application.  When this is the case, something can sometimes get lost in the translation.

Overall, however, it is an excellent idea to request a debriefing.  This information can be invaluable in developing the proposal for a re-submittal or for a submittal to a different agency.  This is especially true for beginning grant writers.  As one gains more and more experience, it will be easy to see the weaknesses in your proposal even prior to submittal.  I would definitely recommend that a proposal still be re-submitted even though there are minor flaws in it.  Sometimes these can be worked out with the funding agency.  Sometimes they are so insignificant as not to matter.  It is important to take to heart the information received in a debriefing and attempt to remedy the problems identified.