Clarity

When preparing a grant application, it is important to be very honest and very clear about exactly what the grant will be used for, and why. It is also incumbent on the recipient (if one gets it!) to use the grant in the way specified, allowing of course for the fact that there are always adjustments that must be made in the course of project development.

I was reading a comment on the WAC listserve (world archaeological congress) about a project that does not want to ask for grant funds, preferring instead to use a commercial model. This of course allows greater flexibility, because applying for a grant means that the granting agency influences the original goals and ideas of the project. But on the other hand, I tend to think that a grant application pushes us to think about issues we might not have thought of before, and be more open-minded, which is a good thing.