Testimonials

 I was having trouble with the justification and “articulation” sections and Holly gave me really good ideas and text to go with them. In addition, she helped me structure the main body of the proposal and gave me important feedback from a reviewer perspective

Juan Villalba, Professor

Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University

[Holly’s] writing skills were so valued that she became the principal editor for all proposals and major documents coming from WWF’s Science group.

Michele Thieme, Deputy Director and Lead Scientist

Freshwater Program, World Wildlife Fund, Washington, DC, USA

Holly was been extremely helpful with the proposal writing process.  She is very knowledgeable about compliance, formatting, and merit review criteria of NSF documents. In particular she was very helpful with content of the discussion of broader impacts and supplementary documentation.  For example, having never written a data management plan before, Holly sent me examples on specific layout for the document, criteria needing to be addressed, and links to different online resources.  She spends an immense about of time researching your particular RFP and providing meticulous comments to make sure you comply with the requirements.  

Susannah French, Professor 

Department of Biology, Utah State University

Holly Strand’s proposal development services have been extremely helpful. She provides detailed, timely edits in addition to constructive broader-picture advice based on her detailed reading of the specific RFA and knowledge of the funding agency. When I have had specific questions about proposal requirements or university policies, she has tracked down the pertinent information. Overall, Holly is extremely responsive, knowledgeable about ecology, and easy to work with.  

Kari Veblen, Professor 

Department. of Wildland Resources, Utah State University

Holly has been instrumental in our crafting better, more competitive proposals. Her candid critiques of initial drafts were critical in helping us produce compelling arguments in support of our proposed research. Highlights of her efforts included knowing how reviewers read and interpret proposals, making sure our ideas and objectives were clearly stated up front, insisting that the proposal flow logically from one section to the next, and providing great recommendations regarding how to couch broader impacts statements. Her ability to recognize what is generally interesting science also helped ensure we didn’t get trapped into focusing on minutiae.

Chuck Hawkins, Professor 

Department. of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University 

Holly not only led and collaborated with my faculty in storyboard
design and content for the piece, but she also produced the video
product from the ground up. We are very happy with the result,
and I was personally very impressed by both Holly’s production skills and her ability to work with a diversity of people in my department for ideas and content. Although conducted on a shoestring budget, we are thrilled by this product and we have incorporated it into some of our courses and feature it in our Geology Museum on campus.

Joel Pederson, Department Head and Professor

Department. of Geology, Utah State University

Holly was particularly useful in terms of making sure that we had covered all the bases outlined in the RFP and done so in a way that was completely clear to potential reviewers. Since Holly was a sympathetic, but critical and uninvolved reader, she not only pointed out gaps but suggested ways to cover the gaps while maintaining the sense and flow of the proposal. Holly was invaluable in pointing out ways to improve STEM relevance as well as potential broader impacts that I had never considered. Overall working with her was so useful that I plan to do it as a matter of course, even in future, more research-based, proposals.

Jim Powell, Professor

Department. of Biology, Utah State University

The single most helpful service was to read over our proposal (as a reviewer might) and highlight areas that weren’t clear, were too long, had jargon… These things become hard to find for the collaborators who have read the draft proposal numerous times.
Holly is particularly good at writing clearly in simple language. I used about 80% of her suggestions for the summary abstract and introduction. I’ll typically make small content/wording changes to ensure that specific ideas come across, but work from the suggestions she provides.

Sarah Null, Professor

Department. of Watershed Sciences, Utah State University