Collaborating on grant-funded projects, and particularly proposal development, is essential for nonprofits. Subject matter partnerships benefit programs, organizations, and teams through shared knowledge and divided challenges.

However, fostering a productive proposal-building environment often presents scheduling and communication hurdles. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can make the process more complex — while also presenting unique opportunities. 

To use AI effectively, a proposal team must set ground rules for ethical deployment and ensure that AI serves as a tool, not a team member. Though AI has many capabilities, it cannot replace the nuanced thinking and creativity essential for grant writing.

A few guiding principles can help make the most of your grant partnerships, along with some AI-based enhancements to optimize your workflow:

1. Set Your Partners Up For Success: Collaborators are typically busy professionals for whom an application is added labor. To make the best use of everyone’s time, set explicit goals for convenings, send out agendas beforehand, and scaffold conversations with questions and/or frameworks to complete. 

• +AI: If you’re struggling to create agendas, frameworks, or questions, use AI to brainstorm them. While AI large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT and Claude won’t generate exactly what you need, they often offer solid starting points.  

1. Use Their Expertise: Ensure that you read up on relevant topics and develop any advance content you can. This way, partners can laser-focus on infusing their expertise and not on hashing out core programmatic elements.

• +AI: Before deep discussions, ask collaborators how they deploy AI and whether they anticipate using it for any proposal components. As more funders request disclosure of AI use in applications, it’s vital to document anywhere AI enters the process. It’s difficult to ask collaborators to account for AI use after the fact, so discuss this at the outset.  

1. Understand The Application And Timeline: Requests for proposals (RFP) are best interpreted by grant professionals on behalf of collaborators. Subject matter experts are often working beyond their capacity to manage their proposal duties. To support them, understand the RFP thoroughly, and spell out what you need from each partner. You should also work backwards from the deadline to develop a timeline that enables you to complete all proposal components without rushing collaborators. 

• +AI: LLMs are adept at summarizing RFPs, synthesizing requirements, and generating initial timelines. A caveat here is that AI struggles to gauge which tasks require most effort, and it’s downright terrible at interpreting the subtext of an RFP. However, AI can provide a high-level foundation.

1. Find The Joy: Partners are more than just vessels for expertise; they’re individuals graciously bringing their skills to your project. Don’t be afraid to chat about traffic woes or ask about holiday plans. Avoid sensitive topics and don’t pry, of course, but do lean in and learn about your project partners. Connect as human beings first and collaborators second.

• +AI: This is an area where AI doesn’t belong. Collaboration thrives on human warmth, and no technology can replicate the value of genuine relationships. 

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Bethany Lee, Ph.D., is senior writer for the American Hospital Association’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit affiliate, the Health Research & Educational Trust, which enacts programs to benefit hospitals and health systems across the United States.

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Source From Non Profit Times