Credit: Hong Li/Getty

Three years ago, the US-based grant-giving foundation that I work for decided to switch from asking for full grant proposals to asking instead for LOIs, variously called 'letters of inquiry' or 'letters of intent'. These are brief summaries of grant proposals. We made this decision mainly because an LOI is less time-consuming for applicants, an important consideration given that we are a small foundation that must turn away most of the proposals we receive — and also because it is less time-consuming for us.

Many of the LOIs we now receive have similar frailties: some give too much space to introductory discussions and fail to provide enough information about the research protocol. Some use too much technical vocabulary; others neglect to mention how much support they are looking for.

If the foundation does not ask you to specify the sum you are seeking, make sure you have done the research to know that you are within their funding range (and whether they fund internationally, if you live in a different country). If you are way above the giving limit, that is probably sufficient reason for them to turn away your enquiry.

As to technical vocabulary, do not assume that the reviewers will be conversant in the language of dozens of areas of speciality. In our last round of enquiries, we encountered PCL oil-soluble layers, Ancova analysis, fugitive dyes and elastic microbial repertoires, among other topics. Applications that clearly explained the terms began the full evaluation process at the outset, but those that were not clear had to wait for a time when a reviewer could research the terms or search for referees.

A large majority of grant seekers submit their LOIs immediately before the deadline, so you should keep in mind that those submissions will land in a pile-up as the calendar speeds towards the foundation's next board meeting. Thus, if your LOI gets a delayed reading, it risks not getting the detailed attention it deserves.

Most of the grant-makers that ask for LOIs have page-count or word-count limits. Our limit is 1,000 words, but I have seen some as low as 250 words. As you struggle to get your project summary down to that length, take some comfort in knowing that all applicants face the same problem, and sally forth.

LOI instructions do not usually address whether illustrations are welcome, although some researchers (not many) do include them. If your LOI would be much clarified by charts, graphs or photos, it is probably worth the gamble to include them. (If you must use an online application form, these uploads will probably not be accommodated.)

E-mail attachments can also pose a problem. When applicants send LOIs as attachments rather than in the body of the e-mail, the documents are often completely anonymous: they do not contain any identifying information. Many of the covering e-mails do not refer to the project title, and if the LOI is filed separately from the e-mail, it can create a serious problem.

So don't do that. Instead of just saying 'LOI attached' in your e-mail, provide a couple of sentences about what makes your proposal attractive or urgent, and include the title of your project and your full identification, including your e-mail address, in the LOI itself as well as in the body of the e-mail.

If you are invited to submit a full grant proposal after your LOI has been reviewed, you have cleared an important hurdle, and your chances of funding are better than when you submit a full grant proposal at the outset of the evaluation process. Leave yourself enough time to pass the final draft of your LOI around to colleagues and get their comments — and don't wait until the evening of the deadline day before you hit 'send'.