Partners, Proposals and AI, Oh My!: Optimizing Collaborations in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Collaborating on grant-funded projects, especially during proposal development, has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my 26+ years working in nonprofits. Subject matter partnerships benefit programs, organizations, and team members through shared knowledge and divided challenges, and they can even make the application process enjoyable. Yet, fostering a productive proposal-building environment often presents scheduling and communication hurdles. Moreover, the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) now introduces extra layers of difficulty to such collaborations — along with some exciting 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 marvelous capabilities, it cannot replace the nuanced thinking and creativity essential for grant writing — for reasons of accuracy, privacy, distinctiveness from other applications, and overall tone and style, among others.

Here are some guiding principles I’ve developed for making the make the most of proposal partnerships, along with some AI-based enhancements to optimize your workflow:

Proposal Partnership Principles (+ AI recommendations):

1. Set your partners up for success: Collaborators are typically busy professionals for whom a grant application is added labor. To make the best use of everyone’s time, send out agendas before meetings and scaffold conversations with specific questions and frameworks to complete. Set explicit goals for convenings and communication chains.
+AI:If you’re struggling to create agendas or frameworks, use AI for brainstorming. While AI large language models such as ChatGPT and Claude won’t generate exactly what you need, they often offer solid starting points. AI can help streamline administrative tasks, freeing you to focus on strategy and content.

2. 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 or application fundamentals.
+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. Tracking your own AI use is simple, but collecting these details from partners after the fact can be difficult, so make sure to do this at the outset.  

3. Understand the application and timeline: A request for proposals (RFP) is a complex creature best decoded by a grant professional on behalf of collaborators. Subject matter experts are often working beyond their capacity to manage their proposal duties. To better 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. That way, you won’t rush your collaborators or leave out key pieces.
+AI: Large language models 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.

4. Find the joy: Partners are more than just vessels for expertise; they’re individuals graciously bringing their skills to your proposal party. 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. 

Have you used (or would you use) AI when working with proposal collaborators? If so, how? If not, why not?

Author Bio: Bethany Lee, PhD, serves as 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. She started as a receptionist at a global nonprofit in her early college days, where she fell in love with the sector and consequently never left. Her career has since spanned K-12 education, performing arts, equity and diversity, community organizations, higher ed, and health care. 

GPC Competencies: #3 and #4