How I earned my employer over $1.5M with my writing

Writing a $1.5M grant application

To strengthen its defence industry, the Australian federal government introduced the Sovereign Industrial Capability Priority (SICP) grant, usable by small to medium-sized enterprises to develop or enhance capabilities critical to Australia's defence needs

I was tasked to write a grant proposal for SoftIron, to provide 50% of the costs of establishing Australia's first commercial computer hardware manufacturing facility in New South Wales. This manufacturing facility would produce secure provenance hardware products, minimising supply chain vulnerabilities.

How I did it

Here are the key processes I followed in order to write a successful grant application.

Application review

I reviewed in detail all of the supporting materials for the SICP grant, summarising mandatory information to be included in the proposal, and noting specific legal and business requirements that would need to be fulfilled as part of the application.

This ensured that the application structure would easily and clearly tick every required box for the grant application process.

Proposal refinements

I reviewed the initial project plan for the manufacturing facility and products, and identified areas lacking in information to be further fleshed out through SME consultation.

This step allowed me to conduct efficient SME consultation processes, and to identify refinements needed to the project plan in order to meet all SCIP requirements.

National context

I researched the current state of Australian manufacturing, and whether any existing projects were underway. I also reviewed the Defence Industrial Capability Plan and other Defence priorities that might benefit from the realisation of SoftIron's proposal.

This enabled me to more closely focus the grant application on Defence's overall priorities, not just the objectives outlined as part of the SCIP.

SME consultation

I spoke with SoftIron subject matter experts (SMEs) via remote meetings and email to fill in gaps in the project plan, financial information and product information.

Through these interviews I was able to confirm and expand on the key pillars of the proposal, and integrate high levels of detail around SoftIron's products into the proposal.

Results

SoftIron was awarded a $1.5 million grant to establish the New South Wales manufacturing facility, the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, bringing Australia one step closer towards developing its first sovereign capability in the area of critical technology.

I later went on to also successfully write a proposal for SoftIron to receive an Export Market Development Grant, to market the products produced in this facility to overseas buyers.

“[Wendy's] ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, concise, and accessible content for a variety of audiences has been a great asset to SoftIron.”

Kenneth Van Alstyne, Chief Technology Officer