It seems like those of us in the grant world do a lot of waiting. We wait for budgets to be finalized. We wait for funding forecasts to come out. We wait for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to be released. We wait for funding awards to be announced. Sure, we’re busy with other things while we’re waiting, but Tom Petty was right – The waiting is the hardest part.
One of things I’ve noticed is that the longer people wait for a grant award announcement, the more negative and skeptical they become. But here’s the truth – a delay in award announcement is not necessarily bad news. In fact, federal grant awards always take months, and they are almost always made later than expected. There are all sorts of reasons why grant award announcements are delayed, and none of them have anything to do with your individual project.
So relax! I’m sure you have lots of other projects to work on. Focus on those. Resist the temptation to worry or indulge in negative thinking.