Ask for the reviewer comments
Can I find out why my grant application was rejected?
Usually yes, and most applicants never ask. Federal programs generally provide reviewer summaries on request, often automatically through the portal, and many foundations will talk to you if you ask politely and briefly. It is the single highest-value thing you can do after a decline, because the same reviewers frequently score the same programme next cycle and the comments tell you exactly which criterion cost you the points. Ask within a few weeks, ask as somebody trying to improve, and ask about the scoring rather than about the decision.
Last reviewed 10 August 2026.
How to ask
Check the portal first
Federal reviewer summaries are frequently already there and nobody told you. Grants.gov, eRA Commons and agency portals vary, and the comments are often filed under the application rather than announced.
Write to the program officer, short
Three sentences. You applied, you were not funded, you would value any reviewer feedback that can be shared to strengthen a future application. Program officers answer this kind of note far more often than people expect.
Ask about the criterion, not the decision
"Which criteria scored weakest?" is answerable and useful. "Why did you not fund us?" invites a polite non-answer and puts the officer in an awkward position.
Ask whether resubmission is welcome
The most valuable sentence in the whole exchange, and it costs you nothing. Some programmes actively encourage a second attempt and will say so.
What to do with what comes back
Sort the comments into three piles. Things you can fix in the document, which are usually clarity and evidence. Things you can fix in the organization, which are usually capacity or partnerships and take a year. And things that were about fit, which mean this was the wrong funder and no amount of rewriting changes it.
The third pile is the most useful and the one people ignore, because it is the one that saves you from applying again to somebody who was never going to fund you.
Where Quillify comes in
Every application you log stays in your track record with what you asked for and what happened, so a decline is data rather than an ending. Feed the reviewer comments back in and the next draft answers them.
The evaluator also grades against the announcement before you send, which is the same conversation held earlier, when it still changes the outcome.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- What a rejection is actually telling youWhy was my grant proposal rejected and should I reapply?
- Most declines are a queue, not a verdictShould I resubmit a grant application that was rejected?
- How long until you hear backHow long does it take to hear back after submitting a grant application?
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