Winning ARC and Other Grants

1
Winning ARC and Other Grants

• Ann Harding
• Presentation to the How to prepare a successful
  ARC proposal seminar, University of Canberra, 27
  November 2006

National Centre for Social and Economic
Modelling (NATSEM), University of Canberra
2
Start with a catchy title

• Opportunity and Vulnerability Wellbeing Among
  Australias Adults and Children at a Small Area
  Level
• Rather than
• Development of a Spatial Microsimulation
  Household Database
• Try to make title understandable to those who are
  not from your subject area of expertise

3
Big picture objectives that most would agree are
important

• Try to show how your smaller project fits into a
  bigger picture that most reviewers would accept
  as an important issue for Australia
• Emphasise how it meets National Research
  Priorities
• How your project relates to larger societal
  objectives
• Eg. how your research on very detailed eco
  widgets is relevant to saving our environment for
  future generations
• Or how the consumption and debt patterns of baby
  boomers are vitally important for looking at
  future balance of taxes and outlays between
  generations

4
Well and clearly written

• It MUST be understandable to those with no
  technical expertise in your subject area
• Get friends to read it who can write well and
  give you advice
• Not too many technical equations, technical
  explanations etc
• It MUST be clearly written
• No typos, no spelling errors, no sentences that
  go for whole paragraphs
• It should build a compelling case for why your
  research is important

5
Collaborate

• For Discovery applications, if you are an early
  career researcher, try to find a professor that
  you can partner with
• For Linkage, think about what you want to
  research and then hold brainstorming session
  about which external organisations might be
  interested
• A well placed supporter within the external orgn
  can be critical
• Try to interest them through how it fits with
  their strategic goals think about what they get
  out of it
• Try to find someone in UC who knows someone
  senior in the target organisation who can help
  get you through the door

6
Referees reports

• Start your rejoinder by emphasising the positive
  things the referees said about your proposal
• Referee 1 notes that this is an innovative and
  significant proposal and this is echoed by
  Referee 2, who believes the project will result
  in important national benefits.
• Tackle the most important negative things they
  said in the 2nd half of the rejoinder

7
Dont be discouraged by failure

• The refereeing process is not a perfect one!
• Dont take it personally
• Repackage it and try again