Writing an effective research grant proposal

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Writing an effective research grant proposal

• Gita Subrahmanyam
• 10 March 2009

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Why apply for research funding?

• Expectations Institutions expect it and have a
  stake in getting research funds. The next
  Research Assessment Exercise will count research
  awards as well as research outputs.
• Status Winning research funding is a key way to
  enhance your academic reputation and career
  marketability.
• Entrepreneurship One sure-fire way to create
  your own job doing exactly what you want, in an
  area that fires your passion.

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Things to consider before beginning to apply

• Time It takes 6 months (or more) to put
  together a convincing grant application.
• Opportunity Time spent on unsuccessful
  applications could have been better spent on
  publications and other CV-builders
• Success rate 25-30 success rate for LSE
  applications to ESRC and AHRC - less for EPSRC
  and other bodies
• So carefully consider whether your proposal is
  strong enough before you apply

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Main funding bodies

• LSE internal funds - straightforward application
  process and high success rates (Research
  Committee seed fund gt 50 Abbey Santander travel
  fund gt 40)
• Government research funding organisations (ESRC,
  EPSRC, AHRC, European Commission)
• Government contract research (DFID, central
  government departments/agencies, local
  authorities)
• Foundations and charitable trusts (Leverhulme,
  Rowntree, Nuffield, Ford, McArthur, Asia
  Foundation)
• Private sector corporations (consultancies via
  ELSE)
• International organisations (OECD, World Bank)

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Most funding bodies have

• Funding rounds at specific times of the year
• Restrictions on who can apply
• Very explicit application procedures
• Nominated areas of focus and priority
• Expectations that any projects funded will have
  significant impact and/or benefit to society
• A positive stance towards collaborative projects
  covering different disciplines, sectors or
  countries
• Expectations that there will be deliverables over
  the duration of the grant as well as at the end

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The research idea

• Benefit to society Project should have broad
  implications
• Timeframe But it should be narrow enough to be
  completed during the period of the grant
• Currency Projects with current relevance have
  better chances of getting funded
• Knowledge Proposed project should use relevant
  work experience and accumulated knowledge
• Training Its also a good idea to build in new
  subject areas and/or methodologies - funders like
  knowing the benefits of the research extend to you

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The pitch

• Pitch projects according to the key themes or
  research grant areas the funding body has
  specified as priority
• Think of a target audience to whom you are
  pitching who are they, how many, and why should
  they care
• Stress the social benefits to academic
  knowledge, public policy, specific groups, etc.
• What would constitute success to you, how would
  you measure it, and what would it mean to others
  outside your project?

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Deliverables

• What are you going to produce, when and where?
• Output should be generated during the life of the
  project as well as at the end
• Obvious outputs conference papers, articles,
  books
• Think wider seminars, workshops, courses
• Think even wider project website, datasets, art
  installations, community outreach
• Be clear, specific and ambitious - but realistic

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Project management

• Gantt charts could be useful (for your own
  planning as well!) but not required
• Microsoft Project by request but free of
  charge, and IT Training available
• Ensure that time plan does not exceed time
  available, and that tasks are ordered correctly
• Include planning time for deliverables

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What makes a good research proposal?

• Impact benefit to society is central to the
  proposal
• Focus everything in the proposal must support
  the research aims and objectives
• Collaboration if you are not an expert in the
  new research area, then get collaborators who
  are. In any case, more funding available for
  collaborative research than for
  single-investigator projects. But more hassle
  (intellectual property, auditing finances,
  coordination)
• Clarity each sentence should say exactly what
  you mean and you should only use positive
  language

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Other things to consider to strengthen your
proposal

• Potential reviewers choose a known authority
  figure and at least one international expert,
  perhaps encountered briefly at conferences
  (youre not allowed to contact referees for
  permission to use them, unless regulations
  specify that you can)
• Letters of support from institutions,
  ministries, etc
• Funding better to ask for too much funding than
  too little (impact achievable outputs more
  important)
• Continuation Keep yourself in a lucrative
  funding cycle by thinking how this projects
  outcomes may be used to launch future projects

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LSEs Research and Project Development Division
(RPDD)

• Offers advice and assistance in research funding
  applications (but only while you are still
  staff!)
• Assists in identifying appropriate research
  funding opportunities
• Advertises these opportunities via email or web
• Advises on the development of research grant
  proposals, including contractual and budgetary
  issues
• Provides support and advice on project management
  and research reporting procedures
• Administers the grant or contract when/if awarded
• Manages the LSE Research Committee Seed Fund
  schemes and the Research Investment Fund

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Before applying for a grant

• Contact RPDD with research ideas and ask them
  which funding opportunities you are eligible for
• Consider your chances of winning the award in
  terms of your previous experience, the projects
  impact, success rates, etc.
• If the deadline is approaching, consider whether
  its worth applying correlation between time
  spent preparing a bid and probability of winning
  funding
• Get help from RPDD in preparing your proposal,
  especially the FEC and project management
  sections
• Look at successful and unsuccessful proposals and
  reviewers comments learn from others mistakes
• Contact funding bodies with any questions on
  ambiguous points sometimes they will give you
  feedback/advice on specific parts of your
  proposal!

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Research grant video clips

• Grant proposal rejection http//www.youtube.com/w
  atch?vXD3PaXLGzSofeatureuser
• Successful grant application http//www.youtube.c
  om/watch?v2-I0xA_j5Rkfeaturerelated

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Mock research grant proposal

• Having now considered the different criteria that
  funding bodies use to judge the merit of a
  research proposal, think about the research idea
  you brought with you today
• Take some time to fill in the mock research grant
  proposal summary form and think about whether you
  would change any aspects of the way you plan to
  pitch your idea
• Also think about how you will disseminate your
  research and choose your reviewers

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If your application gets turned down, just
remember

• Funding applications for projects that later won
  the Nobel Prize have been turned down, perhaps
  because bids were badly written or quickly
  assembled and therefore ill conceived?
• Spend time on your proposal, and get as much
  feedback as possible before submitting from
  RPDD, senior colleagues, friends, family, etc
• If rejected, pay heed to reviewers comments
  before reapplying elsewhere