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Tip 1: Don’t apply until you have a clear answer the remit question!

Each funding authority has a STRATEGIC remit

An application is more than a research proposal –

It is a document providing arguments for the justification of the Grant and the benefits arising.

A sound science base is obviously essential but the emphasis throughout the document must be justification for the need for the project and associated excellence

Against the Strategic Aims of the funding authority

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It is important to remember that although you are structuring the project from a primary research/technical interest the funding programme will be as interested (maybe more interested) in the rationale supporting the project, its need and resultant benefits.

Your Objectives –

Research

Career & Livelihood

Funding Objectives -

Research

Strategic Aims & Objectives

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Will my idea be bought?

Funding selection

Does your idea link to a specific call
Does the idea fit the funder priorities
Have similar projects been funded

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Tip 2: Always set out to build, not write, a funding bid!

Grant applications must be BUILT

Brick by brick
Argument by argument
Justification by justification
Walls of defence

Explain and justify

Attack the remit
Don’t allow the assessors to think!

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The Cycle of Arguments and Justifications

This is the Problem

Rationale for the Project

Objectives

Methodology

Deliverable/Outputs

Benefits/impact

State of the Art

Progress beyond

S of A

Research Approach

Method Detail

Project Achievements

Will Resolve

NEED

Return on Investment

Fit to REMIT

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Narrative + evidence

Remember, we don’t write, we build.

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Break the project down into specific tasks (work packages)

Describe each task with

a justification, (ie WHY)
a description (ie What/How)
an outcome (ie Achievement)
and purpose (ie Where will this task have lead)
together with interrelationships with other tasks.

Bullet specific deliverables and milestones – remember that both of these must be verifiable, and wherever possible quantifiable.

(A task must have deliverables – but does not always need a milestone if it is relatively straightforward.)

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Tip 3: Act as a salesperson!

This is not an ordinary research proposal – think of it more as a sales document
You must give the impression that you know exactly in detail what you are doing and why

Inspire confidence in your reader/ assessor

Use sales language

e.g. ‘we will’, not ‘we seek to’, ’we intend’

But don’t brag!

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Tip 4: Plan for impact and benefit from the outset

Never let these be an afterthought.

Identify ALL benefits and impacts with respect to the call remit early on to guide your grant building.

Each with tangible and concrete deliveries
Guaranteed through collaboration with non-academic partners

State it right from the very beginning of the proposal

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Tip 5: Assessors are not necessarily experts!

Some subject specialists will be chosen to review your proposal, but panel members, who will moderate batched proposals, may not be specialists.

Don’t have too many aims/objectives

the reader won’t have time to stitch loads of objectives together with methodology, outcomes etc.

Don’t keep the reader waiting to see the significance of something said earlier

e.g. don’t explain how you are going to do something before saying why you want to do it.

Don’t use jargon

you need to make it easy for the reader (i.e. reviewer) to understand your idea and why it is important.

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Tip 6: Presentation matters!

Your bid needs to be accessible to the panel who only skim read it.
Layout on the page is very important (large blocks of text are intimidating and difficult for the assessor to extract points of information from).
Use separate paragraphs for each point you are making and wherever possible bullet the key aspects in simplistic terms before justification.
Use bold for key points.

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Tip 7: Double check: Have you covered every essential element?

Most projects fail not because of what they say but because of what they fail to say

Arguments and Justifications required.

Concept

What? Why? How?

Rationale

Therefore ….

Current position, problems, - ie. State of the art

This is what we know. This is what we don’t know

Objectives

Therefore…. This is what

Deliverables

Which will …. This is how

Progress beyond state of the art.

Achievements/ outcomes (the key)

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Source: http://rx.uga.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Scientific_Grant_Writing___The_Complete_Pocket_Guide.pdf

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Remember

Grant applications are a competition

To Win – you must be the best

Take your time. Do not rush them