Transcript Document

Securing your First Grant
Presented by Adrian Walters
External Funding Officer
Department of Research & Innovation
Overview
• Department of Research & Innovation (DRI)
• Initial Idea Development
• Funding
• Proposal Preparation
• Summary
• Q&As
Section One
Department of
Research & Innovation
DRI Mission
To provide support, advice and guidance to all
University staff in the management, development
and diversification of their research and
consultancy activity
Writing your first proposal?
Support is Provided!
• The R&I office provides support, advice and guidance
• Each school has a designated Pre-Award & Post-Award Officer
• Pre-Award support activities that lead to the award of the grant
• Post-Award support grant holders to financially manage the
grant
• Make it your business to know the name of your R&I contacts
• Meet your contact, know how they can help you.
R&I Contacts – Pre-Award
• Ceri Jones: ext 5412, [email protected]
 Law; Business & Economics
• Julie Williams: ext 5824, [email protected]
 ALL European funding
• Chris Beynon: ext 5015 [email protected]
 Environment & Society; Health Sciences; Medical School;
Arts ; Humanities
• Adrian Walters: ext 3724, [email protected]
 Engineering; Physical Sciences; IAT; Human Sciences; DACE
Pre-Award Office Functions
Your designated Pre-Award Officer can help you in
the following ways:
To support staff in the identification of research funding
To provide support/advice for preparation of grant applications
General enquiries on Research and Consultancy
To provide a range of relevant and themed staff seminars
To provide an interactive Website
(http://www.swansea.ac.uk/research-innovation/) complete with a
range of comprehensive links and downloadable documents
Post-Award Office Functions
Post Award Support
Post-Award Officer for each School
Financial Claims, Invoicing & Monitoring
Journals (transferring money between accounts)
Financial Reporting
Financial Database Maintenance
Audit Assistance
Preparation of Reports for University Committees
Section Two
Initial Idea
Development
A Starting Point…Your Research Idea
• What are you passionate about?
• Where do you feel that existing
practice or knowledge base is
wrong or inadequate?
• Why is your idea better?
• How is it new, unique, different?
• What will it contribute and who will
benefit from it?
Your Research Idea
1. Familiarise yourself with up-to-date research
a. What are the hot topics?
2. Review Policy Documents (Research Research Website)
3. Network with other researchers
a. Can collaboration help you?
b. Joint proposals?
4. Discuss your idea with colleagues
Section 3
Funding
Funding your Research
Funding is an enabler
Funds provide you with independence
Funds help you
- to develop your skills and professional career
- to undertake research of your choice
- to build a research team
- to have up-to-date equipment and resources
- to travel and network with other researchers
Types of Funding Available
There is funding available for almost any activity associated with
research
• Research Projects (research students and research assistants)
• Research visits and research visitors
• Research equipment
• Conferences
• Fellowships
• Knowledge Transfer Partnerships
• Exchange programmes
Research Funding Organisations
• Research Councils
• Government Departments
• Government Organisations
• Charities
• Welsh Assembly Government
• European Union
• Industry
• Others
Research Funding Organisations (2)
•It’s important to choose the right type of funding
•Speak to the Programme Director
•Find out what the funding organisations wants from you?
•Charities require us to protect & exploit the resulting IP /
disseminate new knowledge
•Industry is concerned about commercial sensitivities
•Consider the conditions attached to funding sources
•Make it your business to avoid any unpleasant surprises
when the grant is awarded!
How to Undertake a Funding Search
•Check funders web sites
- Find out which funding bodies support your subject area; ask colleagues
•Check relevant journals / papers
- Look through subject specific journals, or the Times HE / Tuesday Guardian /
contact professional societies who sometimes have sources of funding.
•Speak to colleagues..NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK!
•Internet Search Engines
•Research Funding Websites
www.rdinfo.org.uk - for medical research funding opportunities.
http://www.cos.com/ (Sources for Research, Worldwide)
•ResearchResearch.com – funding database / good source of information
How to Undertake a Funding Search (2)
• University subscribes to the
RESEACHRESEARCH.COM funding database
• Register & personalise the service
•Save custom searches and set alerts
You have found a Potential Funder….
What now?
Section 4
Proposal Preparation
Writing your proposal: Structure
Whilst all proposals need a good idea, there is a ‘standard’ template for application
Previous Research Track Record
a. Research staff (PI and Co-PIs)
b. Host Institution
c. Any collaboration
Description of Proposed Research
a. Background
b. Programme and Methodology
c. Project Risks
d. Relevance to Beneficiaries
e. Dissemination and Exploitation
f. Justification for Resources
g. References
h. Work Plan (Gantt Chart)
Is it “enough” to follow the standard template?
• No single winning formula for preparing successful proposals
• Anything you can do to help reviewers & decision makers
understand your application will benefit you
•The committee/people assessing your proposal spend a
considerable amount of time discussing the feasibility of your
research.
•Be sure to explain WHY and HOW your ideas will work
Good Practice & Developing your Grant Proposal
• There is plenty of evidence to show that
good ideas are often undermined by
mistakes in proposal preparation.
• The following are some common sense
strategies to consider at the proposal
writing phase, highlighting a number of
pitfalls to avoid at all costs!
• Follow this advice and your chances of
success will increase!
Pitfalls
Pitfall 1: Poor fit
?
1. Verify the match
•
Develop your funding search skills
•
Pay close attention to the programme aims,
objectives and eligibility criteria
•
Read the programme call carefully
•
Make contact with programme officer /director
before starting your proposal!
•
Send brief (2-3 short paragraphs) overview of
proposed project to programme officer and your
R&I pre-award contact
•
Investigate alternative funding sources
!
Pitfall 2:
Weak argument
2. Prove the importance of your project
• State your project purpose up front
• Identify and highlight the core strengths in
your research
• Build a compelling argument
• Cite an authoritative source(s)
Pitfall 3:
Excessive jargon
3. Assume an uninformed but
intelligent reader
Use clear, accessible language
Stick with direct statements and active voice
Consider the reviewer/reader when preparing
your proposal
You must convince both an expert referee and
the less expert reviewer that you have an
exciting feasible idea
Avoid insider jargon and acronyms if possible
Pitfall 4: Vague
research plan
3. Illustrate a detailed research plan
Specify major tasks and timelines
Use flow charts, calendars, or Gantt
charts
Visualise the project on a single page
Consider the reviewer ….. again!
Pitfall 5: Deviating
5. Follow application instructions exactly
from guidelines
!
Errors to avoid
Late submission
Case of support is too long
Fonts, margins, spacing too small (
eight point text is not helpful
)
Signatures, CVs missing
Budget narrative / Justification of Resources missing
Insufficient number of copies
Pitfall 6: Ignoring
review criteria
6. Pay attention to all review
criteria
Read evaluation standards carefully; then reference
them in the project narrative
Touch all the bases--not just the ones you’re
comfortable with
Reviewers will use the criteria
to “score” your proposal
Pitfall 7:
Weak abstract
7. Develop the abstract with
maximum impact
Should reflect entire scope of project
Summarise project purpose and methods
Must convey:
- What researcher intends to do
- Why it’s important
- Expected outcome(s)
- How work will be accomplished
Pitfall 8:
Writing solo
8. Presubmission review
Ask experienced colleagues for comments and suggestions
Should be qualified to critique proposal content
View input as positive criticism and leave your ego at the door
Allow time for rewrites!
Pitfall 9:
Document errors
9. Use proof readers
Find an eagle eyed perfectionist in your department/school
Proofreaders read for form, not content
Must be someone who has no stake in the project!
Learn to love what they will do for you
Zero tolerance--no error is too small to correct
Root out inconsistencies in format as well as typos, misspellings,
grammar, etc.
Pitfall 10:
Choosing the wrong
referees
10. Take time to find the most
suitable referees
If you have to nominate reviewers (experts from
other institutions) make sure these are selected
appropriately
 Ask a senior colleague for their guidance on
appropriate referees
 Find a referee who is supportive and does not have a
conflict of interest
Good and Bad Strategies: REVIEW
1. Verify the match
2. Prove the importance of your project
3. Assume an uninformed but intelligent
reader
4. Illustrate a detailed research plan
5. Follow application instructions exactly
6. Pay attention to all review criteria
7. Develop the abstract with maximum impact
8. Presubmission Review
9. Use Proofreaders
10. Take time to find the most suitable
referees
1. Poor fit
2. Weak Argument
3. Excessive jargon
4. Vague research plan
5. Deviating from the guidelines
6. Ignoring review criteria
7. Weak abstract
8. Writing solo
9. Document errors
10.Choosing the wrong referees
Checklist 1
Before you submit ask yourself….
Have I established appropriate aims and objectives?
Have I provided a well thought-out Research Design?
Have I given a detailed description of the proposed methods?
Have I considered already existing resources?
Have I thought about research ethics?
Have I recognised and planned for all the skills and
competencies required? Are these skills and competencies
reflected in the proposal’s research team?
Checklist (2)
Have I anticipated potential difficulties and addressed them?
Have I provided a bibliography?
Have I included all CVs?
Have I fully defended research design against critical appraisal?
Have I identified potential users and how to engage them?
Have I provided a clear dissemination strategy?
And finally….
• Fit research and grant writing into your job
• Find a mentor(s)
• Read successful grants; attend workshops &
seminars
• Find collaborators
• Conduct your own searches
• Network
• Think big, think small, think different!
Summary
1. Department of Research & Innovation
2. Initial idea development
3. Funding
4. Proposal Preparation
Securing your First Grant
ANY QUESTIONS?
Adrian Walters
Research & Innovation Office
Tel: 3724
Email: [email protected]