Pathways 2009 grant workshop

Grant Funding Applications

Dr. Judith WilliamsMHS Trainer

1.

Structure of the workshop

Session: Overview to securing research funding

• Networking/Sharing grant writing experiences

• Where to apply - finding the right partner

• Researcher success storiesSam and Brian give their experiences

Grant writing is like an elevator pitch

2.

3.

4.

Group Discussion

• What is your experience of grant writing?

• What are the challenges of grant writing?

Fellowships

PhD student

Small pilot grants

Project grants

Studentship

Programme grants

Collaborative/multi-centre

Types of grant funding available

Travel grants Public engagement grants

Co-Applicant status is also important

Grant Success

Field of Research + Funding Body

PhD student

Finding the right funding partner

• Research Councils • Other sources of government funding • Charities and Trusts  • European organisations e.g. European

Commission • International organisations e.g. NIH • Professional bodies • Commercial sources • Private donations *

Research income by funding source

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Total ~ £252.7million

Aug 07 – July 08

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) grants

UK Research Councils

UK charities

Government departments

UK industry and commerce

Overseas

Other sources

Investigate funding sources thoroughly

Check funder websites for:

• Politics & funding strategy • Appropriateness to your field• Competitiveness• Success rate

National funding success rates

100%

AHRC – 23%

MRC – 27%

BBSRC -23%

NERC – 23%

ESRC – 19%

EPSRC -32%

Faculty Funding Schemes

• Stepping Stone Scheme – MHS

• Simon and Hallsworth Funds – Hums

• Small Grant Award - FLS (March – May).

Providing funding for high quality research leading to external funding.

Central Research office:http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/researchoffice/finding/majorsponsors/

Other external funding search engines

www.researchresearch.com

• Funding alerts• Guidance• Jobs

http://www.rdinfo.org.uk/

• Funding support for health and social care research (NIHR)• Training, funding and advice

• SamClinical Research Fellow – Psychological Sciences

• Brian • Senior Research Fellow – Clinical and Laboratory

Sciences

Research Success Stories

Starting to prepare…

Why do you want to do this research? (You need to convince your reviewers and the panel that

it’s worth doing and why you are the person to do it)

Bear in mind the assessment criteria and audiences (use referee and panel prompts as a

guide, see websites)

Read all the guidance notes (don’t fall at the first hurdle)

A tool for staying focused: key message statement

• A simple concise statement – summarises what you will show– their broader implications– what is novel about your grant

• Must be realistic and well supported

5.

Starting to prepare your grant

Introduction

Methods

Discussion

Key message

Decide what research

you are going to do

Potential results

Can you do the project?

Technical expertise and knowledge

Collaborators

Co-applicants

Resources

Facilities

Equipment

Time

Consumables

JUSTIFICATION

Research proposalBackground – any preliminary work

Hypothesis

Experimental design and methods

Timetable and milestones

Task 1

Task 3

Task 2

Task 4

Clear decision points and milestones

Experiment A

YES

NO

Experiment B

What now?

Easy to Read Grants

• At the end of each section – statement of outcomes– How to achieve them

6.

Lay Abstract

• Impact of your work – usually the first thing read

• Remember a 12yr old should be able to understand it

• It needs to be punchy – depending on the funding body they may want to use it for publicity

7.

Assessment CriteriaPrimary criteria = overall quality of proposals

Other factors may be taken into account where relevant:

Adventure

Collaborations

Newly appointed academics

Multidisciplinarity

Research Quality: Ranking

Outstanding

Good

Unsatisfactory

Definition Grade

10987654321

Adequate

Good Proposals…

Are about excellent research

And……..• Demonstrate the capability of applicants• Are clear about the ideas & work plan (what will be done

when & how the parts relate)• Show novelty/added value • Justify resources!• Cite all key publications

“There is no amount of work that will turn a bad idea into a good grant, but…

There are many ways to disguise a good one.”

And finally……..

William Raub, Past Deputy Director, NIH

Remember this when

writing your proposal

Remember this before you resubmit

Images referencesImages• 1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonseagrant/484145849/• 2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/36-degrees/3409840667/sizes/o/• 3. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zawtowers/2817514437/• 4. http://www.flickr.com/photos/mioi/36656382/• 5. http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldofoddy/146446352/sizes/l/• 6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootload/3387506458/• 7. http://www.flickr.com/photos/neldiogo/2562024986/