Writing Research Grants

Dr John Burden

Research Support Services

Research Grants

About a specific piece of research

Ideas driven

Responsive – Bottom up, researcher driven

Thematic – Top down, specific area

Success rates – higher than fellowships

Eligibility

“Can I apply for a grant if I don’t have a permanent contract?”

“Can I apply for a grant as PI if I don’t have a permanent contract?”

Yes

Maybe…..

Eligibility

The Standard Model – i.e BBSRC, EPSRC

• Cannot apply as PI or Co-I without permanent contract

• Research Co-Investigator is possible

• “identified in the application as a key contributor to the project”

• Employed on the project

• Track record of bringing in funding

Eligibility

Arts, Humanities & Medicine – More flexibility, but open competition

• i.e. MRC, some NIHR, ESRC, AHRC, (Wellcome)

• Can apply as PI or Co-I if no permanent contract• Will be judged by same criteria as all other applicants,

however experienced

“Proposals by ECRs in such cases would be considerably strengthened by the inclusion of established academics as Co-Investigators”

Elements of an Application

Online or paper application form• Affects deadline• Signatures needed?• Registering on system

Many pages• Forms are always long• Many different boxes asking for similar sounding info• Need to understand what each bit is asking for• Takes a lot of time

Elements of an Application

• Case for Support • Background

– What is the context of the research?– Why is it important (fit with the funder aims)?– What preliminary work?

• Aims– Research Question?– What do you want to do?– Why? (funder aims, methodological appropriateness)

• Methodology– Detailed multi-page programme of research– Technical (not too technical)

• Outcomes– What will the research deliver (funder priorities)– Be realistic, you are committing to deliver this.

• Costing– From RSS (or other institution)– Well thought through– Realistic (ask for what you need)

• Justification of Resources– Why do you need what you have asked for?– Link costing to Case for Support– All costs except Estates and Indirects

• Pathways to Impact– Who will use your research?– How will you make sure they know about it?

• Management Plan – How will the project be run?– What are the risks and how are they being addressed?

• CVs– All named applicants

Elements of an Application

Writing the Grant

Before you start:

• Deadline• Make sure you know exactly when (date & time)• Non-negotiable• Do not miss it

• Funder Documentation• Guidelines for applicants• Application process• General funder documents (Mission Statements, Priorities)

• Give yourself enough time• Writing the proposal• Sign off procedures

Pre-submission requirements

Internal Peer ReviewProcess varies by departmentInitial Review (2 months before deadline – yes or no)Final Review (2 weeks before deadline – quality)

FP14a / WOLFFormal University proceduremust be completed BEFORE submissionManaged by RSS

Signatures on applicationNot always neededElectronic or wet-ink?Factor in people’s availability near deadline

Writing the Grant

• Never use font size or margins below minimum specified, nor web links

• Opening paragraph is key• What, Why, How?• Sets scene for rest of application

• Make sure proposal is easy to read Split into sections of manageable size Not too technical Clear and well written Tell a story – all the section link “Late-night” Referee

• Boxes with “take home” messages• Use to emphasise key points

• Always link back to funder aims and requirements• Emphasise links to strategic priorities etc• Spell it out, don’t hope the panel pick it up

• Tables & Diagrams• Need to be reasonable size• Check numbers• Can be very useful. Trade off against space?

• References• Correct style and format

• Get feedback and use it• Academics, Peers, RSS, Non-specialists• Repeat process

Writing the Grant

Philosophy of Approach – Selling to a Customer

Funders are customers buying research

You have to sell your proposal to them and make it stand out in a very competitive

marketplace

Assessment Criteria: Quality (Taste, Novelty, Appearance), Impact, Track Record, Value for Money

The manufacturer is applying to have its beans accepted by you. It is saying “Pick Me”

Philosophy of Approach – Selling to a Customer

Excellent research Research has to be high quality & novel

Value for money Delivers successful outcome at reasonable cost

High impact Research delivers outcomes that benefit academic and wider community

Strategic fit Matches what funder wants to buy

Well presented Application is easy to understand and detailed

What Do Funders Want?

Costing Research Grants

Important to make sure you ask for the right amount of money

Too much Not value for money, uncompetitive, scheme limits

Too little Can’t deliver objectives, looks poorly thought out

Outline Bids

Many schemes have initial outline application, before main application invited

Outline must be costed properly as can’t change, or stay within 10% for full application

Full Economic Costing

Universities are required to recover the full cost of any research they undertake

All grants must have a FEC budget, even if it cannot be recovered from the funder

FEC has three cost categories

Directly Incurred CostsAll costs associated with carrying out the research

Staff Costs (salary, NI, pension)

Consumables (reagents, glassware, computers, software etc)

Travel (conferences, research travel, meetings, collaboration)

Equipment (funder restrictions may apply)

Other costs (equipment hire, fees, recruitment, access charges, insurance etc)

Full Economic Costing

Directly Allocated CostsCosts incurred by the university through carrying out the research

PI & Co-I time % of their time managing the project

Estates Costs of running the facilities necessary to carry out the research

Infrastructure Technicians etc. Not specifically for the projectCosts but supporting it

Full Economic Costing

Indirect CostsOther costs for running the University Library, Payroll, HR, IT, RSS etc…..

Cost vs Price

The FEC is the amount it costs the University to do the research

The price is the amount the funder will pay

This varies from funder to funder

Research Council

Charity

DI 80% 100%

DA 80% 0%

Indirect 80% 0%

FEC RC Charity

PI £10,000 £8,000 £0

PDRA £90,000 £72,000 £90,000

Consumables £30,000 £24,000 £30,000

Estates £40,000 £32,000 £0

Indirects £80,000 £64,000 £0

Total £250,000 £200,000 £120,000

Deficit £50,000 £130,000

Talk to RSS about choice of funder and budget – might not be viable

The amount the funder is prepared to pay and the costs that will be covered will have a significant effect on the amount available for research.

Make sure you know how much you have to spend on the research and tailor the project to it – offer what you can deliver with the money

In summary……

• Start early;• Talk to RSS early• Give yourself time to write the grant properly• Develop proposal with input from others

• Offer what the Funder wants;• Fit research to funder criteria & budget• Understand the form & fill in correctly• Excellent research, value for money, high impact, well presented

• Work with the rules• Rules on eligibility won’t change – be creative• Work with others to get work funded• Keep trying