Funding powers discovery. The billions spent on research and development globally – the UK government alone invested £17.4 billion in 2023 – enable researchers to develop groundbreaking ideas which can, in turn, drive real change. Government backed research schemes like Horizon Europe, discipline-specific grants, charitable trusts, foundation-based funds, donations and legacies allow scholars access to game-changing technology, laboratories, technical support and collaborations that cross borders and power innovation. It also, most simply, gives academics the gift of time and focus to pursue their studies.
Research money is sliced and diced in myriad ways, and researchers must navigate a complex, highly competitive landscape to match their proposal with the right funder. And with global inflation and higher education working within ever tighter budgets in many countries – and the decimation of government backed research funding in the US – the hunt for financial support has got harder. Here, scholars and experts from around the world offer advice about where to find funding, how to write a winning grant proposal, build the right partnerships, manage relationships, navigate setbacks such as proposal rejection, and foster a resilient mindset to support academic research.
Where to find funding
Finding funding is not only about demonstrating the importance of your research; it’s also about where you’re looking, who you’re asking and who is on the journey with you. Follow these tips for building the right team, approaching potential partners and casting the net to maximise your chances of success.
From lab to London Stock Exchange: six lessons for quantum tech founders who want to change the world: Deep-tech commercialisation requires different strategies from those that drive typical start-ups. Rob Young, Alan Gilchrist and Mark Rushforth of Lancaster University share six practical lessons from transforming quantum research into a public company with a £14.8 million valuation.
Five tips to help you find non-federal research funding: Non-profit groups and industry partners can be great sources of funding. Here’s how to find the right ones and build a relationship with them, writes Kalene Johnson of the University of Florida.
Love and money: why the search for funding is like romance: Funding is a relationship of sorts. You and your research funder will enter into a finite symbiosis. It’s a joyful, exciting, uncomfortable and occasionally scary co-dependency, writes Laura Berrisford of the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wananga o Waitaha.
How exactly does research get funded? Ever wondered how research funding works? Raghavendra U of Manipal Academy of Higher Education breaks down the entire process in this resource.
A guide to crafting better research funding proposals: Drawing on the experience of establishing Mexico’s first wine research centre, Eduardo A. Durazo-Watanabe and Mayer Cabrera-Flores of CETYS Universidad share practical strategies for strengthening proposals, diversifying funding sources and leveraging teamwork to make ambitious projects a reality.
The arts and humanities have not been forgotten: finding funding post-pandemic: Edward Harcourt of the Arts and Humanities Research Council on why the arts and humanities are vital to tackling societal challenges and what funding streams are available for research within these disciplines.
Writing a grant proposal
Putting cursor to Word document and producing a coherent “pitch” is a vital step on your journey to securing funding for your research project. Find out how to write a grant proposal to fit your discipline, type of funder or national landscape, and strategies for getting the words down on the page.
Write a grant proposal to win government funding: Hone your grant proposal for government funding to perfection with these tips. Yanwei Wang, Baktiyar Soltabayev and Zhumabay Bakenov of Nazarbayev University draw on their experience from Kazakhstan’s funding landscape.
The four key steps to writing a successful funding bid: The art to writing successful funding bids lies in your vision – and assembling a crack team to enact it. Rob Waterson of the University of East London offers his tips.
A guide to writing grant proposals: To write a successful grant proposal, academics need to focus on the relevant details that will help sell their research idea to the reviewer and this requires a shift in mindset, as Kaycie Butler of Butler Science Communication explains.
All together now: how to write an interdisciplinary research proposal: Advice on drafting successful research proposals to secure support and funding for interdisciplinary projects, from Catherine Lyall and Isabel Fletcher of the University of Edinburgh and Catherine Healy of Trinity College Dublin.
How to write even when the words won’t come: Books, articles and grant proposals do not arrive in a single stroke. They are created, like sculptures, through a thousand small movements. Here, Catherine De Vries of Bocconi University explains how to develop “skill power”.
How to persist through the funding journey
Resilience is a helpful companion on the road from proposal to research project to journal paper to evidencing impact. One contributor lists grit, growth mindset and growth disengagement as necessary psychological attributes for researchers to acquire. These resources show how to get a different perspective on the funding process or your own attitude to it.
Set sail on the choppy waters of grant proposals with the 3 Gs approach: If securing research funding is like a budding pirate king navigating choppy waters in search of untold treasures, how can we build the resilience to keep journeying on? Peter Tay of Singapore Institute of Technology shows how.
Who cares about the problem as much as you do? Securing funding requires researchers to think like strategists, storytellers and coalition-builders. Virginia Tech’s Nicole Akers offers advice on navigating the demanding process to win grants and turn ideas into impact.
How to lose a grant in 10 ways: Want your funding application to be rejected? Have we got some advice for you. But, seriously, don’t do these things and you might just find your perfect grant match. Kathryn Mackinven of the University of Canterbury | Te Whare Wananga or Waitaha explains what not to do.
Donors want to see real-world impact. What does that mean for higher education in the sciences? Amid academia’s challenges related to talent retention and fundraising, universities can use translational research programmes to enhance scientific edge and real-world impact, and strengthen donor relations, writes Shai Shen-Orr from the Technion Israel Institute of Technology.
Alternative pathways to funding
If the well-trodden paths to research funding are not suitable or fruitful, what about the road less travelled? These articles offer insight into how to access hidden ecosystems, leveraging consortia and tapping into legacy fundraising – or not finding funding at all.
Devolved research funding in universities – a counter-narrative: Unfunded research could paradoxically add value to an institution’s output, profile and impact. The University of Southampton’s Rosalind Edwards asks what lessons European initiatives can offer.
Investing in futures: maximising legacy gifts in higher education: Legacy giving provides a valuable and sustainable source of income for charities but it’s still relatively untapped in the higher education sector. With universities and students under increasing financial pressure, now is a good time to make it a priority. Here’s how to get started, writes Carolyn Jones of the University of Liverpool.
What does ‘strengthen research capacity’ actually mean, and how can we do it? Leaders of research consortia face a difficult task in carrying out research and improving research capacity, but embedding a specialist team to make recommendations provides great gains, as experts from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and UPEN explain.
Thank you to all who contributed their expertise and insight to this guide.
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