Don’t just ask for funding

I have seen the frustration of academic colleagues when their grant applications are unsuccessful. Indeed, the projects they seek funding for are important: they address crucial questions of our age; they create significant artworks or designs; they generate essential knowledge and enduring collaborations; they make a difference to communities, industries, the environment. Why do funders say no, even when a project is clearly relevant to their funding scheme?

When you write about a project you are passionate about, it is easy to forget that your application, to a funder, is the equivalent of a business plan to a venture capitalist. There is no money for nothing: when you pitch to Dragon’s Den, you know Dragons want to see a financial return on their investment. Well, it’s the same for research funders – only they are not after financial gains. So what non-financial returns can you offer them?

The benefits of your projects can take many forms: how you will contribute to the aims of the funding scheme; new collaborations and co-operations you will generate; how visible your work (and the funder’s support) will be; how many communities, industries, or academic disciplines you will impact; how enduring and productive your project’s legacy will be. All of these should be laid out clearly in your application: bring them to the fore, make them stand out.

Perhaps look at it like this: turn the tables around. Don’t just ask for funding: make them an offer they can’t refuse.