GRANT BIDDING: TOP TIPS

Transcription

1 GRANT BIDDING: TOP TIPS Hints and tips for external research bid writing. Laura Howlett, Research Grants Officer Faculty of Health and Life Sciences

2 CONTENTS Formatting Some hints about writing style Abstract / lay summary Case for Support Budget & Justification of Resources Statement of Impact & Pathways to Impact CVs References

3 FORMATTING (FOR UPLOADED DOCUMENTS AND NON- ELECTRONIC SUBMISSIONS) Many funders specify certain formatting parameters; Minimum font size is often 11 standard fonts required to stop you using smaller ones such as this font (Perpetua) which allows you to squeeze in more text in the same space as you could with a standard font. Standard fonts include; Arial used throughout this slide show Helvetica standard Brookes branding font Times New Roman Courier Verdana but not the condensed, compressed or narrow versions of these. NB all the fonts used in this point are size 16, including Perpetua Page margins often a minimum of 1 inch (2.54cm) on all sides.

4 FORMATTING (CONT.) Try not to crowd your pages Where possible, space your paragraphs and use bulleted/numbered lists. Careful of character, word and page limits! pay attention to whether the character limit includes spaces or not you can perform counts of both in MSWord (all versions). be sure to adhere to requirements of splitting the document into sections on new pages use page breaks. Headings; Make sure your headings are clear with Bold, Italic, or underline for emphasis make use of MS Word auto headings. If you re using section numbering, make sure the numbers follow consecutively, and number the subsections properly too!

5 ABSTRACT / LAY SUMMARY Avoid technical language and too much detail. If your abstract is meant to be for a lay, non-expert or public audience, get someone who fits the description to read it or help you write it the Research Office can help! Keep it short pay attention to specified word/character limits.

6 CASE FOR SUPPORT This should include a clear description of the problem or question that the research aims to address (Aims) It should include a description of what you intend to do to reach that (Objectives) You should describe how you will achieve your objectives (Methods) You should also make use of Gantt charts where possible to give a visual representation of the programme of action across the whole project

7 CASE FOR SUPPORT Example Gantt Chart Months Activity later Advertise & appoint RA Train RA, contact parents/schools, plan recruitment On-going recruitment & data collection Scoring of actigraphy, diaries & questionnaires Data entry/analysis Write up results, prepare summary for parents Presentation to local health professionals Conference presentation Submit journal articles

8 CASE FOR SUPPORT (CONT.) Check for guidelines about use of diagrams and figures. Avoid inserting hyperlinks funders often tell panels to ignore them, as websites are seen as supplementary material. Make sure you include a section on expected outcomes. You may also need to describe what outputs you anticipate from the project, and it s better to be specific about target journals/conferences than not.

9 BUDGET AND JUSTIFICATION OF RESOURCES (JoR) You must include ALL possible expenditures for the purpose of the project in the pfact costing. If it s not costed you can t claim for it against the account. Many funders will not allow you via expenditure from one area to another without agreement and that can be very hard to get! Many funders now use the Full Economic Cost (FEC) model for budgets. But you will need to be careful about what percentage or which items they will and will not fund. In internal and external review, your budget, JoR and case for support will be cross-checked against each other and against the pfact make sure they match!

10 BUDGET AND JUSTIFICATION OF RESOURCES (JoR) Your budget should contain everything mentioned in the Case for Support, and it should be fully itemised as far as possible. Your JoR needs to cover everything mentioned in the budget, including salaries. You need to describe why your RA is working at 0.75FTE, and not at 1FTE or 0.5 FTE. Make sure your RAs are appropriately graded if they are going to be running labs and have other high-responsibility roles, think about using Grade 8 you may have to justify this to HR though! If your budget includes travel and accommodation expenses, there are a number of ways you can estimate subsistence rates and travel, including using the HMRC s Worldwide Subsistence Rates table, or by asking colleagues of their past experiences.

11 STATEMENT OF IMPACT / PATHWAYS TO IMPACT In this context, Impact refers to any economic or social benefits that have arisen as a direct result of the research that you have carried out. It does not include Academic Impact (see next slide). The Statement of Impact section is asking you to demonstrate that you have thought about whether the work you are proposing is likely to result in impact, and what that impact might be, and who the beneficiaries might be. The Pathways section is asking you to think of ways in which you can facilitate the impact to be realised.

12 STATEMENT OF IMPACT / PATHWAYS TO IMPACT

13 STATEMENT OF IMPACT / PATHWAYS TO IMPACT For Research Council bids, these are two separate distinct sections therefore, do not simply copy and paste between them! There are guidelines about what these should contain on the Research Councils websites, on the JeS online application system help and on the RCUK website no excuses! Broadly speaking, other funders have adopted similar definitions of what impact is to that of the research councils. Remember, outreach activities are not impact, but they are potentially a pathway to achieve it!

14 STATEMENT OF IMPACT / PATHWAYS TO IMPACT Remember, though the Impact sections are not reviewed by panels in as much depth as the Case for Support or the JoR, if there is a decision to be made to fund one bid rather than another, and all other aspects being equal, the Statement of Impact and the Pathways might just become the deciding factor! If you can t see any potential impact from the proposal (beyond the academic community) you must fully explain WHY in your Statement and Pathways sections don t just leave them blank!

15 STATEMENT OF IMPACT / PATHWAYS TO IMPACT There is loads of guidance on the Impact aspects of Research Council bids to be found on the RCUK website:

16 CVs / STATEMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS / CAREER SUMMARY Keep them short maximum 2 sides A4 Look out for specific guidance from the funder as to what they want included; You will need to judge whether it is best to include all your most recent publications/awards/posts, or those that are most relevant to the project being proposed. Those of you who are more experienced may need to be highly selective as to what goes on there.

17 REFERENCES Make sure all your references are using the same style Choosing a numbered style may help you keep the flow of your case for support better than one in which author names are inserted. If appropriate, highlight your name in your (co-)authored publications. Try not to crowd your references list if you ve not got much space, make sure you format them so it s clear where one reference begins and one ends.

18 AND FINALLY Remember, your colleagues are one of the best resources you have don t be shy of asking their advice! The research office has handled a lot of bids, so we can also advise.