Writing Competitive Research Funding Applications

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This page provides helpful advice on how to write a competitive research funding application. Also see uncompetitive research proposals.

Preparation

• Don't leave your preparation until the last minute. Competitive applications reflect input from colleagues and other parties.
• Obtain the current Guidelines and read them. Make sure your application is within the strategic and thematic priorities of the funding agency.
• Where possible, obtain the Conditions of Award for the grant. It is important to understand the financial and reporting requirements of the grantor.
• Ascertain the internal closing date, and allow enough time for your application to be read by colleagues and checked for compliance by staff in the Office of Research.
• Where possible, obtain the names and positions of the members of the relevant discipline/expert advisory committee responsible for the initial assessment of your application.

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Presentation

• Check for poor expression, grammar and spelling.
• Presentation is critical. Check for clarity of exposition, clear style and visual impact.
• Make good use of shorter paragraphs, frequent bold headings, dot points and judicious use of clear diagrams/formulae .

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Project summary

• The Project Summary is an important component of any application for funding and must clearly articulate the innovation/significance, aims and expected outcomes of the research. The Project Summary must be punchy and enticing enough to encourage assessors to read on. Contact the Office for examples.

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Classification codes

• In some instances, granting agencies use the Research Fields, Courses and Discipline Codes (RFCD) and the Socio-Economic Objective Codes (SEO) to choose the appropriate Discipline Panel/Expert Advisory Committee to undertake the initial assessment of your application. The choice of classifications and codes is extremely important in multi-disciplinary research projects.

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Keywords

• Keywords are often used by Discipline Panels/Expert Advisory Committees to identify assessors for applications. Therefore you need to identify the appropriate keywords to get the right assessor for your application. Where you are asked to nominate multiple keywords, it is wise to choose one or two keywords which cover the broad discipline areas, and then use the remaining keywords to capture the specifics of the project.
  

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Budget

Your budget is one of the most important parts of your application - a good budget indicates a professional approach. Your budget should be:

• Adequate - include sufficient funding to carry out your project.
• Justified - you should be able to justify every item on your budget. Many granting schemes require you to provide a separate budget justification where you should explain why each item is required and how the amount was calculated.
• Organised - organise your budget under headings such as Personnel, Equipment, Maintenance (or Consumables), Travel, etc., with sub-totals and totals easy to find.

Points to note:

• Present a clearly justified, realistic budget.
• Requests for personnel must be justified in terms of qualifications, expertise and duties to be performed. Be sure to include current salary scales (including on-costs) with increments for continuing projects. View salary scales and on-costs.
• Provide cogent reasons for requested equipment, consumables, maintenance and other items.
• In most cases, only travel that is integral to the success of the project will be supported eg field trips, access to specialised archives.
• Requests for teaching relief are rarely approved and must be justified in terms of the Chief Investigator's expertise being so exceptional that it cannot be complemented by others.
• Some granting agencies such as the Australian Research Council are now requesting applicants to provide fully-costed budgets. This involves using a multiplier on the salaries of chief investigators, partner investigators and researchers level A and above. The AVCC multiplier is 1.25 for lab-based and 0.92 for non lab-based research.

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Background

• This section of the application must clearly outline the research currently being undertaken nationally and internationally in the proposed area of research. Provide references to support your claims.
• Once the background has been set, you need to demonstrate how your research will advance knowledge in the area. What is innovative/cutting-edge about your proposed research?

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Project aims

• Must be specific, and expressed in a clear/logical sequence.
• Must be realistic and achievable in the proposed timeframe.
• Provide a clear outline of what you will achieve.

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Research methodology

• Must outline how the research will be done, the progression through the various stages of the project, and their relation to the stated aims and expected outcomes.
• Must include milestones/progress points
• Must outline techniques/methods to be utilised. Where you are using established techniques, be sure to demonstrate that you are fully cognisant of the procedures to be followed. Highlight innovative or cutting edge techniques.

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Free text

• The free-text component of the application is your opportunity to sell the innovation and significance of the proposed research, whilst also convincing assessors that you have the track record to achieve the aims and expected outcomes.
• The following generic headings may be of assistance when preparing the free-text component of your application:
• Executive Summary (concise summary of what the project is about)
• Background (outline research currently being undertaken in the area. A full literature review is not required but you must be able to demonstrate to an assessor that you are fully conversant with the field. Refer only to widely available refereed papers.
• Research Plan, Methods, Techniques and Proposed Timing (clearly outline the scope and limitations of the proposed research. The questions posed, the hypothesis being tested and the strategies to be utilised must be presented in a realistic timeframe. If you are using well known techniques, be sure to demonstrate that you have a solid grasp on the methodology or framework.
• Detailed Justification of Budget (provide detailed justification for items requested in the budget. See comments above on budget
• Description of Researcher/Research Team (provide details of the role, contributions and expertise of the researcher/research team on the project. Assessors must be convinced that the research team has the track record and expertise to successfully meet the aims and expected outcomes.
• Track Record (provide details of the track record of the researchers involved on the project, relative to opportunity. Provide details of awards, prizes, patents, industry experience, activities and achievements, including editorial board/professional society responsibilities. This is also the opportunity to provide details of any circumstances that may have slowed research progress.
• Publications (provide details, in chronological order, of all refereed publications, those accepted for publication and those recently submitted.
• Remember to adhere to the grantor guidelines in terms of page limits, font style and size, as well as required headings.
• It is worthwhile examining the assessment/selection criteria prior to writing the free-text component of your application.

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