RIES Brochure FINAL - Cardiff University

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Introduction
Whether you are considering writing your first research application or if you are
a more experienced researcher contemplating your latest bid, securing external
research funding is an important activity which can shape careers in academia.
Winning your own research funding is often a necessity if you are interested in
pursuing your own research ideas (as opposed to working as a researcher on
someone else’s grant) and can provide you with an opportunity to explore a
broader range of projects. Securing funding can seem like a daunting hurdle in the
current climate, where financial cutbacks are in the headlines daily and it seems as
though everyone is scrabbling for cash, but research funds are still available for the
right ideas presented with a well-­‐argued case.
On average around one in four grant applications submitted to the UK Research
Councils is successful and secures funding, so it is vital to ensure that proposals
submitted by the University are competitive. Standards are extremely high, hence
submitting bids which are merely adequate or ‘OK’ is not an option – as in all
other facets of University activity, we should strive for excellence. There are
several reasons for this, including the need to maintain the University’s reputation
for quality, but perhaps the most important is to avoid wasting your time and
other resources in preparing an unsuccessful proposal. Many applications are
compromised by minor errors, so remember that following all appropriate
guidelines and taking advice from experienced colleagues can substantially
increase your chances of success.
Writing a research proposal to any standard can be very time consuming, so
deciding to invest the additional effort required to turn a run-­‐of-­‐the-­‐mill bid into a
potentially fundable one should be a straightforward decision.
By following the advice in this guide, the application process can be streamlined to
maximise your chances of success. Vital to this is taking full advantage of any
internal peer review opportunities available to you and making the most of the
services and advice provided by your school’s research office and Research
Development.
Please read through the advice in this guide and contact the Research
Development team in Research, Innovation and Enterprise Services for further
support. We look forward to working with you.
Dr Dave Bembo
Head of Research Development