Navigating Research Funding with Confidence (Success in Research)

Who is this book for?Conducting research is something all of us do daily, if informally, to helpwith decision-making; many of us conduct research in a more formalmanner to add to knowledge and to inform professional decision-making.It is the latter group for whom we wrote this book in recognition thatformal research, from doctorates, through postdoctoral, general academicand Fellowship levels, that is not funded directly within industrial andcommercial professions, always requires some form of financial supportacquired through bids directed towards various kinds of funders.It takes some considerable skill to win such funding, not least because theworld of research funding is considerably complex with somewhat bizarreand even quirky rules, many of which are tacit, not readily available toinitiates. Finding out what to ask for, how to ask for it and at whom toaddress our pleas is fraught with tortuous channels, replete with stormyseas and tricky sandbanks so that some people spend a lifetime traversingthem with little to show for it in the end. If only they had asked fellowtravellers on occasion to show them a clearer route or a short-cut or thebest way to trim their sails, they might have been more successful. We areconcerned here to make transparent some of the rules that we havegrappled with, to de-mystify some rituals and to dispel myths.The authors are fellow travellers, each bearing some scars but also withtales of relatively secret by-ways, kind trade winds and joyful encounters,who also have some ideas about who else might provide tug boats, pilotsand itineraries to aid others along the way. Enough of the metaphor! Wehave joined together to add to and share the literature and contacts thatwe have used to fund our own research and that of others.Thus, we hope that this book will prove useful to newer researchers,indeed to those only yet contemplating a doctorate and concerned aboutseeking funding to support such study, as well as to those embarking on aquest... A timely manual in the current climate of increasingly underfunded departments and institutions, this book offers insight into how to secure, manage and effectively research funding in the changing order of global economy and competing research priorities. It gives you the perspectives of those who seek, and those who award research funding, such as governments, companies and foundations. Examining the full cycle and elements of influence of research funding, this book comes with: • Practical case studies, • Lists of potential funding sources that you can use to enhance your funding generation efforts, and • Explanatory videos Clear and digestible, this text delivers systematic guidance for early career researchers and students in Graduate Schools, Doctoral Colleges, Research Methods Programmes, Academic and Research Staff Development Programmes. "A timely manual in the current climate of increasingly underfunded departments and institutions, this book offers insight into how to secure research funding and manage it effectively. It provides the perspectives of those who seek and those who award research funding, such as governments, companies and foundations."--Provided by publisher