What to look for in the best Research Grant Writers
Before you apply for a research grant, you should know what skills the best Research Grant Writers have. What does it take to produce a winning funding application? How do you impress the funder with your grant and proposal writing?
In this blog, we’ll discuss what it takes to apply for a research grant. We’ll explore the skills you need for a successful proposal and outline the types of grants available. Keep reading to find out more!
What is a Research Grant Writer?
A Research Grant Writer is someone who works on behalf of clients, or internally for an organisation. So, if a company wants to apply for funding for a research project, a Research Grant Writer can help.
They’ll produce an engaging grant proposal that is clear and direct. Professional Grant Writers use their skills to optimise their client’s chances of success in securing the funding.
What qualities make the best Research Grant Writers?
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Research ability
The best Research Grant Writers will be experts at researching relevant funding opportunities, as well as the funder themselves.
Before you actually produce a grant proposal, you must research the opportunity in detail. If you don’t, you run the risk of wasting time and resources on an unrealistic opportunity. It’s also important to research the funder before proceeding with the application. This is so you can ensure your values align with those of the contracting authority.
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Planning
The best Research Grant Writers will plan their grant proposal before diving straight in. This is to make sure they have everything in place to increase their chances of success.
As part of this planning process, you should produce a business plan. By doing this, the funder will be able to assess your business and how you plan on spending the money.
It’s important to tailor your business plan to each opportunity that you go for. However, generally, you should aim to include the following:
- Your mission statement
- Products and services
- Information about your company
- Your employees
- Financial information
- Growth plans
- Your USP(s)
- Target audience
- Achievable milestones.
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Excellent writing skills
Now, it might sound obvious, but the best Research Grant Writers should have excellent writing skills. They need to win the funder over with their writing, and to do that, they need to produce engaging content. To make sure their clients stand the best chance of winning, they must deliver a high-quality proposal. So, for all that to be possible, they need a talent for writing.
Grant proposals should use clear writing that is easy to read. Remember, to increase your chances of success, you need to make your proposal as enjoyable as possible. If the funder is gripped by your grant application from start to finish, you’ll have a higher chance of winning.
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Adaptability
As well as excellent writing skills, the best Research Grant Writers can adapt their writing style for different grant applications. This is important, as different grants will have different requirements.
For example, research grants for charities and non-profit organisations will focus on emotion and storytelling. In these applications, the proposal should pull on the funder’s heartstrings. Here, the funder wants to see how you’re going to make a difference in society.
On the other hand, however, a business grant will focus more on facts and figures. It will focus less on emotion, and more on business development. Here, the funder wants to see your business plan, including how you intend to make a profit.
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Organisation
The grant funding process can be lengthy and time consuming. Depending on the opportunity, it can take weeks, or even months, to produce an application. The deadline for most funding opportunities is strict and final. If you miss the submission date, you’ve missed out on that opportunity.
Therefore, the best Research Grant Writers are great at staying organised. They set internal deadlines to help them stay on track throughout every stage of the grant writing process. These are likely to consider:
- The first draft
- Rewrites
- Proofreading and editing
- Technology malfunctions
- Unexpected delays.
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Consider the funder’s perspective
Another quality that the best Research Grant Writers possess is to consider the funder’s perspective. What does the funder hope to achieve?
As you can see from the examples above, most research grant funders have similar goals. This is generally for businesses to produce or develop an innovative idea. For example, the funder might provide financial support to a technology start-up for a new process. Considering the funder’s perspective will help you align your proposal to their aims, which will increase your chances of success.
The best Research Grant Writers will also ensure that the funding application is easy for the funder to review. This includes sticking to word counts, page limits and formatting instructions. For example, they’ll consider the following:
- White space
- Headings
- Subheadings
- Bullet points
- Illustrations
- Graphs.
What research grants are available?
R&D Tax Relief
R&D Tax Relief enables businesses to claim back a significant amount of development costs each year. It can be used to cover a range of research and development related costs, such as:
- Employee costs
- Software Costs
- Consumable items
- Subcontractor costs.
To apply for this grant, you must:
- Be looking to advance science or technology.
- Aim to create an advance in the overall field, not just for your business.
- Employ less than 500 staff.
- Have a turnover of less than £100 million.
Successful applications can claim up to 32% of development costs each year.
Innovate UK
If you’re searching for ‘best Research Grant Writers’ to develop an innovative service or product, try With Innovate UK, businesses could be eligible for grants from £250,000 to £10 million.
They also offer a selection innovation loans, directed at SMEs. Small businesses can borrow up to £1 million to fund their late-stage development project.
To apply for this grant, you must be a UK-based business. While businesses of all sizes can apply for this grant, other requirements could apply, depending on the specific opportunity.
In conclusion
So, now you know what qualities the best Research Grant Writers possess. To increase your chances of success when applying for research grants, you should have an excellent research ability. You need to find relevant, suitable opportunities for your business, as well as research the funder. You also need to be incredibly organised so you can keep on track throughout the grant funding process. Finally, you should consider the funder’s perspective, ensuring your application is easy for them to review.
If you don’t have someone to write the proposal in-house, you could outsource to a professional Research Grant Writer. They possess a talent for writing and can produce engaging content that showcases your organisation in the best light. They’ll also adapt their writing style to suit the grant and your sector. For example, they’ll produce an emotion-based proposal for a charity grant and focus on facts for a business grant.
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