Research Proposals

Want to develop your skill and confidence in writing competitive funding proposals?

Couch to £500k is an in-depth 10-session course that will help you understand how to create clear, concise and compelling proposals.

The programme is suitable for any funder, although its structure is based on that of a UKRI proposal.

It’s not all content though - assignments and feedback allow you to put lessons into practice to embed learning and produce a proposal draft.

Includes:

• 10 × 3-hour live online sessions

• Assignments with feedback

• 3 × 1:1 meetings with a trainer

• Recordings of all session content and bonus material

• Dedicated course website with recordings, worksheets and additional resources. Accessible for 6 months after the course ends

Are you searching for your next research idea? Or maybe just your first idea?

Proposal Launchpad will help you find research ideas, evaluate them and grow them into fundable propositions.

The programme will help you develop good habits that will ensure that ideas continue to come well into the future.

Includes:

• 4 × 3-hour live online sessions

• Recordings of all session content and bonus material

• Dedicated course website the recordings, worksheets and additional resources. Accessible for 6 months after the course ends

What is a narrative CV and how do you write one?

What is the ‘R4RI’ format?

How can I write a narrative CV for a large project team?

If you have these questions or are otherwise confused by narrative CVs, Writing Effective Narrative CVs is for you.

This course will help you understand what a narrative CV is and how you can best use the format to show why you and your research team can be trusted to deliver on your next research project proposal.

Includes:

• 2 × 3-hour live online sessions

  • Coming soon: on-demand sessions

• Recordings of all session content and bonus material

• Dedicated course website with recordings, worksheets and additional resources. Accessible for 6 months after the course ends

Are you approaching the final stages of writing a funding proposal? Would you like additional perspectives to make your proposal as competitive as possible?

Our proposal audits provide detailed feedback on final-draft proposals.

We go from large-scale aspects to the detail of semi-colons. The feedback includes proof reading but also comments on the messaging, structure, the nature of the writing and communication, and the fit to funder guidance.

Contact us to enquire about our availability and your timescales for this.

Understanding how prioritisation panels work - really work - offers key learning that can help with proposal writing.

Prioritisation panels typically consider proposal reviews and applicant responses to rank proposals by overall quality, which translates to which proposals get funded.

Mock Prioritisation Panels give groups of researchers and academics the opportunity to experience what it’s like being on a funding panel. Participants see what reviewers typically comment on, what makes a good review, and what makes a good applicant response.

All of these perspectives are invaluable when it comes to writing a proposal.

In short, gaining an understanding of the practices and dynamics of a prioritisation panel can help researchers write more competitive proposals.

Includes:

• 2 × 3-hr live online sessions

• Dedicated course website with recordings, worksheets and additional resources. Accessible for 6 months after the course ends