Described as a “must-have for every researcher”, the book “The Research Funding Toolkit” is very clear about its aim “to improve the quality of your grant applications and help you obtain funds to support your research”.
The premise of the book is that in order to win funding you need to know three things:
- · The function of research grant applications
- · How and why grants are awarded
- · What helps an application standout in competition
Chapters give practical, concise advice and cover topics such as “How to be a Fundable Researcher” and “How to convince Decisions Makers: Arguments and Evidence”. Read the glowing review at the LSE Review of Books for more details.
There is also a web site to accompany the book with a useful list of resources, for example, a presentation on the Toolkit’s approach that starts with the “Top five grant-writing mistakes”:
1. Failing to say what research you will do or how you will do it
2. Not providing evidence of the project’s importance or your competence
3. Assuming that you and the decision?makers agree on what is important
4. Assuming that decision-makers have time to consider your application closely
5. Obtaining feedback from colleagues who are too senior, too close or too nice
The book is now available from the Stirling Campus library, see: http://libcat.stir.ac.uk/record=b2152498~S5
Clare Allan
Library Liaison and Development Team