Reviewers want to know that the funding will be well aimed. The return can be a national or international benefit, or commercial potential. This is often the section that is most neglected in research applications, and a clear ‘value for money’ proposition will make your application stand out from others.
Some issues to consider follow, but these are only a small sample of the many potential outcomes of research:
- Benefits. These can be
- academic, including advancing the knowledge base of the discipline, or developing new methodologies or technologies
- economic, including the value of new products developed through the research; the value of new or expanded industry activity; or the economic and social costs saved in better treatments, better industry processes, reduced work hours or reduced workplace turnover
- health related, including better outcomes for patients, reduced mortality or morbidity, avoidance of adverse outcomes, or improved health system procedures
- social, including better educational outcomes, improved services for marginal communities, or improved cultural understanding and acceptance
- environmental, including reduced use of energy, reduced use of raw materials, reduced waste or pollution, or better reuse of waste.
- Commercial potential. For grants with a commercial aspect, you will need to describe
- the nature and value of the potential market (and possibly how this value was ascertained or modelled)
- how intellectual property from the project will be owned and managed
- the steps to market (including research milestones; prototype testing and scale-up; whether you will approach industry or venture capitalists, or establish your own company; and licensing arrangements)
- expected royalty or other monetary return, with matching timelines.
Be as concrete and specific as possible in describing the return of the research:
This project aims to provide guidelines to pathologists to enable earlier diagnosis of 60% of breast cancers.
not
This project aims to improve breast cancer diagnosis.
or
This project aims to improve women’s health.
Tips. Read the guidelines for applicants. Keep to all length limits, file size limits and so on. Do not have your application thrown out on a technicality!
If possible, read the guidelines for the assessors too. They may be instructed to look for specific qualities, and these may vary from year to year. Are they emphasising, for example:
- international linkages?
- national research priorities?
- employment-related outcomes?
Get feedback from successful applicants in your field and organisation. If possible, read copies of successful applications to the same scheme.