This is the most important section of the grant application. Without clear evidence that the research is important, useful and timely, it will not be funded. ‘Why should it be done and why now?’ can be covered in several sections:
- Aims. The ‘big picture’ purpose of your research.
Caution. Some researchers confuse aims and methods; when asked about aims, they say we plan to do a double-blinded study with 2 groups (and so on), rather than we aim to determine the effect of X on long-term survival in women with breast cancer.
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Original
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Improved
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The project will use novel assays to identify chemical markers of breast cancer in tears.
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The project aims to improve early detection of breast cancer.
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The project plans to measure water quality at 6 sites before and after installation of a semi-permeable membrane water treatment system.
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The aim of the project is to develop a low-cost water treatment system for rural and remote areas.
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This metastudy will use a combination of performance models to assess the strength of nanostructure materials.
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The project aims to develop novel building materials with the ideal strength and flexibility for use as sea walls.
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- Background. The background to your research includes
- the problem that it is addressing – what the problem is (eg health, environment, industrial, economic, social, scientific); why it is a problem (eg lack of treatment, lack of technology, lack of understanding); and who, what and how many it affects
- the research that is being done to address the problem – current understanding and progress in the field, and how your proposal relates to work in the field
- references – to demonstrate that you have a good knowledge of the field, citing other work in a standard format.
- Significance. Your description of the significance of the research should
- relate directly to the problem you have described in ‘Background’
- describe how your research will address the problem
- describe the impact of the research in terms of dollar value or the number of people affected, or similar
- explain why the work should be done now, and not be put off until some later round of funding (eg every year we wait costs this many dollars or that many lives, or risks Australia losing its pre-eminence in the field; we are poised to build on our preliminary work and now have the collaborations to support progress).
If the problem is more abstract or narrowly focused, you can describe the broader application of the outcomes.
The dinner party technique (see Tips and tricks for writing) is useful for this section: pretend you are talking to someone you want to impress at a party. They ask ‘so why is your work important?’ Answer them clearly and enthusiastically.
