| Research Proposal Guidelines |
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Taken from University of Western Australia The application form simply requires standard information about the proposed project and the investigators. The important parts are: a clear project title, a well-designed and reasonable budget, a statement of the time to be committed to this and other projects, and a succinct and convincing project summary. The importance of the summary should not be underestimated. It often establishes the first impression of a project and may be a factor in determining whether an application is culled at an early stage. Similarly, commitments of time need to be realistic. Applicants should assume that a full-time load is 21 days a month. When writing the project proposal, you must address the following issues:
Aims and significance In this section you should outline the aims of your project, stating clearly what you intend to accomplish over the duration of the grant. You should outline the present state of knowledge in the field at the international level, and describe how your own proposal relates to that knowledge. You must also demonstrate that you have the ability to do the work. Cite relevant references where appropriate, and if you have already done work in this area that is of relevance, explain what you have done and why your own approach is different from the work of others. Include your preliminary data under the next section if it is available. Explain the significance of the outcomes of the research in your proposal. How will your results advance knowledge of the field at an international level? Does your research fit in with any of the priority areas that are listed by the funding agency? If so, then say so. Emphasise the novelty of the project, or your approach to it. And above all, communicate a sense of commitment and enthusiasm to your assessors. Do not bluff. Most assessors are very experienced and will quickly see through extravagant claims. Research plan, methods and techniques In this section you must outline your approach to carrying out the proposed research. This is often very difficult if you have not already done some ground work in the area, and have some idea of the types of ideas you can pursue. This section should be the largest part of your proposal, and is the place to elaborate on the details of the project. The research plan should give an overall viewpoint of the research to be conducted throughout the project. The methods subsection should explain the strategies you will use to carry out your research. The techniques subsection can discuss the types of experiments you will undertake to verify your research, or the specific technological requirements to carry it out (such as infra-red photography). The research plan should make clear the scope and limitations of your project. If you make unreasonable claims about what you might achieve in the given timeframe, your project is likely to be rejected. If the application is for a continuation of funding from the same, or a different funding agency, you will need to include a succinct progress report on the research undertaken to date, sufficient to convince the assessors that funds already allocated have been well spent. Other important tips to follow in this section include the following:
Make sure that there is a clear link between the research plan and the budget. For example, if you are requesting a research assistant in the budget, the research assistant's role should be apparent in the research plan. Timetable You should include an outline of the timetable for research. This usually involves breaking the research down into components of about two to three months' duration and specifying the order in which the research will be undertaken. Some funding agencies require that the timetable be set out formally as milestones to be achieved by certain dates. Make sure that your objectives are achievable within the timetable you have set. Some funding agencies require grant funds to be refunded if researchers do not achieve their objectives on time. Others deny researchers further access to their schemes until satisfactory final reports have been submitted. Justification of the budget A typical application seeks funds for research assistance of some form, equipment, operating expenses, and possibly travel money. You have to decide what it is that you need to accomplish the research you have proposed, and you must justify the need for funds in the light of what is already available to you from the infrastructure provided by the school. For example, you might decide that you need a specific piece of equipment to carry out your research, but you must justify this in terms of the equipment already available in your school. If school equipment is already heavily utilised and your programs are likely to require the use of specific equipment in the order of hours or days, then such justification should not be difficult. You should include a quote for equipment costing more than $2,000 (although the value may vary according to the funding agency). The budget should also provide for a maintenance contract on the equipment after the period of warranty, or an allowance of 15% p.a. for maintenance. If there is a wide range of models for the item of equipment which you need, and you want the expensive one, then you will have to provide very strong justification for that choice. Funding agencies are reluctant to fund above the base level unless they can be convinced otherwise. Similarly, if you want to employ a research assistant above the bottom of the scale, or a research officer rather than a research assistant, you will also need to provide strong justification. Publications It is normal to include a list of your publications for the past five years, since this helps the assessors to determine your track record in conducting research and is likely to directly determine your chances of success. You should asterisk the publications directly relevant to your project. Refereed publications are more significant than unrefereed ones in most cases. Quality of Presentation Sound presentation will not disguise a poor proposal, but it will do justice to a good one. Give the same attention to detail in the presentation of your research proposal as you would for a job application, or when submitting an article for publication in a high-quality journal. Presentation includes both layout and putting your message across simply, but effectively. A Final Word Remember that success does not come easily. In almost every funding scheme, there are many more good proposals than the funds to support them. However, you have to be in it to win it. Learn from your knockbacks, so that each application becomes stronger than the preceding one. Good luck! URL: http://www.acs.uwa.edu.au/research/welcome/win/prop.html © The University of Western Australia [2004] |
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