How to Prepare a Grant Application

Finding Funding

Funding opportunities are regularly publicised across the University and it is possible to set personalised funding alerts using databases available at the University (see links on the right).

Bear in mind that funders such as Research Councils have 'responsive mode' funding that responds to academic ideas falling within their remit - your project could be funded even if there are no current calls in the area. Familiarise yourself with the remit and priorities of relevant funders and find out how the funder´s peer review process operates. Keep an eye out for workshops on grant funding that are held by the University, sometimes in conjunction with funders.

Networking with your peers and potential funders is important to take advantage of funding for collaborative and multidisciplinary projects. If you are sharing research information with external partners it may be advisable to have confidentiality agreements in place. For more information about this, contact Kathryn Clarke (k.t.clarke@sheffield.ac.uk) in the University Research Office.

Budget Preparation and URMS

URMS is the University wide web-based tool for costing projects in accordance with the University's externally approved costing methodology and the guidelines of specific funding bodies. You should ensure that the necessary facilities and resources will be available at the required time, and check whether the Research Governance, Ethics and Human Tissue Act regulations have implications for your project. Your floor lead secretary will be able to arrange URMS completion for you. Much of the information you need to provide is similar to what is required for internal review.

The School finance team MUST authorise the URMS before application submission to obtain the final costings.

See contacts for a list of contacts for URMS preparation and approval.

Gaining Ethical Approval for your Application

Please see Research Ethics and Governance.

Advice and Training

If you need help with writing a Grant application or advice on how to improve your sucess rate, why not attend Professor Tim Skerry's, 'Writing a Sucessful Grant Application' workshop. For more information email the Faculty's Training and Development advisor Dr Kay Guccione. Alternatively download the 'Tips for Writing a Sucessful Research Grant'

If you are unsure of the processes involved in gaining ethical approval for research grant applications why not attend the Medical School's: 'Research Ethics and Governance' workshop. For more information email Dr Kay Guccione.