Developing a research proposal
Help and advice to develop your research proposal
- Research funding
- Identifying stakeholders
- Developing your proposal
- Costing and pricing a proposal
- Internal approval
- Submitting a proposal
- Contract negotiation
Getting your proposal right is key to securing the research work you want.
Delve into our resource below to understand how best to maximise your research proposal and learn about other aspects such as research funding and managing research projects.
Research funding
The general starting steps for applying for research funding are:
1. Research project stakeholders
2. Developing a research proposal
3. Identifying research funding
4. Costing and pricing a research proposal
5. Internal approval for research proposals
6. Submitting a research proposal
7. Research contract negotiation
It should be noted however that this is not necessarily a linear process; steps can occur in different orders (particularly in the early stages) and there are often many iterations.
Choosing a funder to approach
- Bear in mind that different research funders may pay differing amounts for the same piece of research.
- Your institution may have a preference for the types of funders that you apply to for research funding, however in general the research itself is more likely to lend itself to one funder rather than another.
- You will need to cost your research and then decide how much money to ask for from your proposed funder.
To identify opportunities for research funding, start by contacting the research office in your institution. Most research offices:
- have databases of research funders and funding opportunities, where you can set up email alerts
- have access to intelligence about up-and-coming opportunities
- offer a tailored service to hunt for opportunities on your behalf
Identify your research project stakeholders
Firstly, identify your research project stakeholders – those who have a positive (or negative) interest in your research project. This exercise can help you to determine the audience for your research proposal and so to have more chance of securing funding.
The purpose of stakeholder analysis is to:
- Identify project stakeholders
- Determine what interest each stakeholder has in your project
- Assess how much influence stakeholders have on the project
- Consider how you will manage and communicate with different types of stakeholder.
Develop your proposal
Outline a research proposal so that you have a plan for what you will do if you secure funding.
Organise and structure the proposal. Build your case by assembling the proposal in distinct sections.
Proposal sections
- Abstract (consider writing your abstract last as it will allow for more concise, project specific information)
- Problem Statement or significance of research
- Project purpose (overall goal and specific objectives)
- Research Design or workplan (activities and timelines)
- Applicant qualifications and capabilities
- Evaluation Plan
- Budget (summary and justifications – refer back to the research design/workplan)
- Appendix (everything else).
Some further tips from PIs for your research proposal:
- Read the call and eligibility criteria carefully – the criteria will be used to evaluate your project
- Explain the importance of your research – why is it needed?
- Assume an intelligent lay reader – don’t use technical jargon, write for a non-specialist audience in a concise, clear way
- Illustrate your project plan – visuals can often explain things more easily. Incorporate diagrams, graphs or other images if appropriate
- Allow for plenty of time to submit and submit via the exact submission guidelines – avoid making your proposal negligible by not submitting late, having a narrative that is too long, having incorrect fonts, having incorrect margins, having spacing that is too small, having signatures or certifications missing, an not having budget narrative missing.
Costing and pricing a research proposal
There is a clear difference between costing and pricing.
The cost of a piece of research is how much it will cost your institution for you to undertake the research in question. In the UK this amount is calculated and described as the full economic cost (fEC).
The price is how much you request (or, rather, eventually get) from your funder.
You may be surprised to know that in almost all cases in the UK the price is lower than the cost.
The key issue for a PI is to be sure that the funds awarded will in fact cover the actual costs of the research, and this is a question that your research office should be able to answer and reassure you about.
You should find help and internal systems available to make all the necessary calculations for your proposal. If you really do need to know how to do it yourself then there are many guides and training courses available (for example, visit ARMA or BUFDG). Your own institution may offer training or guidance.
Full economic costing
All UK Universities are required to use a full economic costing (fEC) methodology that estimates the full cost of undertaking a piece of research; this is then used to inform the amount of money (normally less than the fEC) that will be requested from the funder.
When costing research activities (i.e. project proposals) three main cost elements are considered:
- Directly Incurred (DI) costs, i.e. those that can be explicitly identified and recorded against a project. Examples are a research assistant working full-time on the project, equipment bought for exclusive use by the project, travel directly related to the project, materials bought for the project, etc.
- Directly Allocated (DA) costs, i.e. those that are attributable to a project, but are estimated rather than directly recorded. Examples are the 10% of your time that you expect to spend on the project, a fraction of pool staff that you might draw on, your use of space in the building
- Indirect (Ind) costs, i.e. all the other costs of running your institution, are not directly attributable to the project but nonetheless need to be paid for. Examples are the library, HR, finance, the vice chancellor’s office, IT infrastructure.
Internal approval for research proposals
Your institution will have an internal approval process for submitting proposals for research funding, which will usually be a formal process. It’s best to make yourself aware of your local policy before contacting any potential external funder.
Most processes have a multi-stage sign-off procedure, which could be as little as one person needing to approve a submission to more than five different signatures, for example:
- You, the principal investigator (most institutions require a statement from you – implicit or explicit – that you have followed appropriate procedures, etc.)
- Head of school/department
- Dean of faculty
- Research office
- Finance office
- Deputy/pro-vice-chancellor.
Build in time for approvals
If the process at your institution requires a large number of signatures, then allow plenty of time for the documents to circulate. This time needs to be built into your proposal development schedule and not left to the last minute as often these sign-offs include specific undertakings, for example, confirmation that the proposal has been internally peer reviewed. Internal peer review is consistently reported as being the best way of improving chances of success.
Submitting a research proposal
You must ensure that the proposal has been fully signed off by your internal approval process before submitting it. Most sponsors will require an online submission, so ensure that you and/or your institution are registered to the correct system websites beforehand to submit.
Most online submission systems require a central sign-off, which means that when you submit your proposal it does not go directly to the proposed funder but instead is routed to your central research office for them to do the actual submission (after they have made appropriate governance checks). Ensure to leave additional time for this step.
If you are required to submit a physical submission, or to submit via email, ensure that your institution’s research office has a copy of the proposal as submitted. You will usually need a number of signatures on hard-copy submissions – again leave time for this; many research offices will arrange for the central signature for you (often a deputy/pro-vice-chancellor signature is needed).
Research Contract Negotiation
The amount of negotiation that takes place between the time the funder expresses serious interest in your project and when the contract is finally agreed can vary considerably.
- Some funders will just respond with a “yes” or “no” and the ‘negotiation’ could be as simple as accepting the grant offer
- Others may come back positively but with some suggested changes and a proposed (invariably) lower budget offer
- Some schemes (e.g. UK research council schemes) provide you with feedback from the external peer reviewers and may request more information or clarification.
Use your research office
For commercial funders, after an agreement in principle, there can often be a protracted series of discussions around the price, scope and intellectual property issues in the project.
For all but the simplest of interactions you are strongly advised to contact your research office for advice and potentially to negotiate on your behalf.
When the terms of the project are agreed a signature will be required on behalf of your institution. This is unlikely to be you or your head of department but more likely someone in the central part of your institution – check with your research office.
Things to take away
- Outline a research proposal so that you have a plan for what you will do if you secure funding.
- You will need to cost your research and then decide how much money to ask for from your proposed funder.
- The funders of your research, and the institution at which you are carrying out your research will both want to be informed at regular intervals about the progress of your project.
- How would you change things for the next project?