Vivian about to present at #HBPRCA_WS2020 (image from this tweet)

I was very excited to have been awarded the William and Elizabeth Fisher scholarship! 

Since the beginning of my PhD, the gender disparity in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) workforce has been evident to me. Because of this, I wanted to join an organisation that aimed to support and empower women in higher education.

I went on the hunt to find out what organisations were out there because, surely, I wasn’t the first person to have this urge to support and empower others. This is when I found the Graduate Women Victoria (GWV) association. This association was founded in 1920 by a group of graduate women who shared the common goal of promoting understanding among university women around the world, irrespective of race, nationality, religion, or political opinion.

One of the ways that GWV supports the careers of Victorian undergraduate and postgraduate women is through their annual awards, scholarships, and bursaries, made possible by donations from their benefactors and members. These are specifically for students who have or are currently overcoming disadvantages in pursuit of their studies.

Given that the last couple of years have been turbulent for everyone, scholarships and awards that help in any way are an opportunity not to be missed. Personally, I was facing difficult family circumstances and, as a result, had additional carer responsibilities which had a significant impact on my PhD studies.

Initially, I didn’t think I would be eligible for the scholarship, and that someone else would be more deserving of it than me. In retrospect, I am grateful that my supervisors supported and nudged me in the right direction, because the scholarship has significantly alleviated my financial burden.

When applying for the scholarship, I was in the second year of my PhD and by then had already hit the ground running. My studies were going well, and I often felt like I didn’t have time to breathe (I’m sure other PhD students can relate!) and never really had the chance to sit down and reflect on my achievements. This was mostly because I had a neverending to-do list, comprised of data analysis and experiments. Writing this scholarship application, however, gave me that chance to reflect and think about my PhD in a broader sense. I was able to condense my research project into an engaging and digestible package and think about how far I have come, despite all the disruptions. Being able to still achieve a high level of productivity throughout this tough time spoke volumes about my love for science and research.

Another section of the application asked me to highlight my strengths. Of course, this is always an awkward thing to think about but, again, it gave me the chance to reflect. Before this, I used to think about how lucky I was to be in the PhD program (that darn Imposter Syndrome!). I am grateful to be surrounded by family, friends and in particular, other PhD students, who often feel the same, and  we should remember that only ~2% of people in Australia have PhDs and getting into doctoral programs can be difficult. So, we are here because we deserve to be. This was reiterated in the letters I obtained from my two referees.

The last section of the application was about detailing our future plans, which is always daunting to think about. I highlighted my goals in becoming a postdoctoral researcher in the cardiometabolic field who was committed to making change. Given my experiences as a first-generation Vietnamese-Australian, and first in my family to pursue postgraduate education, I wanted to demonstrate to the GWV that I was aligned with their goals. I am passionate about raising awareness and creating opportunities for minorities, women, and girls in STEM and I have championed these causes in the past. I want to not only support and empower the next generation of women in STEM but also to one day build a platform to bridge the language barrier, ensuring that marginalised groups receive accurate, evidence-based information to make informed health decisions.

I am extremely grateful to have been a recipient of this prestigious scholarship. To other women (undergraduate and postgraduate) experiencing any forms of disadvantage, I encourage you to reach out and apply for the GWVscholarships. Not only did it relieve financial burden, but the awards ceremony where other recipients shared their journey made me realise that I am now a part of a community of incredible women who are dedicated to supporting, upskilling, and uplifting each other. It takes a village to raise a PhD student and the GWV is just one of those villages!

More broadly to all graduate researchers: seek out funding opportunities and put your hat in the ring! Learning to write applications for grants and scholarships will set you up well in your career, no matter where you go.  

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Vivian Tran is a PhD student at the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research. Her PhD aims to characterise a novel mouse model of diet-induced metabolic syndrome. Currently, she is developing her research profile. For her scientific work, she has presented at several national and international conferences. 

Vivian’s passion for science extends far beyond the lab. She is dedicated to creating an inclusive STEM space and empowering students to become confident in their STEM-related abilities. She champions this by being a STEM outreach demonstrator and Educational Partnerships facilitator, and actively participates in various science communication events. 

You can find Vivian on Twitter @vivianvtran.

The post What writing a scholarship application taught me about myself (Vivian Tran) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Our crowdfunding campaign 


It has been a busy time for our research team during these last few weeks, as we launched our crowd funding campaign on Wednesday 20 May. The campaign aimed to raise $3,500 for a project in the Central Dry Zone (CDZ) of Myanmar, where we will try to improve degraded wasteland soils so that small-holder farmers can use them again for growing food crops.

The funds will purchase and modify a single-tine ripper in Geelong, then ship it up to Myanmar for use in the project.

Next year, when COVID-19 is hopefully behind us, a member of our team will travel to the CDZ and set up two small pilot trials to test best-bet interventions for improving these soils. They will most likely involve ripping the compacted soils and adding manure and fertiliser deep into the rip-lines, and then grow a crop of sorghum during the monsoon rainy season. This approach has worked for us here in Victoria, and we want to see if it will work for the CDZ farmers.

A wasteland soil in the Central Dry Zone in Myanmar | Photo courtesy of the author

So, why crowdfunding?

The reason we chose crowdfunding for this project is that it’s very difficult to acquire research funds for this type of project. Our government has been cutting back in providing funds for international agricultural development, and it is difficult to know which philanthropic organisation to approach. The total money required is relatively small, and the humanitarian nature of this project has appeal. We thought the project lent itself to crowdfunding – here’s the “Deep roots in Myanmar” campaign site at Pozible.

The campaign has been surprisingly successful in that the target was reached on Friday 22 May morning, just two days after the launch!

Robert Edis (RIGHT) talking with farmer in the CDZ | Photo courtesy of the author

What’s involved with crowdfunding?

Well, the issue for busy academics is that crowdfunding does take quite a lot of time and effort. A solo academic, inexperienced in crowdfunding, would find it very difficult to mount a major campaign. Fortunately, our team had four members working on the project, and strategic advice from Jonathan O’Donnell (who is doing his PhD on research crowdfunding).

Two essential tasks for our crowdfunding project were:

1. Building the website on the Pozible platform, and 
2. Spreading the word among potential supporters. I found this difficult and was taken to the edge of my comfort zone in asking potential supporters for a donation.

The project will be all set to go when the ripper arrives in Myanmar. The fieldwork will start in April-May 2021, pandemic permitting. We have a list of around thirty-five supporters, who donated to the campaign, and we will send emails to update them on progress.

We will need additional funds in 2021 and plan to run a larger campaign to fund the second site at Thangtha in the dry zone with a funding target of around $7,000.

Why do we do this type of research?

Most researchers would like their research to have a beneficial impact on people in need. This applies to this project and, in this respect, we identify with the words of La Trobe’s founding Vice-Chancellor, the late David Myers: “The true measure of a university’s greatness is the total effect it has on human welfare and progress”. 

Another source of motivation lies with the science. We want to see if these interventions improve crop productivity and sustainability on these wasteland soils; if it does, then why?

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Peter Sale (LEFT), who authored this post, is a staff member at La Trobe from 1988-2018. His research interests in his later years were in subsoil amelioration, and he made trips to Myanmar in 2015 and 2018 where he focussed on ways to improve wasteland soils in the dry zone. 

The project leader is Gary Clark from the Animal Plant and Soil Sciences Department in the School of Life Sciences. Gary lectures in soil science at La Trobe; he was awarded his PhD in subsoil amelioration in 2009. 

Robert Edis is a team member who recently retired from managing agricultural research programs in soils/agronomy with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research.

Thander Nyi is a team member and a Soil Scientist (and Chair the ASEAN Regional Soil and Nutrient Management Expert Group) – Land Use Division, Myanmar.

Project leader Gary Clark (LEFT) and team member Robert Edis | Photos courtesy of the author

Project team member Thander Nyi |  Photo courtesy of the author

We received a great deal of valuable advice from Jonathan O’Donnell, the final member of the team. Jonathan works at the University of Melbourne and is undertaking PhD studies (RMIT) on crowdfunding in Australian universities. 

The post Raising research funds with crowdfunding (Peter Sale) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

“What do you do for the Social Research Assistance Platform?”

This is a question I often get asked when I tell someone where I work.

My quick answer is always: “I help give out internal funding to researchers and provide a match-making service for researchers and research assistants”.*

The next question is usually: “How do I get this internal funding?”

So, here’s the post about winning an internal grant!

I must start of with a disclaimer: I don’t claim to be an expert in this but what I am sharing is based on my years of experience with the platform and its funding rounds, and my own observations. The RED team runs a great session on grant writing called the ‘5 Rules of Grant Club’. If you have not been to one, I highly recommend that you do! [We didn’t make Amy say this – we promise! But here’s the next session on 22 October, if you’re interested!]

Here are my top six tips for internal grant success:

Have lots of perseverance and determination.

I don’t want to put you off applying for grants, but some applications can be painfully tedious and time-consuming, especially if it’s your first couple of times applying for a grant. I can, however, assure you that it’s worth it. The sense of self-satisfaction when you are awarded a grant, even a small one, is worth the pain!

Even if you were unsuccessful, the learnings (ensure that you request for feedback from the grant provider!) will help you to reach further and be more successful next time. Internal grants are a good stepping stone towards bigger grants in the future.

Read and understand guidelines!


Although internal grants are not as competitive as external ones, there are still eligibility requirements, guidelines and other conditions to follow. Read and understand them. Ask lots of questions. Speak to the person coordinating the grant. It is best not to guess! Guessing only leads to confusion and frustration. You do not want to be spending hours putting together an application and being told that you are not eligible, or that your request does not fit the remit of the grant.


Start early!

It usually takes longer to put together a complete application than you’d expect. Haphazard applications are easily detected and frowned upon. Remember that your assessors are experienced scholars and they’ll know if an application was well thought out or completed one hour before the deadline. Your name is on it, so you are not leaving a good impression with a bad application.


Do not assume that assessors are familiar with your projects.

At the Platform, we receive applications and have assessors from a variety of disciplines. Some projects are easier to understand than others. The first few sections of an application are very important. Pay lots of attention to the title and summary of your project. A clear, engaging, concise, and convincing application that’s easily readable will improve your chances. Avoid the use of jargon and acronyms, and assume that it is for a general audience.


Proofread your application!

Not only for typos and grammatical errors, but for clarity and how convincing you are with your request. Ask someone else to read your application – it is even better if the reader knows nothing about your area of research!


Budget appropriately and be realistic.

Underestimating how much a project will cost is as bad as overestimating. Itemise your budget and provide evidence. Do not give the assessors an opportunity to doubt your project’s feasibility.

A summarised version of these tips is available here. Feel free to share it with your colleagues and friends!

I wish you every success!


* If you are interested in the match-making aspect, please feel free to get in touch with me!


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Amy Kong is the current Social Research Assistance Platform Coordinator at La Trobe University.


She has worked in the higher education for nearly 10 years coordinating programs and projects, university compliance, analysing the student lifecycle and providing advisory services to staff and students.


Through the years, she has developed a broad view of university functions. 

The post Applying for an internal grant (Amy Kong) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Elephant in knitted suit plus child | Photo by Kim Tairi www.flickr.com/photos/angels_have_the_phone_box

Given that I work as a research-only academic, pulling together large grant applications is something that I do a LOT of.

When I started my job as a research officer back in 2009, my contribution was limited to chasing up bits and pieces for senior colleagues who were submitting grants. I was given tasks like adding up budgets and finding references.

Now, I lead my own grant applications (mostly Australian Research Council grants, but occasionally large tenders for industry or philanthropic grants). I collaborate with national and international colleagues, as well as industry partners.

I’ve had more failures than successes (which applies to just about every other researcher I know) but, regardless of the outcome, there are things I’ve learned over the years about making the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.

Here are my key tips for your grant writing pleasure!

Tip #1: If you need partners, organise them early.

If you’re dealing with external partners (e.g. other universities, industry), this process needs to start early. I’ve started some negotiations a year out!

It takes a long time to get the sign-off/letters of commitment, and you often need to deal with various levels of management. To expedite the process, I develop a two-page project plan that outlines everything we will require from a partner (i.e. cash and in-kind commitment, letters of commitment), which can be negotiated if needed. I also prepare a template for the letter of commitment (certain grant bodies have strict stipulations over what must go in these letters), so that the partner can simply fill in their details and place it all on letterhead. My theory is that if you make it easy for them, it’ll be easier for you in the long run!

Tip #2: Eat the elephant one bite at a time.

Before starting an application, I take myself off to a café with the Instructions to Applicants document and make an itemised list of everything I must do, with deadlines attached. Some of these are Research Office deadlines, some of them are self-imposed!

I itemise all the sections I need to write, things I need to ask other people on the grant to do (i.e. send their CVs, their track-record documents, letters of support), and things I need to ask the Research Office to do (i.e. budgets). This acts as an ‘action plan’, and I add to it as the grant evolves (i.e. the need to follow up with people, revision of drafts). I use the OmniFocus app (Mac only) to do this, but you can use a table in Word or an Excel spreadsheet. I find this helpful as I can spread the work out over time. It’s unusual that I get huge blocks of time that I can allocate!

Tip #3: Write like it’s for your fifteen-year-old child/sibling/cousin.

A senior colleague told me this many years ago when I was writing my first successful application, and I’ve never forgotten it. While the statement may be an oversimplification, it just means that anyone who picks up your grant application to read should be able to understand it.

Keep your sentences short and sweet, avoid jargon, and make sure you explain all your key terms. Given that the reviewer is unlikely to be in your exact research area, they need to be able to understand what you’re talking about without too much effort.

Tip #4: Find some critical friends, and find them early.

When I start writing a grant application, I line up a series of people external to the proposal to read the draft application for feedback. I’m quite strategic in how I do this – I normally try to get someone who is familiar with the subject area, a senior academic who is not necessarily in my area but who reviews a lot of competitive grants, and a non-academic (think here of your partner or a parent – this is particularly useful in achieving point #3!). This is beneficial in two ways: it gives me diverse feedback and a deadline to work to. I normally give them a month’s notice if I can.

The catch is that you must be willing to do this for others if/when they ask. It’s all part of the circle of niceness!

Tip #5: Do what the Research Office tells you to.

This seems obvious but it really does make your life easier if you meet your Research Office’s deadlines because then you can get the help you need.

Just about every grant I’ve put in has had some sort of last-minute drama (signatures missing, formatting issues) that has been picked up by the Research Office because my application it was submitted well before the grant body deadline. It’s worth the effort. So put the research office dates in your Tip #2 list, and think of them as non-negotiable!

Happy grant-writing!

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Rachel Winterton is a research fellow at the John Richards Initiative, La Trobe University, Wodonga. 


Her research focuses on how rural communities, governments and organisations are managing and responding to challenges posed by population ageing. 


She is internationally recognised for her work on rural ageing and voluntarism, and is currently completing a series of projects with international collaborators exploring critical perspectives on volunteering in ageing rural communities.  


Other research interests include the implications of rural retirement migration for rural service provision, rural age-friendly communities and the role of rural systems and structures in facilitating wellness for rural ageing populations.


Rachel tweets at @RachelWinterton.

The post Things I’ve learned about putting together large grant applications (Rachel Winterton) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Photo by Thomas Hawk www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk

As the manager of the Graduate Research School (GRS), I’m keenly aware that one of the topics we’re often asked at the GRS is around grants and additional funds: “how do I find what’s out there and how do I actually get paid?”

We know that research can be expensive!

Apart from fees and basic living expenses, costs associated with research can add up. You might want to travel overseas to conduct your fieldwork, purchase useful equipment to get your project underway and, at some point, you’ll almost certainly want to attend a conference to present your research.

You can also work with your colleagues to build a better intellectual climate – invite a guest speaker, set up a Wiki, or run a well-catered (and therefore well-attended!) reading group or seminar to support the efforts of graduate researchers across your discipline.

Sometimes, it seems like there are floods of cash available for doctoral and research Master’s candidates, but finding it and then seeing the dollars materialise can take more effort than the research these funds are intended to support. That’s not the intention.

I’ve put together some questions and answers here in an effort to shine a light on the sources of funding available and what’s involved in getting paid.

Q: Who has all this money to give us? 

A: Lots of people.

The first person to ask is your supervisor. Your supervisor will be an expert in your discipline area and should be able to give you a useful set of tips about where to start – perhaps there are discipline-specific mailing lists you should be subscribed to, or professional organisations you can join.

You should also speak with your Graduate Research Coordinator. Each School, Department or major discipline area has its own Graduate Research Coordinator, or GRC. These staff are specialists in your discipline area and, as experienced researchers themselves, will be able to give you good advice. You should certainly be receiving all the relevant emails from your area and these will include information on funding opportunities at La Trobe. There might be standing funds available or rounds in which you can apply – in any event, make sure you ask if you don’t know . . . then ask again next year, in case there are new opportunities you’ve missed. You can’t go wrong with this approach!

Moving slightly outside of your immediate discipline, it’s essential to subscribe to the interdisciplinary Research Focus Area (RFA) Newsletters for opportunities across La Trobe. We know that at least two-thirds of our graduate research candidates have a relationship (or potential relationship) with an RFA. If you’re not sure where you fit, speak with your supervisor. Each RFA publishes regular newsletters that feature opportunities for funding that may not be published in other forums.

Here at the Graduate Research School, we have an Intellectual Climate Fund. This grant is offered annually to groups of graduate researchers who come up with initiatives to support their local areas. Last year’s applications were incredibly diverse. People arranged for everything from lab training to symposia with invited speakers, networking breakfasts, career nights. There was even a proposal for a new student society at the Bendigo campus for Bendigo Graduate Researchers. If you’ve got a good idea and can put together a cogent application that fits the criteria, chances are there’s money here for you, too!

You can also look outside La Trobe for money – and we hope you do. These applications might entail a bit more work, but can be very lucrative. The GRS has set up a tailored Research Professional search that displays all the latest grant opportunities, both in Australia and internationally. It’s well worth taking time time to look through the results carefully – you’ll find a list of opportunities here and here.

Finally, talk with the Grants Team in the La Trobe University Research Office for support and mentoring in applying for grants. This team are real experts – they live and breathe research grants and will support you through the application process.

Q: I’ve applied, I’ve been successful – show me the money! 

A: Congratulations! Your next mission is to determine how to get paid. If it’s from someone at La Trobe (such as your School or the GRS), we’ll let you know directly. Often, this will be through your School Finance team. Channeling external money through the University into your bank account can be more challenging. In a large organisation like a University, this isn’t always simple. That’s because we need to report to the government about any money we have coming through for research purposes, as ‘research income’, and that means there are some specific steps we need follow.

Q: Hang on, what do you mean ‘research income’? 


A: Good question! It’s not always easy to tell. To see whether we need to report the funding through the Research Office, we’ll ask whether you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions:

1. Is the money connected to a major external grant, for example, through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) or Australian Research Council (ARC)?

2. Do you know if the funding otherwise reportable through HERD(C) (Higher Education Research Data Collection)?

3. Is the funding for a PhD stipend (other than an Australian Postgraduate Award (APA) or La Trobe University Postgraduate Research Scholarship (LTUPRS))?

4. Is the funding for a purpose other than travel to a conference?

5. Is it for more than $5,000, or are you still not sure?

If you answer ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then ‘research income’ may be a good way to describe your money. Make your way to the Grants Team at the Research Office to discuss further; they will need to be a part of it.

Q: So, what are the specific steps we’ll need to follow?


A: There are several, and you’ll see that lots of people and offices are involved. A very important point to keep in mind is that all external research funding is administered through the Research Office and, to access grant funds that have been awarded to you, your supervisor will first need to submit what’s called a Research Activity Statement (RAS).

Once they’ve done that, a member of the Research Office can arrange for what is called a ‘WBS’ to be set up – this is where the funds are allocated. Central Finance will then arrange to receive the funds from the external funding body (for example, by generating an invoice). Once the WBS has been set up, you or the Chief Investigator (CI) on the grant (possibly your supervisor, possibly someone else) will need to go work with your School Finance team in the College of Arts, Social Science and Commerce (ASSC), or in the College of Science, Health and Engineering (SHE) (if you do not have access to the Staff Intranet, your supervisor should be able to provide you with the contact details) – they will often be your final port of call.

We find the hardest question to answer is “how do I get paid” when only some of these steps have been completed and, at the GRS, we can’t tell which. This means we sometimes don’t know who to ask next for advice.

We’ll usually start with the Grants Team at the Resesarch Office (they really are great), but often they’ll need to say that the ball is now in your supervisor’s court, or that someone in Finance will now have the answers. We know it’s frustrating to be directed from one place to the other in search of a simple answer.

Q: What if the money has been awarded to me or my supervisor directly, or if it is not research income at all?


A: If this is the case, talk with your School Finance contact in ASSC, or in SHE. Again, your supervisor will be able to help you out with these contact details if you don’t have access to the Staff Intranet.

Q: So…do I even need to talk to the GRS about grants?


A: You’re always welcome to talk with the GRS! And you’ll need to talk with us if, for example, you’re looking to travel or base yourself outside of your usual campus for some time. Make sure you let us know if there are going to be any changes to your candidature as a result of receiving grant funds – the forms you’ll want are always here!

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Dr Clare McCausland manages the Graduate Research School at La Trobe, where she has worked since 2014. 


She has worked in policy and operational roles in research and graduate research for ‘many years’. 


Clare has a PhD in moral philosophy and publishes on animal protection issues.

The post The 101 on grants for graduate researchers (Clare McCausland) appeared first on Research Education and Development.

The first awardees for this brand new scheme have just been notified!

The Intellectual Climate Fund for Graduate Researchers was created and launched in July this year.

Sponsored by the Graduate Research School, the Associate PVCs (Research) of ASSC and SHE, this initiative offered over 20 grants of up to $500 each. Matching funding from Schools, departments, and research centres was strongly encouraged.

The awards were available to graduate researcher groups to support the development of their local research communities.

The scheme embraced a broad range of activities, and these could take place across schools, departments, physical locations, or disciplines.

At the ‘Intellectual Climate Fund’ launch on 9 July, Dean of the Graduate Research School Professor Chris Pakes challenged applicants to engage an “entrepreneurial spirit” with their ideas.

Teams of graduate researchers answered Professor Pakes’ call and proposed projects ranging from theory salons, symposiums, and careers events, to stats skills development, networking breakfasts, and supporting new graduate researcher societies.

All the awarded activities must take place before the end of 2015, so look out for a burgeoning range of researcher opportunities over the next few months.

FULL LISTING OF AWARDED GRANTS: Intellectual Climate Fund Awardees – August 2015

As well as the stimulating and ongoing benefits of bringing together various groups of researchers at the university, this scheme offers valuable experience in event organisation, grant application writing, and project management.

Awardees will be submitting a report on their initiatives at the end of the year. We look forward to hearing all about them!

The post First awards – Intellectual Climate Fund for Graduate Researchers appeared first on Research Education and Development.

Photo by Thomas Hawk www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk

Writing research grant applications should be treated as a highly trainable skill.

No-one comes to the process with an automatic ability to comprehend grants-speak, and you’d have to be worried about anyone who did!

You should treat this short article as the tip of the iceberg in terms of advice on how to start your grant writing career.

My perspective is informed by my ten years or so of experience as a research academic, and the convenor of a research network that mentors many early career researchers.

Whether they’re for project grants, fellowships, conference travel, visiting scholars, or publications, all funding schemes have one basic desire: To give money away to the best applicants.

Your job is to convince the granting body that you’re the best team and project for the investment of their funds. Particularly in major national schemes, such as the ARC DECRA (Discovery Early Career Researcher Award), the competition can be intense.

While no advice can guarantee you grant success, there are many things you can do to make sure you are in serious contention.

These elements are essential to successful grant applications:


Building an excellent publication track-record relative to opportunity.
The argument you need to present in the track-record section of any grant application is that you have performed well given the opportunities that you’ve had. You need to show that you have the potential and skill to produce wonderful outcomes for the granting body and the research field more generally. While track-records are often heavily weighted towards publications, there are other things that can flag that you have research potential and a good professional profile. These include activities such as refereeing for prestigious journals, undertaking significant editorial roles, being an active member of an academic or professional association, and initiating events that lead to quality publications.

Developing a convincing, innovative project that has intellectual rigour and integrity.
Research projects should never be thrown together for the sake of a funding scheme that happens to be around. All good researchers have a project (or two, or three…) in the pipe-line, and these get worked up over time (e.g. gaining publications in your newer areas of research to establish track-record).

Creating a strong research team.
As well as a compelling project, the collaborative potential for your research team has to be convincing: Have you presented or published together yet? What kinds of connections do you have? Did you just find each other in a staff directory? Present a case for your team that assures the granting body that you are a cohesive, dynamic group with an exciting blend of expertise that will successfully complete the project.

Learning to read and comprehend grant-speak.
I know this sounds simplistic, not to mention incredibly boring, but it is a habit that many academics never acquire. Reading the guidelines allows you to figure out things like:

• whether you should even be applying for that grant (eligibility issues, which might include things like the number of years from the award of your PhD),
• what you can do with it (there may be restrictions on funding items, such as travel or other personnel),
• when you need to get the application submitted (major grants have multiple deadlines if you’re submitting through a university; Australian Research Council [ARC] applications are due at College research offices many weeks before the actual ARC deadline), and 
• how long you’ve got to get things done (most grants have a ‘life’ for the project, and often have set dates by which you have to spend the grant).

Don’t let all your hard work in compiling an application go to waste because you’ve overlooked the fact that you are outside of what the granting body considers an “ECR” (early career researcher), or your project is asking for things the grant isn’t allowed to provide. In addition, as you get more experienced, you’ll learn to read between  the lines of the rules and guidelines, and be able to present your project in the most strategic and effective way for the scheme. For example, some granting bodies are more likely to support medical research in certain fields than others.

Cultivate a strong network of ‘critical friends’
As an emerging researcher, it would also be good to start gathering around you a cohort of rigorous, supportive reviewers for your papers and future grant applications.

These reviewers don’t have to be experts in your area and, in fact, may be more valuable if they’re not. Having your research engage the interest of those who are NOT from your area is very important in granting rounds; most times, assessors will be academic, but non-expert.

Your potential personal reviewers could be your peers (i.e. fellow grad researchers), your supervisors, or mentors who’ve demonstrated grant/project success. One of the best ways to fast-track your grant application know-how is to see how (successful) others have done it.

Some researchers also thrive in writing groups. A possible model for a writing group is: you are all working towards the same deadline for a grant application, and have informal weekly meetings to encourage, compare notes, and critique each other’s work.

Pay attention to feedback
When you get feedback from your network of reviewers, make sure you consider their comments properly. You asked them to review for you because you valued their opinion, right? So, if they tell you that your project concepts aren’t well explained, or they’re not convinced you can do the project in that time-frame, think about these issues seriously and amend your application, if necessary.

We often get too close to the topics we’re researching and need someone else to point out our conceptual/theoretical short-cuts.

The process of applying for grants takes much longer than you think it will, and can be tedious and painful. I can attest that it gets easier with practice, and keeping your CV up to date makes life a lot easier.

Be stubborn
All that said, one of the qualities most successful, grant-winning academics have in common is determination (or stubbornness, depending on who you talk to…). Do not be put off by a few knock-backs. You’ve already done the hard work with writing up a convincing, exciting project description and organising your track-record information.

With some tweaking, your project can now be shopped around as many relevant funding schemes as it takes to get funded.

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