1. Identify Funding Sources: Researchers need to find funding sources such as government agencies, private foundations, and industry partners. Some examples of grant sources include:
- The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC)
- Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF)
- Australian Research Council (ARC)
- Universities
- Organisations
- Foundations
2. Read Guidelines: Each funding source has specific guidelines and criteria to follow. For example, Australian Research Council Grant guidelines. Here we can see the grant is for Global Alliance for Chronic Disease: Management of Multiple Long-Term Conditions Funding Call 2024. It states when the grant opens for applications and closes.
3. Prepare Proposal: This includes a detailed research plan, budget, timeline, and expected outcomes. The research proposal includes:
- What your research is all about.
- The problem and how it affects people.
- What the research plan is.
- How it will address the problem.
- What you need funding for.
4. Submit Application: Applicants submit their applications on time through an online portal.
5. Peer Review: Experts review the applications. They consider the proposal’s merit, feasibility, and potential impact.
A grant includes many parts. It can be long and take some time to finish.
- Highlights the importance of the project.
- Background: Current gaps in the research.
- Hypothesis: What do you suspect with happen? Have a plan B.
- Methods: How is this going to happen?
- Expected outcomes: research outputs.
- Support: For example, resources, infrastructure, knowledge, equipment and facilities.
- Timeline: a visual and realistic timeline.
- References: Evidence to support your proposed research.