When it comes to grants and funding, the essential ingredients are a strong team, solid research idea(s) and clear plan. So it is no wonder that many academics forge the grant writing path alone, or with their research team. As an early career researcher, that is exactly what I did. It was only until I began working in a Research & Innovation office at a University that I realised bid support and grant writers existed (hello naïvety).
What surprised me further was that most bid support wasn't actually that focused on the writing element—I had imagined ghost writers behind the scenes providing pages and pages of text. But this isn't feasible or practical (or ethical or equitable or... the list goes on...). You are the expert in your field, whether it’s sciences, engineering, humanities, or social sciences, etc and that can't be replicated by a ghost writer. But: we all know that academics are famously time-poor. Cue bid support—a game changer for the mechanics in-and-around grant writing.
These are the top reasons I've seen academics reach out for bid support—don't be surprised that writing didn't make this list....
Managing the Timeline and Keeping Things Moving: Perhaps the biggest challenge of a large funding proposal is managing the timeline - multiple steps (think: registration, expression of interest, response to reviewers and/or full proposals, interviews, the list goes on...). Missing a deadline, or overlooking an important detail, can derail an entire application. This is where project-management based bid support can be essential - someone to keep the timeline and track, and setup plans for when certain content should be reviewed and finalised (and keep people to it!). Bid supporters can help create a project timeline that breaks down each step, tracks progress, and ensure everything is completed on time. Your research office can help here as well (through more than just internal deadlines & approvals....).
Integrating Policy and Context: Successful bids aren’t just about the research itself; they need to demonstrate how they fit within broader contexts like government priorities, industry needs, or policy agendas. Bid supporters often have experience in adding policy, societal, or economic context to your proposal. They can help ensure that your project clearly addresses key questions, such as: How does this research align with current national or global priorities? How will it contribute to solving real-world problems? This is often a requirement, and can add another layer of depth to your proposal, helping it resonate with reviewers (especially important for government funders).
Building the Business Case and Protecting your Outputs: In many cases, funding bodies want to see more than just the academic value of a project—they want to understand its practical application, potential benefits, and long-term viability. This requires a strong business case, which can be tricky to put together if you're not used to thinking in terms of budgets, value propositions, or long-term outcomes. Most research offices have Business Development Managers, or similar, who can help with this, and also help shape your response to protection of key areas such as IP.
Making the Impact Story Strong (and Accessible): Reviewers and panels aren’t likely to be experts in your specific area of research, and they may be evaluating a wide range of projects. Bid supporters can provide a fresh eye to see if 'intelligent but non-expert' readers will still be interested, informed and eager to learn more about your work. This is also key if you want to highlight the impact of your work - putting this into 'human' terms so the impact is clear - and widely accessible.
Coordinating Collaborators and Stakeholders: The best research projects involve partners, whether they are supervisors, other academics, stakeholders, or international collaborators. Bid support can help ensure that all partners are included, and that the proposal accurately reflects the contributions of each party. 'The herding of the cats.' They can also manage the process of ensuring that roles are clearly defined, making the bid a stronger, more cohesive submission. This can help create a more attractive proposal to funders who look for well-organised, multi-disciplinary collaborations.
Ensuring Compliance with Funder Guidelines: From page limits to formatting and content requirements, funders are strict. Failing to meet these requirements can even result in an automatic rejection, regardless of how strong the proposal is. Bid supporters are familiar with the guidelines of various funders. They can ensure that your proposal is fully compliant with all requirements, and this is a great way Research Offices can help as well.
At the end of the day, the research itself is the heart of your bid. Your expertise is what makes your project valuable. But preparing a grant proposal requires more than just research skills—it also involves things that take time: strategy, management, and communication. So have a think about bid support the next time you have a big bid on the horizon - it just might allow you to free up your time to focus on the part of the process that truly matters: your research. At the same time, you can feel confident that your proposal is as strong as possible.
Your thoughts? Get in touch to let me know what you think.
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