Grants: Developing an applications/preparing to submit

Allow plenty of time to work up the grant application. Everything takes longer than you think!
Choose your funder and scheme carefully! Check that you are eligible for the grant funding stream. Many funding streams come with stipulations, therefore check that you meet these. See below for funding sources.
Seek support and guidance e.g. senior colleagues, potential collaborators at an early stage. Consider seeking support from your local NIHR Research Design Service (RDS).
Plan your application. Go out and look for inspiration to help to pull together an idea that is worth being funded!
Have well defined objectives and a clear hypothesis. What does success look like and how will you know when you get there? What are you doing and why are you doing it? Present the knowledge gap that needs addressing and highlight the uniqueness of your approach. Assess the precise nature of your work and identify the important differences between projects which fall under the definition of research as used by funding bodies.

The definition used by the Higher Education Statistical Agency (HESA), based on the Frascati Manual, is used to determine whether a project can be classified as research.

Consider the impact of you research and if possible include relevant preliminary data. Explain the consequences of your work. Who could benefit in the long term? How can you increase the chances of reaching those beneficiaries? Provide enough preliminary data to validate the approach you’ve selected.
Seek patient and public involvement (PPI) if relevant. Many funders now encourage the inclusion of public co-applicants, where appropriate.
Get your proposal reviewed internally. Get a second opinion from a mentor or a senior colleague. Proofread, spell check and stick to specified formats, ensure correct presentation, punctuation and grammar. The RDS can also read drafts work and give advice.
Seek support for grant costing. You will likely have to appropriately cost your grant application through the University costing system.
Allow sufficient time at the final stage as depending on the application it may require a number of individuals from different departments within the University to sign off your final application. Aim to submit it as early as possible before the hard funder deadline.