BU Research Blog

The RKE Development team have organised a unique experience for BU staff; a 1-2-1 with a leading grant writer. With a career background in both Academia and Industry Dr. Martin Pickard of Grantcraft is a specialist in writing and supporting research grant applications and tenders as well as providing administrative and management support services for ongoing projects. During the last 20 years Martin has worked extensively across Europe with a large number of universities, and research institutes as well as industrial firms, ranging from small SME’s to major international companies.

Martin is providing individual 1-2-1 surgeries with any academic staff member and works individually and confidentiality with each Principal Investigator as the project is structured and prepared in order to optimize the application documentation from every aspect of the Funders perspective; guiding, steering and showing how to optimize the application throughout the bid process.

Academics at BU who have undertaken his guidance have stated his ‘support and direction was invaluable – Martin gave me some pragmatic suggestions which really helped to shape the bid. His eye for detail made the document much easier to read and the message much clearer. I was very grateful for his input’ Assoc. Prof Heather Hartwell, School of Tourism.

In this highly competitive environment, many strong applications pass the threshold but fail to reach the funding level not because of their science or what they say, but because of their structure and what they omit to say.  The science and art of Martin’s assistance directly addresses this major hurdle to success from innumerably perspectives; enabling demonstrated significantly higher success rates. Even experienced staff at BU who have utilized his services, have called Martin’s approach, ‘refreshing and helpful and renewed my energies in the arduous search for funding. He has had a major influence on the structure and presentation of my recent bids’ Prof Barry Richards, Media School.

Martin will work with you through a process of successive discussions and iterations of the application document, identifying and optimising as many of the weaker aspects as possible, starting with your 1-2-1 session. Identifying these weaknesses is important and takes considerable experience to be fully encompassing but the unique aspect of this approach is the direct provision of solutions and alternatives assembled from a lifetime career involvement, understanding and practise.  This way, not only are you made aware of the problem but given a direct improvement solution It is only at the latter stages that effective grant-writing becomes evident with tweaks to phrases and styles as well as implementation of key/typical standards and texts. Results confirm that without this build of research structure behind and throughout the application success is always limited. This unique experience is valued by academics who have undertaken this process with him ‘Martin makes you think differently about approaching bid writing, constructing a bid and how to build up an argument throughout the various boxes; without changing the actual content he makes you think how to make key points jump out at the reviewer’, Dr Darren Lilleker, Media School.

The process, although labour intensive, works; with a proven historical average success rates of close to 1 in 2 against norms of 1 in 8 to 1 in 10. You can take up this unique and valuable experience, by booking a session now. 

Appointments are approx 45 minutes long and you can book multiple sessions. You will also have unlimited telephone and email support to progress your application after meeting with Martin and you can discuss several applications with him. 

Martin is at BU on the following dates and times and sessions must be booked through Dianne Goodman

Upcoming dates:

• 27th March 2013, 1:15-5pm (Talbot Campus) now full

Newly available dates (please note – limited availability):

• 15th April 2013, 9-11am and 2-5pm (Lansdowne Campus) now full
• 16th April 2013, 16:15-5pm (Lansdowne Campus) now full
• 16th May 2013, 9:15am- 5pm (Talbot Campus) now full
• 10th July 2013, 9:15am- 5pm (Talbot Campus)
• 4th September 2013, 9:15- 5 (TBA)