Research is a valuable and rewarding activity, but it also requires adequate funding and support from various stakeholders, such as funders, policymakers, collaborators, and end-users. How do you convince them that your research is worth investing in and has a positive impact? Here are some tips to help you justify your research funds to stakeholders.
Before you prepare your research proposal or budget, you need to identify who your stakeholders are and what their interests, expectations, and concerns are. Different stakeholders may have different criteria and priorities for evaluating your research, such as relevance, quality, feasibility, innovation, or impact. You also need to understand their level of influence, involvement, and communication preferences. This will help you tailor your justification to suit their needs and perspectives.
For those operating within specific domains, such as climate change research, keeping a close eye on previously awarded funding calls through the client's website can provide valuable insights. This allows you to identify companies that have been entrusted with projects of similar magnitude, type, sector, or technical requirements. Understanding your competitors and their organizational setup, including staff numbers and configurations, can be illuminating for your own budget configuration.
One of the key aspects of justifying your research funds is to show how your research goals align with the goals of your stakeholders. For example, if you are applying for a grant from a government agency, you need to demonstrate how your research contributes to the agency's mission, vision, and objectives. If you are collaborating with a partner organization, you need to show how your research complements their activities and values. If you are targeting a specific audience, you need to explain how your research addresses their problems and needs.
Furthermore, delving deeper into your client's relationship with various companies and how they align with regional regulations is pivotal. Whether certain laws apply or not can significantly impact your budget considerations. Additionally, identifying key stakeholders within the project is crucial. While a client may have several stakeholders, some projects, especially co-funded ones, might involve a lead funder alongside others working behind the scenes. Recognizing these dynamics will enable you to craft a proposal that not only caters to the broader requirements of the selection panel but also remains aligned with the client's needs, keeping your budget in sync with the proposal's objectives.
Another important aspect of justifying your research funds is to provide evidence and examples to support your claims and arguments. For example, if you are claiming that your research is novel and original, you need to cite relevant literature and show the gaps and limitations of existing knowledge. If you are claiming that your research is feasible and realistic, you need to present a clear and detailed plan and budget, as well as your qualifications and expertise. If you are claiming that your research has a positive impact, you need to describe the expected outcomes and benefits, as well as the methods and indicators for measuring and reporting them.
To bolster support for your budget proposal, consider incorporating visual representations that depict the costs associated with select capital budget items. Providing images illustrating the estimated expenses can be a compelling way to enhance your proposal's persuasive impact.
No research project is without challenges and risks, and stakeholders may have doubts or questions about the potential obstacles and uncertainties that may affect your research. Therefore, you need to anticipate these challenges and risks and address them in your justification. For example, you may need to explain how you will deal with ethical, legal, or social issues that may arise from your research. You may also need to describe how you will mitigate or manage any technical, operational, or financial risks that may threaten your research quality or delivery.
In your proposal, you can highlight that your plan intentionally does not include a contingency budget. Instead, emphasize that the submitted budget has been meticulously designed to allow for flexibility and improvisation in the event of unforeseen contingencies. This strategy can serve multiple purposes. Firstly, it positions your budget as comprehensive and well-thought-out, assuaging any concerns the client may have about the need for additional funding. It showcases your ability to manage resources efficiently. Secondly, it can discourage the client from contemplating budget reductions, as they recognize the inherent flexibility built into your proposal.
Finally, justifying your research funds is not a one-time or one-way process, but an ongoing and interactive process that requires engagement and communication with your stakeholders. You need to establish and maintain a good relationship with your stakeholders, and keep them informed and involved throughout your research cycle. You also need to solicit and respond to their feedback and suggestions, and acknowledge and appreciate their contributions and support. By doing so, you can build trust and credibility with your stakeholders, and increase their commitment and satisfaction with your research.
More often than not, you're responding to a call from an existing client, and it's imperative to grasp their objectives behind initiating the project you're vying for. While it might not always be feasible to have direct interaction within the company, finding avenues to gauge the funding bracket for your proposed project is essential.