When you pursue research funding, you’re looking for that ‘win.’ It’s something with many implications for your career and all things surrounding it -- from supporting your trainees to satisfying the Promotion and Tenure Committee. Usually, the earliest you can hope for a funding decision is within 6 months, but in reality, some decisions can take 18 months or longer.

However, if you adjust your strategy and make an even greater effort on winning funds, you can expect positive results from those efforts before you get that win. Below, I’ll discuss some worthwhile outcomes you can expect to experience.

• Hiring decisions: If you are applying for your first faculty position or looking to move to a new institution, you will have to explain how you plan to pursue funding. Even if you have not had that one big success, hiring committees will recognize a mature, informed discussion of your  funding plans. A weak answer to a question about this would be to merely mention one or two well-known programs and say that you plan to apply to them. A strong answer would be to mention those programs, but also to report on your recent interactions with a range of funders. In an even stronger answer, you would know the names of program officers, recount conversations you have had with them, and describe receiving feedback on white papers and any invitations or encouragement you’ve received to submit proposals. You would also describe active or planned collaborations with researchers at government laboratories. Even without having actually received funding, these will leave them with awareness that you know what needs to be done.

• Influencing future solicitations: The conversations you have with funders may inform their future solicitations. Good program officers should be scouting the community for the best new ideas and championing those. If you can get a funder excited about your idea, they may write it up for investment. This is why DARPA program managers encourage PIs to start conversations related to the Young Faculty Award in March, rather than in the fall when the announcement is typically made. You’re in a stronger position when you are informing research topics rather than only responding to them.

• Collaborations: If you follow my advice to connect with government scientists and engineers as part of your pursuit of funding, ideas for collaborations will sprout. Make your conversations related to funding and collaborations as open-ended as possible. You never know what follow-on may occur -- from long-term, intensive research collaborations to invitations to workshops or ‘swapping’ students for internship experiences. An existing collaboration could put you in a strong position when writing an NSF Research Integration Plan, for example.

• If you get a decline, you may not need to start over from scratch: Declines happen, and sometimes they are truly arbitrary. Regardless, they are disappointing at best. However, if you’ve become an engaged participant in the pursuit of funding, you will be in communication with people with whom you can talk through your potential Plan B. At this point, others will be aware of your ideas and perhaps even willing to serve as advocates for them. This means you are not starting over completely from scratch when you pick up the pieces and try again.

To recap, the funding process is long. It can take many months or even over a year to receive a decision on your proposal. However, if you’ve engaged with the process, there are many benefits you can realize well before you get that decision. Use that time productively. Go for it!

Why you should apply for DOD funding for your research

Check out this video on the three reasons you should apply for DOD funding for your research. For a comprehensive overview of DOD funding opportunities and how to pursue them, check out my free video course.

When you are ready, here’s how we can help

Need to get your research funded, this year? Check out our 10-week program to get you there.

Ready to book a call to discuss our program or to have Dr. Barzyk provide training at your institution? Let’s chat!