M A S T E R T I T L E

Insight Grant Application Tips

Dr. Kate L. Harkness

Insight Grant Committee Member

Rating Criteria

Challenge

40%

Feasibility

20%

Capability

40%

Total Score out of 18

Review Procedure

Decisions

• Success rate: top ~20%

• ‘Fundable but unfunded’: middle 45%

• Unfundable: bottom 35%

• Successful applications:

–Challenge: 4.7 – 5.7

–Feasibility: 4.6 – 5.75

–Capability: 5.05 – 5.9

Challenge

• Motivate the originality, novelty, and impactof the research question

• Have a theory (figures are great)

• Be creative (and rigorous) in your methodology

• Motivate and explain all aspects of your methodology

• Clearly explain the expected outcomes and how they will be conveyed to stakeholders

Feasibility

• Be realistic!

• Include a clear timeline for completion of all aspects of the project

• Justify feasibility (e.g., sample size, attrition, timeline, etc.)

– Include letters of support/collaboration from partners

– Include pilot data

– Include past experience

Budgets

• Maximum amount $400,000

• Maximum yearly amount $100,000

• Minimum essential funding model– No first-year travel

– JUSTIFY all costs as essential to project

– 30% cut = rejection

Knowledge Mobilization

• Have a plan that involves:

– Academic audiences (peer-review journals, open access, conferences)

– Public/lay audiences (newsletter, website, public lectures, media, on-line materials, etc.)

– Policy, decision makers, practitioners (talks to practitioners, rounds, participation in ‘initiatives’ and ‘institutes’, give workshops, etc.)

• Make the plan specific and include a timeline

• Use the words ‘stakeholders’, ‘flow and exchange of research knowledge’, ‘dissemination’

CV: Capability

• Quantity and quality of peer-review publications count

• Publishing with students

• Record of funding

• Record of training (students going on to research/policy/professional careers)

• Reach beyond academia (workshops, public lectures, etc.)

General points

• Start early

• Read colleagues’ successful applications

• Get feedback on your grant from at least 1 expert and 1 non-expert