How to Ask for Funding

🥣 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐫, 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 🥄

OR

💼 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲!

I thought a little bit about sending the wrong messaging with this image thumbnail (referencing Oliver Twist) about power dynamics, any possible symbolism about lack of funding in academia and all that... but given just as often I'm the one begging for funding as deciding it, and that I love Dickens, I'm sticking with it. And I also learnt something new today about the quote -see my note* below!)

In today's Hacking Academia video, I talk about some of the ways in which you can make your requests for funding - whether for a conference trip, a piece of equipment - whatever - more concise, less likely to be misinterpreted, less of a cognitive and time demand on the decision maker you're approaching, and in all likelihood more effective in getting a result on average - whether immediately or later on. All good things for all involved!

I cover:

🧠 checking your assumptions about the decison maker's world view and perspective: going in with incorrect assumptions can make your request dead on arrival

📌 concise and up front with <what>, <why good / what enables>, <how much>: with details, context and nuances later on. Decision makers are typically time-starved, often cognitively overloaded: make it easier on them.

🚫 do not drip feed incremental "surprise" funding requests 🚫. When making the specific request, give the decision maker a best guess idea of what they're likely to see from you over say the next 12 months

📎 provide context and explain, explicitly, what it will enable and why that is a "good thing" 📎 The decision-maker isn't immersed in it like you are.

🎌 flag the importance to you, especially relative to your other funding requests. There's usually not enough funding to do everything, fully: make the priorities clear

🎯 capture the likelihood of success or partial success 🎯: some activities are all or nothing, for others partial success is still valuable

🍰 is partial funding useful? Yes, if it gets you meaningfully started on a goal: no if it's an all or nothing affair like a specific trip (unless you can find the remaining money elsewhere)

Getting effective at asking for funding is a valuable skill that many careers will lean on heavily: it also has onflow benefits in research and academia in pitching for grants, projects or fellowships, making your "ask" as compelling as possible.

🖥️ YouTube: https://lnkd.in/dU35M77e

#grants #funding #money #resources #requests #pitching #university #industry #government #fellowships #projects #support #travel #equipment #research #careeradvice

* the first Oliver movie I saw was the 1948 one starring Alec Guiness, and I, like most of the internet, had always thought the quote was:

"Please sir, can I have some more"

It is in fact:

"Please sir, I want some more" 🤔