3.4 The consequences of success
Naturally, the prime objective of this exercise is to develop a proposal and win a research grant, and you will be very happy when this occurs. However, before you make the final commitment to submitting your proposal for consideration, it is worth taking time to make sure you fully understand the consequences of success.
As you know, if you receive funding you have a responsibility to deliver the project for which you are being funded. Are you sure that you can commit yourself sufficiently to achieve the desired outcome? For example, you may already be involved in other projects, you may have a heavy teaching commitment, or there may be personal reasons which could restrict you, etc.
Do you clearly understand what the granting body wants delivered and when they want it? As mentioned before, there must be clear communication between yourself and the funding body, communication which will need to continue throughout the life of the project.
Have you thought what might happen if you don't deliver? Depending on the reason, if you mess up a grant it will reflect badly on your track record and can be a backward step in your career.
One final thing to consider relates to the risk versus benefit of a particular funding agreement. Are you sure that the funding body will deliver its contribution to the project? This issue is primarily related to in-kind contributions. For example, there have been instances where one of the key contributions for the successful completion of the research project is access to a database. However, this access was considerably delayed or was never made available for one reason or another, creating difficulties for researchers and students.
The next topic within this module relates to project management – helping you to plan what you are going to do once you have a grant, and managing time and quality.
Modules