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Navigating the world of research grants 

Workshop offers tips and tricks from successful applicants

By Anna Sarkissian

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After three years on the SSHRC adjudication committee, new scholar Harriet Petrakos from the education department says she now has a great respect for the process.

Petrakos and other successful applicants shared their insights at a research grant workshop on Sept. 3, organized by the Office of Research and the four Faculties.
She received funding for three years to study children's transition to school and family-school collaboration.

“You learn a lot being part of the process,” Petrakos said during the afternoon’s Social Science and Humanities break out session, which also featured Joanna Berzowska from Fine Arts and Michel Magnan from the John Molson School of Business.

Petrakos advised potential applicants to demonstrate why their study is meaningful, and discussed the fine line between writing for a general and a highly specialized audience. Applications are often evaluated by scholars from a number of different fields.

Magnan elaborated on that point, saying the use of complex jargon that some committee members may not understand is a high-risk strategy, which could go either way.

“Sometimes they say, ‘Oh, it’s very tough [to understand]. It must be good,’” he said. Other times, they will lose interest and move on to the next proposal.

If you’re not successful the first time, try again, Magnan said, encouraging professors to polish their applications and reapply with the same topic. For those who don’t have an extensive CV with publications in respected journals, he recommended working with an established collaborator. “You need to be aggressive, but you need to be realistic.”

In an interview following the workshop, Associate Director of Research Development Kristina Ohrvall advised prospective applicants to touch base with their Faculty’s research facilitator as soon as possible. The facilitator can help choose the right agency and the right program in order to improve the chances of success, she explained.

Ohrvall also repeated the words of psychology professor Jennifer McGrath, who presented a workshop earlier in the day. “Good grantsmanship cannot save a bad idea, but poor grantsmanship can sink a good idea.”