You are invited to informal ‘pub night’ to brainstorm and discuss a basic and common ‘chicken or egg’ problem in funding:
The story often goes like this…
1. An issue is identified that appears to justify further inquiry
2. A source of potential funding is identified that appears to align with the research proposal
3. Where does the time and energy come from to write a grant if key individuals or potential partners are a) already swamped with important existing work, or b) unable to invest/risk unpaid hours in grant development without compensation?
To put the conundrum another way: are there any creative approaches we can employ to navigate, circumvent, or collaborate around the significant ‘opportunity cost’ of applying for funding? The perennial dilemma here is that grant development consumes and expends precious institutional resources without guaranteeing any return on the investment.
This is an informal conversation, to which academics, grant writers, funders, researchers, consultants, and program evaluators of all sorts are invited. We don’t assume we are going to ‘solve’ this question, but we think there is benefit in gathering as a group to swap perspectives.
Wed, 1 November 2017
7:30 PM – 9:30 PM EDT
Chaucer’s Pub (122 Carling Street)