Writing tips

The Dementia Australia Research Foundation aims to build capacity in dementia research in Australia. We have seen hundreds of applications over the years, but only some applications are successful. There are many reasons why one application succeeds where others fail.

We have outlined some of the considerations you should make and common pitfalls applicants fall into when applying to us. We have also collected some advice from our external reviewers, who help to determine the fate of many applications.

The following points are a general guide only, with information that may help you improve your application.

Beginning

Before beginning your application, read the winning profiles from previous year’s award winners to ensure your project is within the scope of what the Foundation supports. Please read the Information for Applicants booklet to ensure that you are eligible to apply.

If you have questions regarding your eligibility, contact us before you start an application. You should make sure the email address and phone number you supply will still be monitored up to nine months later. If your contact details change post-application, update these with the Foundation as soon as possible.

Let your Research Office know as early as possible about your intent to submit an application. The Research Office can ask us questions on your behalf if they cannot answer them, as well as provide other forms of help during the process. You will also require them to sign your endorsement form.

If you are unsure how to start writing your research proposal, seek tutorials or workshops in grant writing through the Research Office of your institute. If your institute does not offer tutorials or workshops you may find that someone in your research group or institution’s Research Office will have experience in writing successful grant applications. Ask if your group or members of your department can offer any advice on your proposal, give past examples, and critique. Establish this support network up front to make sure that you know who you can seek help from as you need it. Larger grant applications are usually collaborative efforts, so practise collaborating and asking for help now.

Writing style

Start writing your application early. Do not rush your proposal and remember that late applications are not accepted.

Every form of writing has its own style and pattern. Reading and taking notes of successful applications can help you learn to write in the appropriate style, so always ask if you can view successful proposals of colleagues in your field.

Carefully consider the language you use and make sure it is appropriate to both your target audience (other researchers) and the population who ultimately benefits from the research you are undertaking. Never refer to ‘dementia suffers’, instead refer to ‘people living with dementia’ – there are many other examples but this one comes up often and is mentioned by reviewers. For more on this, read our guide to dementia-friendly language, "How to talk about dementia".

Make sure you (and others) proof read for spelling and grammar, and be consistent in your use of hyphens, acronyms and scientific terms e.g. use one of beta amyloid or beta-amyloid or amyloid beta etc. Poor language can be jarring to reviewers and will reduce the clarity of your message. You must do what you can to show that your application is the best, as you are often competing against equally qualified peers.

Remember to take your reviewers into account when you write your application. Limit the use of acronyms (spell the phrase in full) and jargon as your reviewer may not be in your exact field. Address your proposal as if you were talking to your department, not just your supervisor.

A solid structure is very important. Plan in dot points how your proposal will be laid out. At this stage it is worth seeking an opinion on your plan so that the structure of your proposal is sound – it will save you re-writing it later, or may help you address logic problems early on. Add notes to your outline and build it from there. A logical application where each point, method and explanation flows is clear and easy to follow. But balance the information carefully – cramming to much information in does not impress reviewers.

When writing your background, be thorough with your research and literature review. Ensure that you have identified the most recent papers on your topic. You may want to ask your supervisor and group members to check to make sure you haven’t missed anything, especially if this is a new project for you.

Selling yourself

You must also submit your Academic Career Summary with your application. Tailor your Summary to the your application. This document is your handshake with the reviewers – be clean, firm and not too long (maximum of 2 pages is allowed).

Remove high school achievements from your Academic Career Summary as these are irrelevant to research awards.
Remove occupations that are irrelevant to your ability to perform your role as a researcher e.g. part-time retail work should be excluded, tutoring and lecturing can be included.
Remove photos, personal interests/hobbies, marital, parental or carer status.
Always make your academic awards and publications easy to identify.
Separate your publications from conference presentations.
There are no formatting requirements for this document but we recommend you keep it professional; only use one font, do not use more than two colours, font size should be consistent between the body and headings etc.

For example you should include the following details:

Name
Current Occupation
Summary (achievements and key skills)
Skills (relevant to your research)
Employment History (you may outline key achievements or brief description of roles)
Education and Training History
Academic Awards, Achievements and Grants (don’t forget to state the value of these awards, and distinguish between salary and project funding).
Publications (separate by type of publication – paper, book, media stories etc.)
Presentations (posters and speeches)

You may include other information such as professional memberships, peer reviews, supervised students and volunteer work, but keep it succinct. Many universities and other educators will offer short courses in preparing Academic Career Summary documents. If you are unsure where to start, see your Research Office or supervisor for guidance.

Your team

A key component of writing your first grant application is a supportive mentor. Your mentor may be your current (or proposed) supervisor, or you may find experts in your area willing to lend their assistance (possibly as a collaborator or associate investigator). Ask senior researchers to be an associate investigator on your application (noting that most of our grants limit associate investigators to three). Chose people who are experienced in your specific area and with expertise where you may be lacking. Identify what help they will be willing to provide you. Ask if they would be willing to share successful grant applications of their own.

Ask senior colleagues for feedback on your proposal well before you submit your application. Give yourself and your colleagues plenty of time to edit and improve your draft proposal.

The science

This is the most important part of a project grants application, and is also very important for scholarships and fellowships. Essentially, the reviewers will be looking to ensure that your proposed project builds on existing research in an important way, that it is well designed (using appropriate methodology), and that it is feasible given the timeframe and budget available. These sound simple, but more often than not they are where unsuccessful applications fail.

Keep up to date with the literature to make sure your proposed project hasn't been superseded before you begin.
Explain the knowledge gap your research will address (but avoid hyperbole)
Identify your hypotheses and explain why they are important

Methodology

Explain and justify your methodology. If you are doing something differently to other researchers in your field, you'll need to explain why. Are you innovating or just deviating?
It helps to have subheadings to address issues such as recruitment, key variables and outcome measures, study design, instruments that will be used, data collection and analysis plan, as relevant. If necessary, seek help from a supervisor or statistical/methodology consultant within your institution to see where you can strengthen this part of your project plan (because you almost always can). If possible, consider adding a power analysis to justify your sampling strategy and analysis plan.
Make sure that the outcomes you are planning to measure will actually meet your objectives and answer your research questions (make sure that they are the best outcomes to use, based on the literature).

Feasibility

Feasibility is a big factor that you must always keep in the forefront of your planning. Project Grants are only for two years, Fellowships are for up to three years and PhD Scholarships are for junior researchers. How much work can you really do in this period of time? And have you allowed time for things not to go exactly as planned (because they often don't!)
Don’t re-badge an unsuccessful grant application for a larger, longer grant into a proposal for one or two years of research. Reviewers certainly notice this!
Aiming for three years of work in only one year significantly reduces the feasibility of your project. Instead, consider how much of your larger grant could realistically achieve in one year. If you are successful, that one year of research the Foundation funds will be a platform for applying for a longer term grants, as many of our past grant recipients have done.

You should consider the following questions as you develop your proposal:

Is your proposal innovative?
Do you know the current issues, controversies and questions in your research area?
Can you place your proposal in context of previous research?
Have you defined your methodological approach clearly?
Did you conduct a power analysis (if relevant) to determine the minimum sample size you will need to make generalisations and recommendations?
Have you thought of potential barriers you may meet throughout the duration of the project and how you might overcome them?
Does your proposal make clear why you chose a particular methodology?
Have you provided a rationale for your chosen method of subject selection/procedure/dataset?
Have you addressed potential limitations of the methodology?
Does your proposal include people with a lived experience of dementia and does the budget include costs associated with their involvement?
Is the project proposal feasible within the time and budget available? Will it still be feasible if ethics approval takes a month longer than expected, or if only half as many participants volunteer as anticipated?
Does the timeline take into consideration breaks and holidays (your own, and other collaborators)
Are there external deadlines that will impact on the project, and are these sufficiently accounted for?
Does your research team have the necessary experience (both in intellectual capacity and in available time, taking into account other obligations) to successfully undertake the project?
Is there adequate support from the institution (resources, equipment, supervision, access to scientific literature and networks, etc)?
Is the infrastructure necessary for a successful performance of the project available, or can it be acquired within the project budget?

Ask a colleague to proofread your final draft before submitting. Make sure grammar and spelling are correct, and ensure that you have uploaded all of the necessary documents.

Finally, own your project. A Dementia Australia Research Foundation Grant or Fellowship can be a first step in your career as an independent researcher, so let this shine through in your application. Lead your project from inception, application to final report, but seek guidance and welcome feedback from more experienced colleagues.

If you have any questions or need help with your application, please contact us promptly, well before the closing date of the grant round.

Involvement of Dementia Advocates

We believe that there are mutual benefits for both researchers and advocates (consumers) from involving people living with dementia, their carers and families and/or the wider public throughout the project, and beyond a role as participants. This may be achieved in any number of ways including:

Consultation about the research proposal – to ensure that it addresses an identified area of priority for people living with dementia, their carers and families. For example, is it something that advocates consider is useful, or did they suggest other ideas that you could consider? Are the requirements for participation going to be practical?
Inclusion as joint grant holders or co-applicants on the research proposal.
Membership of a Steering Committee or Advisory Group or as a "research buddy" for the researcher.
Providing comment on and/or developing patient information leaflets or other research materials.
Involvement in the dissemination of research outcomes and the development of plain language project summaries.

Consider attending one of our seminars on involving people with a lived experience of dementia in your research or watch a previously held seminar. Further information on involving members of the public in research is available here.

The Dementia Australia Research Foundation provides a free online service for Australian researchers who are looking to recruit participants into their studies. Our listing is available on our website. To submit a study, simply upload your details using our online form.

If you would like to invite people living with dementia and/or their carers to be actively involved in your project, such as in an advisory capacity, please contact the Dementia Australia Consumer Engagement team at advocates@dementia.org.au. It is important to reimburse people living with dementia, their carers and families and/or the wider public for reasonable costs associated with their involvement in the project (e.g. their time, travel costs, phone calls).

Communications

How will you communicate your findings beyond the academic community to inform consumers and the broader community? There are numerous channels for this.

It is important that you are able to communicate your project in lay terms, free of scientific jargon and presented in a way that someone without scientific knowledge will be able to understand. Below are some good links on writing a lay summary:

The Academy of Medical Sciences – tips and what a lay should look like.
Elsevier – how to write a lay summary.
Plain English Campaign – how to write in plain English.

The Dementia Australia Research Foundation is committed to promoting dementia research to the public, so contact us to find out the ways we can help you get your message across.