Why research managers and academic leaders need a holistic approach when choosing funding opportunities
Competition for external grants is the name of the game for funding research activity in Europe and beyond, both at the national scale as well as through EU framework programmes for research and innovation. From the point of view of funding organisations and governments, this is done by design so that only the best projects and the best research groups win.
But how to play the game from the point of view of research organisations? It takes two to tango, and if the overall aim is to increase the quality of research, how can an ambitious research unit make the best decisions on what funding to target?