My winning proposal: How idle chat can spark a major bid

Important projects can be prompted by relaxed discussions, as criminologist Michael Rowe found out

Michael’s top tips

• Don’t dismiss whimsical ideas out of hand and don’t imagine that potential partners will either.
• Use the time afforded by open-ended deadlines to reflect, review and edit the project and proposal.
• Emphasise the visual elements of a project to join up the conceptual, methodological and dissemination parts of a bid.

Michael Rowe is a professor in the department of social sciences at Northumbria University. He won an Economic and Social Research Council Research Grant worth £329,384 for his proposal to study public perceptions of police. The project got underway in March.