My winning proposal: Mindset switch needed for scoping pitch

The challenge in a scoping project bid is understanding how it differs from normal research

Top tips

• Get your team on board with the idea that the project is only exploring the feasibility of future work, not answering a question.
• Whereas gap analysis is part of the preparation for a normal research bid, here it will be the focus of the project itself.
• Remember that the chief beneficiary of many scoping calls will be the funder you’re applying to.
• Bids are likely to be reviewed by a broad panel, so be extra careful if you use field-specific language.

A research funder needs to know the gaps in existing knowledge and the most promising paths to plugging them when planning future calls. Enter—with increasing frequency over the past couple of years—the scoping grant call.