This article is for CEOs and Founders of innovation-led businesses. Grant funding is likely to be established as a regular funding source or a topic high on your ‘to-do’ list.
R&D grant funding is non-repayable and non-dilutive, meaning it is one of the most attractive funding sources for businesses developing novel products, processes and services. In this blog we share 6 hacks for CEOs and Founders to improve your chance of winning R&D grant funding.
1: Targeting Multiple R&D Grants
Plan for grant funding to become a regular and embedded part of your overall business funding strategy.
Your company can be involved in multiple live grant-funded projects simultaneously, either as the lead or as a project partner. Ideally you would have a front-runner project that you are leading, with dove-tail projects about 3-9 months behind, building on the outputs of the lead project.
2: Working with Partners in R&D Grant Projects
Identify who you would benefit from working with and approach those organisations about being potential partners in a grant application.
Universities and research organisations get 100% of their costs funded through R&D grants, so in effect they are a free resource to your business if you can get them onboard as a project partner. You can also think about end-users (customers) as a potential partner, can you persuade a key customer to be involved in the testing and feedback phase of your R&D grant project? In many R&D grant applications, having an academic and/or industry partner will improve your chances of winning the funding.
3: Reusable Content in R&D Grant Applications
Spend the time to develop excellent reusable content such as team bio’s, organisation charts, competitor table, work-to-date diagrams, wider impact statements, etc. These content pieces can be used multiple times with slight updates for each grant submission. Don’t reinvent the wheel, reuse and recycle content to save time and deliver high quality applications.
4: Involve the Team in Writing R&D Grant Applications
Delegate responsibility for specific aspects of the grant application to your senior team. Your CFO can manage the budget while your CTO can manage the technical aspects and your COO can lead on developing the project plan. Arrange regular meetings each week during the application writing phase to co-ordinate efforts and align on key points.
5: Maximise Funding from R&D Grants
Check the scope of the grant call for all eligible costs and include budget for costs that the funder will likely wave through. For example, IP advice, market research, project management, financial audits and more can be included in many grant project budgets, covering costs you would otherwise have to cover from internal budgets.
6: Engaging Grant Writers in R&D Grant Applications
Find a grant writing company or freelancer that you can build a long-term relationship with. Writers with 10+ years of experience will improve your chances of success significantly, especially if they have recent successful applications to the grant funds you are targeting. You can expect a least a 10x return on the money you spend on grant writing services, let alone the time and stress they will save you and your team based on their guidance and knowledge.
Summing up
R&D grants are debt-free, non-dilutive and stackable. There are plenty of upsides, now hopefully we have helped you maximise your chance of success. We offer grant writing and grant project management services for UK and EU R&D grants. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss an R&D project or grant funding opportunity.
Alex Chalkley
I have over 20 years experience in founding and scaling businesses, mainly focused on the non-dilutive funding sector. Since 2008, I have built, trained and mentored teams to successfully draw down over €100m in non-dilutive funding from the UK and EU for clients spanning multiple sectors.
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