TRAINING
This page is under construction at the moment, but please get in touch if you have any questions about whether these programmes are a good fit for your university or organisation.
Looking for something bespoke? Professor Dan Allwood and I would be happy to discuss how we can help you achieve your aims.
GRANT PROPOSALS
Proposal Launchpad:
Idea Generation for Academics
Author John Steinbeck once said, “Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.”
According to chemist Linus Pauling, “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas and throw away the bad ones.”
This programme helps researchers lay the groundwork for a competitive and compelling proposal by introducing:
- The funding landscape
- Idea generation techniques
- Preliminary research
- Idea evaluation
The aim is to guide participants through the practices that will develop viable research ideas and honestly assess the idea’s potential. This allows researchers to start their grant proposal from a solid foundation.
Couch to £500k:
Turning an Idea
into a Proposal
This is an in-depth programme that provides a step-by-step approach to develop a competitive funding proposal. It enables participants to work on a first draft of their grant and get feedback along the way.
The programme addresses:
- The importance of mindset
- Funding myths and mistaken beliefs
- Clear communication
- Understanding the funder
- Recognising the purpose of each section of a grant proposal
- Thinking about the audience
- How to stand out from the competition (in a positive way)
Although Couch to £500k uses UKRI’s Funding System framework (TFS) as a model, the teaching can be applied to other funders and different funding opportunities.
Writing Effective
Narrative CVs
Many academics are struggling to transition from traditional track records to narrative CVs. The result is disjointed applications that fail to demonstrate the applicant’s or team’s capability to deliver the proposed project.
This course is designed to help researchers overcome these problems by ensuring participants:
- Understand the purpose and structure of narrative CVs.
- Gain practical guidance on each section of UKRI’s R4RI format.
- Avoid common mistakes and confidently present their expertise.
- Develop a personalised action plan to refine their narrative CV.
Mock Prioritisation Panel
This course provides an overview of the panel process followed at the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and puts participants into the shoes of panel members. By experiencing the funding process from a different perspective, participants can better identify how to strengthen their own proposals.
Constructive, Honest, and Kind: How to Review
This short course introduces participants to how to produce a proposal review that will be beneficial to the funder, the panel, the applicant, and even the reviewer themself.
Areas of Influence:
Seven Overlooked Aspects of Writing a Grant Proposal
The title might be a mouthful, but this free taster session does what it says on the tin: provides an overview of often overlooked aspects of writing a competitive grant proposal.
There are no secret formulas that will guarantee funding, but making sure you address these components will take you a step close to your goal.
WRITING TRAINING
Skills for Life:
Academic Writing from the Ground Up
This programme is designed specifically to help PhD students develop the foundational skills they need to write well throughout their career.
Starting from the ground up and reflecting the roots of good writing, we use active learning techniques to help participants create text that communicates exactly what they intend. Rather than follow a formula or engage in box-ticking exercises, we guide them through how to think about and approach written communication so they can analyse and respond to any type of writing task.
By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:
- Identify the characteristics of good (and not-so-good) writing.
- Adapt their writing to different audiences.
- Understand how to write with a purpose and ensure their intention is clear to their audience.
- Plan and structure their argument and evidence.
- Understand the importance of rewriting/editing and how to approach these tasks.
The common strand running throughout each session is helping participants gain confidence in recognising and producing good writing regardless of format. By doing so, they learn how to write well and correct their own mistakes, thereby allowing PhD supervisors to focus on the content rather than the style of their writing.
Writing Retreats
By providing a dedicated, distraction-free environment, writing retreats give participants the opportunity to shake up their normal routine and divert their energy into the activities that are likely to yield the greatest results for their career: writing (and re-writing!) papers and grant proposals.
The virtual retreats we run incorporate the following benefits:
- Accountability: Participants are expected to come prepared with a specific task to work on, which they will share with other members of the group. Check-in points allow them to report on their progress.
- Support: Professor Dan Allwood and I are on hand to provide help and advice when needed. We cultivate a positive, encouraging environment to help each participant on their specific writing journey.
- Networking: Participants have the chance to meet other researchers for potential collaboration opportunities.
- Productivity: Each writing retreat ends by guiding participants through the creation of a plan that helps them identify the next steps they will take on their given task or project.
Writing for Academia
This is a shorter version of the Skills for Life programme that is suitable for PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and those who want a refresher on producing clear and compelling academic writing. It focuses on the components of writing an academic paper and feedback is provided on the assignments.
EVERYTHING ELSE
Rekindling Your Research
Curiosity, problem solving, and discovery draw many people into academic careers, but mid‑career responsibilities can make it difficult to find time for research activities.
The result? A loss of motivation and confidence around research. This programme offers practical help to those in this situation.
- Participants develop a clear picture of the purpose and direction of their research.
- The teaching equips them with practical approaches to creating focused time for deep work
- Introduces them to healthy mindsets that support long-term, productive, enjoyable working
Seasonal Schools
Summer and Winter Schools are an excellent opportunity to introduce attendees to non-technical or “soft” skills training. The following list is an example of the types of courses available either online or in-person; we are happy to discuss bespoke offerings as well:
- Beyond Papers: Developing a Non-Academic Profile
- Considering Audience and Purpose
- Developing Impact Activities
- Developing Public Engagement Activities
- Fellowship Interview Preparation
- Future Planning and Long-term Goals
- Habit Forming: Systems for Success
- How to Network (Without Feeling Weird)
- How Not to Write a Thesis: Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
- The Importance of Summaries
- Introduction to Grant Writing
- Tackling Procrastination and Time Management