Key takeaways
- Academic research depends on funding, and securing a research grant is one of the most consequential steps for any early-career researcher.
- The five biggest barriers are: intense competition, strict eligibility criteria, aligning your work to funder priorities, uneven availability of funding across disciplines, and the administrative burden of applications.
- Each barrier can be addressed with a clear strategy: tailor proposals to funders, seek alternative routes like internal grants or philanthropic foundations, emphasise societal relevance, diversify funding sources, and start applications early with proper guidance.
- There are reputable funding agencies across the EU, UK, and US covering most disciplines. Matching your work to the right agency is as important as the application itself.
- Indeemo supports academic research projects with a secure, flexible qualitative research platform for postgraduates and early-career researchers.
Why does funding matter for academic research?
Academic research advances our understanding across science, technology, the social sciences, and the humanities. It's also costly and time-consuming, and it needs resources to happen at all. Funding enables researchers to conduct studies, collect data, and share findings. It supports innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and contributes to solutions for societal challenges. It also helps universities attract and retain top researchers.
This guide is part of a series for postgraduates and early-career researchers. Two other guides in the series may be useful as you plan your project:
- Choosing the best primary data collection tool for qualitative research in academia
- Obtaining ethical approval for academic research
What are the barriers to obtaining a research grant?
Five barriers come up consistently for postgraduates and early-career researchers. Each can be worked through with the right approach.
1. Intense competition
Funding agencies receive numerous grant proposals, often far exceeding the resources available. Researchers face stiff competition for limited opportunities, so it's crucial to develop compelling proposals that stand out.
Tip: Research funding agencies thoroughly, tailor your proposal to their priorities, and emphasise the unique aspects and potential impact of your work.
2. Stringent criteria and eligibility requirements
Funders set strict criteria to allocate resources transparently. Those criteria can be a challenge, particularly for early-career scientists or those exploring unconventional research avenues. A limited track record, lack of preliminary data, or insufficient institutional support may all affect eligibility.
Tip: Seek alternative funding options like internal grants, philanthropic foundations, or collaborative initiatives that prioritise early-career researchers or unconventional projects. Collaborate with established researchers who can provide mentorship and institutional backing.
3. Research relevance and alignment
Funders often prioritise projects with clear relevance to societal needs, policy priorities, or industry demand. Demonstrating the direct impact of your research and its alignment with a funder's goals can significantly improve your chances. That can be harder for researchers working on fundamental or interdisciplinary topics that don't fit neatly into established categories.
Tip: Emphasise the broader societal benefits of your research — potential applications, pressing challenges addressed, or theoretical advances. Collaborating with industry partners or policymakers can help establish relevance and improve funding prospects.
4. Limited funding opportunities
Funding availability varies across disciplines, research areas, and regions. Basic science and social sciences can face greater challenges than applied sciences. Funding gaps also exist for certain research topics and marginalised communities, which compounds inequities in access.
Tip: Explore diverse funding sources — government grants, private foundations, industry partnerships, crowdfunding, or international collaborations. Interdisciplinary collaborations can open up cross-disciplinary funding you might not otherwise be eligible for.
5. Administrative burden and complex application processes
Administrative requirements and complex application processes can be time-consuming and overwhelming. Lengthy forms, extensive documentation, and intricate review procedures may deter researchers or consume valuable research time.
Tip: Seek guidance from experienced researchers, institutional grant offices, or mentors who understand the application processes. Start preparing well in advance, gather the necessary documentation early, and review guidelines thoroughly to ensure compliance.
Which funding agencies support academic research?
The following agencies offer grants and scholarships for postgraduates and early-career researchers across a range of disciplines. Each has its own criteria, focus areas, and application process.
Exploring these sources can significantly improve your chances of securing funding. Matching your research question to the right agency, and shaping your proposal to their priorities, is often the difference between a rejection and an award.
How can Indeemo support your next academic research project?
Indeemo is a flexible qualitative research platform used by academic researchers across the social sciences, health, and humanities. Students and faculty use Indeemo to run diary studies, mobile ethnography, and multimedia data collection projects with participants in their real environments.
With Indeemo, academic researchers can:
- Recruit participants in hours from a panel of 3 million+ respondents, or work with your own participants
- Capture videos, photos, screen recordings, and texts in participants' own contexts
- Use generative AI for summarisation, translation, thematic analysis, and sentiment analysis to speed up analysis significantly
- Transcribe and translate in 30+ languages for cross-cultural research
- Store all data securely, with controls designed for research ethics and participant privacy
The interface is straightforward to set up, which matters when you're balancing fieldwork with teaching, writing, or other academic commitments.
Do you need to be an experienced researcher to use Indeemo?
No. Whether you're a postgraduate running your first study or a faculty member managing a larger programme, Indeemo can support you.
Use the platform independently, or partner with our Catalyst team for study design, recruitment, moderation, and analysis. If you have research ambitions but not the capacity to run everything yourself, we can lend a helping hand.
Frequently asked questions
How early should I start preparing a grant application? Most experienced researchers recommend starting 3 to 6 months before the deadline. Competitive applications need time for drafting, institutional sign-off, ethics approval, and review by mentors or colleagues before submission.
What's the difference between internal and external research funding? Internal funding comes from within your own institution — small grants, fellowships, or discretionary funds — and usually has a lighter application process. External funding comes from agencies, foundations, or industry, and is typically larger but more competitive.
Can postgraduates apply for grants independently, or do they need a supervisor? Most agencies expect applications to be made through a host institution, with a named supervisor or principal investigator. Some grants — particularly doctoral scholarships and early-career fellowships — are designed specifically for postgraduates and will name the student as the lead applicant.
What makes a research proposal more likely to succeed? A clear research question, strong evidence of feasibility, a realistic methodology, alignment with the funder's priorities, and a well-organised budget. Applications that read as generic or that don't engage with the specific funder's focus areas are the ones most likely to be rejected.
Can Indeemo be included in a grant application budget? Yes. Academic researchers regularly include Indeemo licences in their grant budgets as a qualitative research tool. Our team can provide quotes and supporting documentation to include in your application.
