When you are seeking international funding, don’t forget to look beyond traditional funding sources like government grants. Become familiar with philanthropic funders such as trusts and foundations that are keen to advance research impact.
Develop a compelling story
Developing a compelling story about the difference your research will make and why you need financial support to achieve your research goals is fundamental to funding success.
The more clearly you can explain your idea in a way that potential funders will understand, the more likely it is they will get excited and engaged with your research.
Putting your idea into writing can help you clarify your thinking, document your aspirations and communicate the opportunity. It can also help you evaluate your needs so you can determine what type of support (including funding) would be most suitable.
UTS Senior Advancement Manager Sarah Angus suggests you start with explain the why—the core reason behind your research.
“Why are you doing the research you're doing? Who are you helping? What communities are you engaging with?” she asked, questions that help you tap into the transformative potential of your work so you can share it in a way that resonates.
To get to the heart of your research story, Sarah recommends you visualise your work in phases or horizons:
- Immediate action: What is the urgent issue you’re tackling right now?
- Transitional impact: What might move the current situation to the bigger changes you hope to achieve and why is this urgent?
- Transformational change: What is the potential impact you envision for your research?
This phased approach helps frame your story in a structured way that underscores not only the work, but its broader significance.
“What's the little pilot? What's the next phase? What's the third phase? Horizons frame what's urgent, the problem that's happening right now and helps articulate what is needed to bring in the transformational change you're inspired to be a part of,” she said.
Create an opportunity brief
Once you have established how your research is solving a pressing problem, you can create an opportunity brief.
Sarah suggests the brief includes the following information:
- a clear description of your idea and what you’re hoping to achieve
- a summary of the problem or issue you’re looking to solve
- an explanation of the project and how it will work
- the impact your idea will have and who it will benefit
- any partners who will be involved and their role
- why your network of partners is the right team to deliver the project.
You don’t need to go into great depth on any of these points – try to keep each section to 150 words or less.
Finding the right funder
With over 5,000 trusts and foundations in Australia, and many more abroad, there are many funding and support opportunities for academics. Once you have developed your opportunity brief and identified the kind of support you are looking for, start researching!
First stop, have a look at publication acknowledgements in Dimensions, or whatever publication tool you prefer. By analysing acknowledgements, you can create a short list of the kinds of funders that support research that is like yours.
Check in with your network, perhaps a mentor or colleague, and ask them for an introduction so that you can connect directly to a relevant funder.
Other great resources are Pivot RP – a searchable database of research funding opportunities – or your favourite GPT model.
Top tips
- Look at what else a potential funder has funded and ensure it aligns with your project and your professional aspirations.
- Be prepared to build a relationship with relevant representatives of the philanthropic entity you are approaching.
- Use a horizon approach: break down large projects into smaller components so that you can approach partners with options for support.
Case Study: Build your research brand
Eureka Prize Winner and UTS biomedical engineer Dr Jiao Jiao (JJ) Li has had success with international philanthropic finding. In her experience, many schemes want to fund ‘future leaders’. For this reason, JJ recommends you invest time and energy into building your research brand.
"It’s not just your publications. Think about knowledge translation and real-world impact. Make people believe that you will be the one pushing the field forward, not just through your research, but your contributions to the field and to the community,” JJ said.
“Many grant assessors and potential funders may not be researchers themselves, so make your research understandable to a broad audience. Explain its impact in a way that your grandparents or a school-age child could understand, and you’re halfway there.”
JJ’s career journey illustrates how positioning yourself strategically and creating a personal brand linked not only to your research, but also to your values, can open doors beyond academia and lead to unexpected opportunities from prestigious prizes and science communication to media interviews and policy leadership roles.
Case study: Use a horizon approach
Marine biologist Dr Emma Camp relies on a diverse mix of funding sources to support the work she is doing to restore coral on the Great Barrier Reef and says that it is not just about the money.
“A diverse range of funders can also bring other forms of resources in the form of expertise, connections and promotional opportunities to raise awareness of your work.”
Emma has navigated challenges in securing long-term funding by diversifying her funding sources, approaching philanthropic foundations and breaking down her long-term vision into smaller, fundable projects that are can be attractive to different funders.
Emma recommends that you recycle and repurpose your applications.
“If you write a big grant application, think about what else you may be able to use it for. Cast your net as wide as possible to increase your chances of success. You may need to send it to a few places to get anything funded.”
What’s next?
- Connect with your research leaders to confirm support for your research plans.
- For inspiration and examples visit the Trusts & Foundations Toolkit.
- Learn more about how to nail your research story.
- Browse self-paced research communication training from ASPIRE.
- Visit the UTS Partnerships and Agreements SharePoint.
Go to the Building an International Research Strategy landing page