News: Jan 28, 2022
What does it take to be successful in a Formas application? To prepare for the Formas open call 2022 researchers from Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg met to exchange experience on a Zoom meeting on January 26th. A panel with skilled reviewers discussed what is important to them when they read and comment on a research call. The meeting acted as a kick-off for GMV:s inititiave “Formas Proposal Mill” with the aim to write better applications. It’s a three-step process for applicants including oral pitches, co-reading and feedback.
The reviewers panel was preceeded by the presentation of a report analysing application efforts for Formas 2021 (En analys av ansökningsinsatser från Göteborg till Formas riktade utlysning ’Att förverkliga de Globala hållbarhetsmålen’). The report was presented by the author herself, Madelene Ostwald, Docent at the Department of Technology Management and Economics at Chalmers and affiliated researcher at GMV. Some of the success factors for granted applications stressed by Madelene was the innovative approach and a clear and pedagogical narrative. And not least cross-readings by non-experts outside your research discipline!
– And get a Google scholar account if you don’t have it yet. The reviewers will search for you there, Madelene concluded.
In the following four-headed panel, the experienced application reviewers confirmed that you should make an effort to write your application understandable for others outside your expert areas. It is also important to make it clear who your stakeholders outside academia are and be precise on how you plan to communicate with them. As one of the panelists summarized:
– There is always a risk that good applications will not be accepted but bad written applications will always be rejected.
After the panel discussions the meeting continued with a closed programme where selected researchers pitched their application ideas in front of an expert-panel, as a first part of the initiative Proposal Mill for Formas. The meeting was organised by GMV with support from the Grants and Innovation Offices at Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg.
Madelene Ostwald: madelene.ostwald@chalmers.se
Caroline Petersson: caroline.petersson@chalmers.se
Originally published on: www.gmv.gu.se
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