Competing for research funding: Key elements impacting the evaluation of grant proposal

Area of Science:

• Research funding and evaluation
• Bibliometrics
• Scientometrics

Background:

• Research funding is crucial for scientific advancement, but evaluating applications is complex due to diverse funding instruments.
• Identifying success factors in research funding competitions is essential for researchers and funding bodies.
• Understanding applicant and evaluation perspectives is key to improving funding success rates.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key factors contributing to the success of research project applications.
• To compare applicant and evaluation grid perspectives on funding success determinants.
• To analyze the influence of researcher's past performance on future funding success.

Main Methods:

• Empirical investigation through a survey of 243 Romanian researchers.
• Binary logistic regression model used to correlate funding success with determinant factors.
• Analysis focused on factors influencing research project application outcomes.

Main Results:

• A researcher's past performance significantly impacts future research project success.
• The quality of a project director's previous publications is a key driver for successful applications.
• International visibility of previous publications strongly correlates with funding success.

Conclusions:

• Past publication quality and international visibility are critical determinants of research funding success.
• Researcher's track record is a more significant predictor of funding success than other factors.
• Findings provide insights for optimizing research funding application strategies.