Most researchers who fail to win funding do not have a weak idea. They do not have a writing problem either.
In our experience, the real reasons are structural, and they are fixable.
Dr Debbie Marsden, our Lead Consultant, has spent over 15 years working alongside researchers, clinicians, and innovators across UKRI, NIHR, Innovate UK, and fellowship schemes. She has supported almost £200 million in applications and seen the same patterns emerge again and again.
“Most researchers do not fail because their ideas are weak. They fail because of structural, fixable issues in how they present their case.”
— Dr Debbie Marsden, Lead Consultant, Grant Capture
In her new briefing, The Grant Application is Not the Problem, Debbie names those patterns plainly and shows what a different approach looks like, not in abstract terms, but in the practical, specific language that comes from having sat alongside hundreds of applicants and seen what works.
The three structural failures
The briefing identifies three recurring reasons why strong proposals fail to secure funding:
First, the narrative architecture is academic rather than persuasive. Many applicants write their grant proposal as if it were a journal article, building a slow, methodical case that buries the actual innovation on page four. A funding panel is not a peer-review board for a journal; they are investors deciding where to allocate scarce resources.
Second, alignment with funder priorities is implied rather than demonstrated. When success rates fall below 10 per cent, implied alignment is never enough. Assessors are looking for explicit, undeniable evidence that your project delivers exactly what their specific scheme was designed to achieve.
Third, impact is asserted rather than evidenced. A strong proposal does not simply claim that it will benefit a field; it proves it, with quantified market sizing, specific pathways to adoption, and realistic assessments of the barriers that must be navigated.
“Navigating the grant landscape does not have to be a solitary or opaque process. If you have a transformative idea and are planning a submission, or if you have received a rejection and need help decoding the feedback to build a stronger resubmission, I would be delighted to hear from you.”
— Dr Debbie Marsden, Lead Consultant, Grant Capture
If you have ever submitted a strong proposal and received a terse rejection, this briefing is for you.