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Marsden SOC process. There are ‘Standard’ and ‘Fast Start’ applications Standards are generally for 3 years, typically for c $6-800k Fast Starts are for 2 years, for those within 7 years of PhD completion; for c $160k There are two rounds: preliminary and full proposals. Initial proposal.
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Marsden SOC process • There are ‘Standard’ and ‘Fast Start’ applications • Standards are generally for 3 years, typically for c $6-800k • Fast Starts are for 2 years, for those within 7 years of PhD completion; for c $160k • There are two rounds: preliminary and full proposals
Initial proposal • Panel has about nine members, drawn from a range of SOC disciplines (education, business, sociology, social policy, human geography) • Proposals must therefore be written for an intelligent lay panel with a premium on clarity and purposiveness • About 25% make it through to the next stage. The reason is to save 75% the effort of full proposal preparation
What needs to be in an initial proposal? • It’s short: so the argument must be clear • What is being done, why, what’s its significance (theoretical, empirical, national)? • Is there is an obvious aim, question? • Does the research matter? Will it grab a SOC panel?
Full proposal • Something between 25 and 50% of full proposals will be successful • The credibility of the proposal is critical • So too is the credibility of the applicants • Even successful proposals may not be fully funded: to give over the odds to one proposal will mean the demise of another
Credibility of the proposal • Research question, aim or objective (‘The aim of this proposal is..) Why are you doing this? What is its purpose? What is its significance? • Is it situated in a relevant literature; does it draw on, contribute to pertinent theory? • Has there been a pilot project: will it work?
Credibility of the team • Does the team have a track record? • Is the strongest person/s leading it? • Is the topic one that sits with the track record of the team? • Is the team selling itself and its proposal on merit and the strength of its argument, or is it ‘bolding’ unnecessary claims to ‘originality’ or ‘innovation’?
What if it fails? • Then persist! • To not succeed means that the proposal is not yet good enough • Work on it: develop the argument, workshop it, try again • Don’t give up for ever, or come back next time with something completely different