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Research Development Review: The NORDP Journal

Abstract

A phenomenological examination of the proposal review process suggests that a good idea is a necessary – but not sufficient – condition for securing funding to support research, scholarly, and creative projects. Funders of all sorts and sizes receive thousands of proposals each year, but they can fund only a fraction of those. Experience as a reviewer, and other evidence, suggests that a constellation of intangibles called “positioning,” a concept first articulated in the context of research development circa 2006, plays a significant, frequently determinative role in funding success. This paper builds on Dave Stone’s pioneering work to develop a theoretical framework for positioning that draws on similar work in advertising and the social sciences. I look at the three domains of positioning Stone articulated in 2009-10, modify them slightly, and discuss how RD professionals can use these concepts to improve the funding success of the investigators they support.

Author ORCID Identifier

Michael J. Spires 0000-0001-7240-9153

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