Most people start doing research as a requirement of an academic course or as part of their job. And for many, this will be sufficient experience of research. If the process appeals to you, however, you will probably be looking for a wider range of research opportunities and, before long, you will find yourself in a position where you need to obtain external finance to support your research.

External funding comes in two main forms, depending on who has the idea for the research. Either you have an idea for a research project which you then take to a possible funder, or the funder announces that they want to commission a particular piece of research and you submit a proposal. Each form calls for a slightly different approach.

The sources of responsive funding

In most countries there is a fairly wide range of organizations that have been established to finance research or that have research funding as part of their brief.

Academic research councils

The best known funders are the research councils. They exist to channel government money through to the academic community and, to this extent, they serve as an explicit acknowledgment of the central rôle that research plays in higher education.

In Britain there are several research councils. Social research funds are channelled through the Economic and Social Research Council which each year spends almost £100 million supporting research in the higher education sector. It receives a large number of applications from academic researchers putting forward their ideas for research. These are refereed and, subject to approval by the referees and the availability of funds, the award is made to the applicant's institution. The grants are usually quite substantial – most are for more than £50,000.

The Economic and Social Research Council, in common with most research councils, tries to encourage and support new researchers. To do this, it supports training in research techniques and has set aside a fund for small grants to be made to people who have not received a research council grant before. Applications made under this scheme are treated more quickly and in a slightly less bureaucratic manner than those for larger grants.