Outdated Grant Portals Burn Junior Faculty Time
Academic faculty, particularly junior faculty, experience significant frustration and wasted time navigating complex grant submission processes. These processes are often hampered by inflexible, outdated systems (OSPR) and a lack of coordination between faculty and institutional support staff, leading to errors, rejections, and a feeling of powerlessness. The rigid nature of these systems stifles innovation and slows down research progress.
SOURCES (60)
“Last year I applied to a research program and to say this would've been my dream program would be saying the least. But I got rejected. I did get through to the round of interviews but to be frank I didn't have the strongest LOR…”
“Anyone who has gone through the application of this scholarship might I ask after how long do they contact applicants for an interview or rejection? Having applied in September? submitted by /u/Wooden-Koala-9454 [link] [comments]”
“Especially in OB or public system? submitted by /u/slayera88 [link] [comments]”
“Has anyone completed their asynchronous video yet? I thought it would be done at a later stage, but by what the portal looks like now, its asking me to complete it right after I submit the inital questions. Also when do I request the letter of reccomendation? submitted by /u/OkToe7601 [link] [comments]”
“I got accepted for poster presentation at the IAB workshop in Sydney but I won't be able to attend due to a lack of financial support. I wrote the paper as a solo author, and for financial support from my institute, I need to add a supervisor from my college as an author to qualify for assistance. Is it possible to change authors after acceptance, or should I withdraw? Also, can someone provide me with an endorsement for publishing it on Arxiv? submitted by /u/No-Mixture5766 [lin”
“Hey guys, Probably funny to hear about a professor that doesn’t understand grants, but here we are. I work in a trade skill program and my experience in this area is nonexistent. I am being asked to work on a grant, which is cool, new experience, but I’m in a group of collaborators that are at universities and this is their bread and butter. Getting a bit lost in the meetings. I know some basics like RFI, letter of intent, school takes overhead, etc. So: * compensation was mentioned. I’m payed o”
“Long time first time. I am a new professor in STEM, and given the current funding climate, there will be a need to look for alternative funding sources, especially to generate preliminary data for larger grants. I’m aware of Pivot as a way to find some awards/scholarships and smaller proposals, but do people have other favorite aggregators for these types of funding mechanisms? What are some that other people have had luck with? submitted by /u/Odd-Importance4513 [link] [commen”
“This is my first grad student (ie my first time being the chair). They are working on a grant that I wrote with a Co-PI, which requires a lot of sampling. We can’t do said sampling without the Co-PI (his area of expertise). First round I went. But this upcoming round (and some other rounds) I won’t be able to attend. I did tell them to prioritize the co-pi’s availability since they are required for the sampling. Co-pi is cool with me not going. But for some treason I’m feeling badly? The student”
“Hi all, I have no research background. Which means when it comes to the skills I need for even approaching a psychology or health-related programme or writing a proposal I am totally clueless. I’m looking for someone who could answer questions, help me with applications and proposal writing. Of course I’m happy to pay for this. Any ideas? Thank you! submitted by /u/simple-dimples [link] [comments]”
“Hello all, I guess I’m just venting. I sent my list of programs for this cycle to my advisor and she told me that my standards are far too high for where I’m coming from. I have a BA and MA from a small liberal arts college and I am applying to mostly R1 and some Ivy programs. I am realistic about my odds and the probability of me actually getting in. For most humanities, I know the acceptance rates are around 4% right now. However, she told me that my getting in is pretty much impossible/ I sho”
“I found a supervisor with similar research interests to me (Critical care/Remote health - Au) and has an existing grant that covers the research interests. And it’s at a local uni, so I don’t need to move!! After months of refinement of my application outline, I pushed the magic “submit” button. Let’s see if the uni thinks I’m up to a standard 🤞 Wish me luck on this wild ride!! submitted by /u/Used_Replacement4648 [link] [comments]”
“Does anyone here apply to Horizon grants? I've recently taken part in some lump sum grants and pretty much all institutions were obsessed with minor details on the budgets, no institution was allowed more materials than another, the travelling costs were dictated, etc. Is this the new normal now? Does anyone know where this guidance comes from? I'm ultimately a bit annoyed as the only official guidance from the EU says that costs need to be reasonable, similar to usual costs, and suffici”
“Anyone here apply for the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship this cycle? Have you heard anything yet or seen any updates to your application status? submitted by /u/Zestyclose-Work5953 [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I'm a PhD student in History from The University of Guelph. Yesterday was our SSHRC deadline. I pressed submit on my application but didn't know that I have to submit again after my referees submit their letters. I am worried now and wonder if there's any way. submitted by /u/Bharathan_C [link] [comments]”
“I'm getting a little frustrated with the UKRI system and how the whole proposal system (or lack of) works at our university and am interested to see if I'm just unlucky or if it's a fairly common experience. I work at a UK Russel Group university and my research is primarily NERC but also crosses into EPSRC and STFC. NERC used to impose a limit of just one proposal per call for our university, and we had a fairly complex internal filtering system which, if you were selected, was mean”
“I asked the Hertz Foundation how students from smaller schools are evaluated fairly when they may have fewer research resources and publication opportunities than students at major research universities, and does Hertz consider an applicant's institutional context and the opportunities available to them & here was there response: As an applied research fellowship, we do seek evidence of prior research. However, formal publications are NOT required, and many have received the fellowship w”
“Haven’t recived any Rs (expect JABSOM but come on). I got a interview pool email from Tulane that seemed hopeful but then reddit said it’s basically a soft R. Belmont said I passed the experience review whatever that means. Besides that nothing but UM virtual session emails. Any one else in the same position? I’m doubting my application so much now. I know the Thanksgiving rule but I can’t help but feel like that’s cope😭 submitted by /u/Psychological_Row616 [link] [comments]”
“I'm actually used to that one. I worked at a place that did grants. And that was normal because of how the grants worked and what we had to do to get reimbursed.”
“Any past fellows know if you can put submitted snd under review papers on the application? Or are only published papers allowed? I asked the sysplus email and did not receive a response. submitted by /u/proofomitted [link] [comments]”
“Hi all, I am a 2nd year Canadian PhD student in Public Health. In Canada, many PhD programs do not fully fund students through their advisors. Instead, students are expected to apply for big federal grants (tri-council), provincial grants, and institutional grants each year. Each of these grants requires you to provide 2-3 references each which I am struggling to get this year and it is really getting me down. A bit of background, I finished my MPH six years ago. After my masters I wanted to tak”
“Will the BL Annual Lab submission window open in October like last year? Does anyone have any insight? I'm just trying to time my hosting of a new project. submitted by /u/QfromP [link] [comments]”
“Hi all! I’m applying for clinical psychology graduate programs (both masters and doctoral level) this year. I’m feeling extremely overwhelmed by the process of applying for SSHRC funding, and can’t really figure out where to start. If someone could provide a breakdown of the process for me, that would be greatly appreciated! TIA submitted by /u/hungry4snacks [link] [comments]”
“This is the best flair I could choose, but I welcome kind words. I have a written proposal due in 6 days, and the presentation in about a month. The written portion is more supplemental, but must be 20 pages. I have only about 10 done, and I am panicking. I feel like I am drowning in the ideas, and getting something on paper feels impossible. I don't know how I'm going to complete this, but I also feel like 10 pages is not extremely difficult. I just am very overwhelmed, and I'm terr”
“For anyone paying attention this is not a surprise. I am glad it’s being studied and documented and discussed, that is very important I am wondering what will happen to those who cannot find positions overseas and are stuck here. Here is another article about this research too https://www.psypost.org/federal-science-funding-cuts-push-young-u-s-researchers-to-consider-moving-abroad/ submitted by /u/cannotberushed- [link] [comments]”
“Asked for letters of rec in June, received confirmation in August they were done, but now I feel i fucked up by sending the submission link for my first program a week before the deadline. I did not realize I could send the link prior to submitting my application and will do so for my next applications, but I'm in my head now with anxiety that the letter will not be submitted in the now 5 days until the deadline even though I was told the letter is ready submitted by /u/DM-Nat20”
“Hey guys, I finished my PhD earlier this year and I think I am messing up big time with my postdoc applications. I don't know what to do. So just to brief you guys, I have two decent first author publication in Q1 and 5 as co-author, a couple of them are in a rubbish journal though since I took part in several projects during my PhD and where they published was not in my hand. I also have two prestigious fellowships. Since I started applying for postdocs I have had 7-8 rejections on advertis”
“Nerves might be getting me. For reference the recommenders were asked and they agreed to write letters back in June, and confirmed in August they were done. Just hope a one week runway between them getting the link and the round 1 deadline is not rude or unfeasible submitted by /u/DM-Nat20 [link] [comments]”
“Hi everyone. I'm a doctoral student in Canada and I'm applying to the SSHRC CGRS-D application for a second time 🥲 I'm hoping any successful applicants in English Literature or adjacent fields would share their proposals with me (and others who are interested on this thread). Any advice would be helpful. Thanks! submitted by /u/faithj22 [link] [comments]”
“Pretty much the title, is that normal? I have to pay over 1000$ for each conference and I end up getting reimbursed way later. I put those amounts on my credit card, stipend is barely covering living expenses and I end up paying interest for months. Is that a normal thing in PhD? I'm a second year PhD and I'm seriously considering dropping out, not just for this reason but for a multitude of reasons including having a bad advisor. submitted by /u/PerplexedReddit [link]”
“I just started my fully funded PhD in a US biomedical sciences program and I don't really have a previous project I can go back to and build a proposal off of. We haven't even started rotations yet, and the deadline for bio is Oct 19th. People usually spend months on this! At this point, I'm thinking it's very not possible to put together a proposal in such a short amount of time that would be worth all the stress. But it feels like everyone else in my cohort that is eligible, wi”
“I’ve been working with a PI on a proposal for a postdoc fellowship where he would serve as my host. As well, he referred me to one of his former colleagues at an institution that is my dream to join so we could work on a project we are all excited to work on. This project was something I was working on during my PhD but ultimately had to abandon as I didn’t have enough data to validate the results. As well, my PhD advisor wasn’t experienced enough in the techniques to properly advise me on the p”
“Hi everyone, My PI isn't able to fund my travel/accommodation for EMNLP 2026, so I'd have to pay for it myself. I'm a 2nd-year STEM PhD student and this is my first published paper. My main reason for attending is networking, with the hope that it could help with future internships, postdocs, or research connections. Given the cost, would it be worth attending now, or should I save the money and go in my 3rd year when I have a stronger profile? I've heard that conferences aren”
“has anyone heard back about the mccormack autumn workshop yet? feels a bit early but with the month-long turnaround time i figured some responses would be rolling in soon. submitted by /u/holupyallseeinthis [link] [comments]”
Just Apply, my point back in the day was almost everybody gets an OA.
“I finished a lot of work over my first year that includes: writing two grant proposals, finishing up a project and making very decent progress in another project. My field is a slow one and this kind of progress is a bit unusual for someone in their first year. My PI was so happy with my progress to the extent that he told me he’s planning to make me stay in his lab for ANOTHER 6 years as a grad student. I had a conversation about the graduation timeline before I joined the group and he told me”
“that is what I mean - Academic institutions should be properly funded - instead they are spending their money/tokens on idea stealing "E"vil Corporations ;)”
“I work for a program at a university in a role that deals with applications to apply to our graduate program. The amount of emails I’ve gotten asking for the MOST BASIC admissions information, that is usually in 2-3 different places on our website, is frustrating and, honestly, annoying. If you are applying to a research-intensive graduate program but you can’t be bothered to read through the program’s (and university’s) website to understand the application process and find the answers to your”
“I have other sources to write something from scratch but how do I do it with edits and everything else. Please please be kind and give me any unreal productivity tips that you have. Please. Edit : Rereading it while editing I checked sources to find that I had completely misinterpreted a large data set (my advisor had overlooked it too) which makes the arguments that I had built invalid. I informed my advisor. He is not responding at all. I followed up thrice. Then he sent me an annoyed email sa”
“Guys, last cohort they did not release decisions until midnight EST lol. I don’t understand why it takes them this long. Also SPAR has grown due to its recent funding which means a lot more applicants than prev cohorts. I applied a week earlier than the initial deadline (which got extended) so hopefully that helps. Good luck to everyone tomorrow. Just wanted to start this thread with decisions around the corner. submitted by /u/leeeelihkvgbv [link] [comments]”
“I submitted, it’s being reviewed. Push was hard, you know how it goes. I have a few weeks while it’s being reviewed so wow, big exhale, I bought a ticket to my home country for a holiday. Very excited. I had lunch today with my fam and had an argument with one of them. Nothing major but not a simple disagreement, voices were raised a bit. Anyhow we apologised etc but then I just spiraled. Exhausted all day, deep sadness, anger, guilt, negative emotions and so on. I have another two weeks here. I”
“Hello all, I am interested in applying for the NDSEG fellowship this year, but can't seem to find the current research topics most pertinent to the government right now. Every link to the BAAs in the application is broken, and I can't seem to find them anywhere else when googling. Has anyone been able to find these and successfully start their NDSEG? submitted by /u/Left-Track8208 [link] [comments]”
“Leaving arxiv aside, I get the sense that it’s universally viewed as inappropriate to submit the same paper to two (or more) journals at the same time. Do grant applications follow the same rule in your field? Should they? Where do you think the line is before it becomes research misconduct? I’m in a situation where I have applied for funding for one complex project, but won’t hear back for a few months. I’m applying for another grant now, and I’m thinking about incorporating some subcomponents”
“Hey all: I'm currently applying to TT positions in the social sciences, and some of the postings are using Interfolio—my advisors say that this has been around awhile, and it seems fairly straightforward. Now that I've started the process of uploading materials to my profile such as CV, sample syllabi, and links to online lectures, I'm wondering if a) everything will be visible to any search committee; and if so, b) if there's the option for me to choose which materials different”
“Starting a thread for this years application cycle (which was due August 4th of 2026)! Best of luck all! submitted by /u/Divine-order111 [link] [comments]”
“Wondering what this is supposed to mean in terms of when my recommender needs to get their letter in by? I've always hated "it's due by" because it's not clear to me if they mean 11:59 the night before or the night of...trying to figure out if I'm going to miss being included in the first round of consideration if my advisor misses turning in the recommendation by the end of tonight since it says they'll be starting the reviewing tomorrow...This is for a humanities”
“Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to get into freelance writing, and I'm putting in the time to research it because I need a plan. My question boils down to "what has changed since 2022 in terms of Grant Writing and Freelance Grant Writing?" The reason why since 2022 is because I had a series of life events that made my already present disabilities too difficult to deal with and work at the same time. I'm finally in a position where I feel like I can get back to work. But be”