The personal cost of applying for research grants

For many academics, this article is a no-brainer. Research grant proposals take huge amounts of time to put together, with low success rates (e.g. EPSRC). It’s a huge cost:

The pressure to win high-status funding means that researchers go to extraordinary lengths to prepare their proposals, often sacrificing family time and personal relationships. During our research into the stressful process of applying for research grants, one researcher, typical of many, said, “My family hates my profession. Not just my partner and children, but my parents and siblings. The insecurity despite the crushing hours is a soul-destroying combination that is not sustainable.”