RESEARCH GRANTS FOR INTERNATIONAL PHD CANDIDATES
Research grants are an essential part of the funding that many organizations offer to support research projects in the social sciences, arts, sciences, and engineering, among other subjects. These grants can be divided into several categories according to the standards by which they were awarded, the length of the grant, the subject matter of the research, the applicant’s eligibility, and the financing amount.
Research experience, infrastructure development, conference participation, complementary income, international collaborations, scholarly publication, and citations are all primarily obtained by researchers and academics in the Global South through research grants that are won or obtained through involvement in international collaborative research projects.
Types of research grants
Understanding the different types of research grants available can help researchers identify the appropriate funding for their research project.
- Project Grants
The most prevalent kind of research funding are project grants. They are usually given for a predetermined period of time and money to individual researchers or research teams in order to assist a particular research topic. Salary, supplies, equipment, travel, and other project-related costs can all be covered with the money. The Wellcome Trust, National Science Foundation (NSF), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are a few examples of organizations that offer project funds.
- Program Grants
Institutions and organizations who wish to sponsor a larger research program, center, or initiative are given program grants. Several research initiatives centered around a similar theme or research question are funded by these funds. Compared to project awards, program grants may be more competitive and call for a more thorough proposal. The American Cancer Society (ACS), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are a few examples of organizations that offer program grants.
- Fellowship Grants
Fellowship awards give researchers money to help their professional development or training. These scholarships frequently include stipends for living expenses, tuition, and research-related costs. They may be tailored for particular career stages, such as postdoctoral fellowships or early career researcher awards. Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers are eligible to receive fellowship funds. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) are a few examples of organizations that offer fellowship funding.
- Travel Grants
Travel grants give researchers the money they need to carry out studies in new places or to go to conferences, workshops, or meetings that are relevant to their field of study. These awards may be used to pay for lodging, registration fees, and travel expenses. Compared to other forms of research funding, travel funds are typically less generously awarded. The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the Society for Neuroscience (SfN), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the American Physiological Society (APS) are a few examples of organizations that offer travel grants.
- Equipment Grants
Grants for equipment purchases enable researchers to get the tools they need for their studies. Institutions or individual researchers may receive these funds. Given that they need a thorough rationale for the equipment acquisition, equipment awards are frequently more competitive than other kinds of research grants. The National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the American Chemical Society (ACS) are a few examples of organizations that offer equipment grants.
- Seed Grants
A research project’s initial phases are supported by Seed Grants, which are frequently given with the intention of obtaining further financing down the road. The NSF, the ACS, the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) are a few examples of organizations that offer seed funds.
- Collaborative Grants
Research collaborations involving two or more institutions or researchers are supported by the awarding of Collaborative Grants. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Wellcome Trust, Cancer Research UK, the European Research Council (ERC), and the European Commission’s Horizon Europe program are a few examples of institutions that offer joint funds.
- Industry-Sponsored Grants
Grants for industry-sponsored research are intended to assist studies that are funded by businesses or private enterprises. These grants usually go toward supporting research initiatives that the corporation, the research institution, or the researcher find to be of common interest. Companies like Pfizer, Novartis, Merck & Co., Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Sanofi, and Eli Lilly and Company are examples of those that offer grants funded by the industry.
To improve your chances of receiving financing, it might also be beneficial to ask seasoned researchers or research administrators for advice and direction.