Your centre has a clear reason it needs to exist, and all the key stakeholders agree. Despite this, getting people to engage, and come to your meetings, can still be a challenge. To get people to come to your launch event, to get people to open your email, and to instil in everyone a sense that it is important to engage with your new centre you’re going to need funding. People show up when there is money on the table. If your new centre is a gateway to funding, then everyone will engage.
By this point, you have put in months of work. This work has been outside your normal job description, but it has the potential to greatly benefit the institution you work for. It’s time to ask for something in return. This might seem impossible. Every university and research institution is struggling financially. Budget holders are saying no to funding requests every day.
Before you embark on these negotiations, get your co-directors together and discuss what financial support you would like, and what financial support you could settle for. If you can’t secure any tangible support, you should be ready to walk away and come back when your institution is ready to support your centre. You don’t need much money to give people a reason to engage with you. Remember, you’re not trying to secure funding for yourself, or your centre, you’re trying to secure funding for other researchers within the centre to establish and support new collaborations. Be ambitious for them.
Studentships
Your university likely awards some number of PhD studentships (perhaps not enough!). Ask yourself is there often a studentship awarded that coincides with the goal of your research centre? Could this be awarded through your new research centre? Could your institution part fund an additional studentship if someone else contributes the rest?
Pump-priming funds
Awards as small as a few thousand pounds can enable an experiment, which could provide a figure for a collaborative grant, leading to a new sustained collaboration.
Non-financial support
In additional to financial support you are likely to require some administrative support. All of the principles you used to negotiate matched funding also apply here. You probably need at least a day/week of administrative support to run your centre. This will include scheduling and minuting meetings, compiling lists of members, receiving applications for funding, responding to queries, and assisting with ongoing communication with members. You may be able to get half a day/week from two organisation or one organisation who can’t commit financially may be able to offer some administrative time in return. Be flexible but make it clear that some administrative support is vital for the potential benefits of the centre to be realised. You also need to fund a website, a launch event, and potentially some outreach activities. Prioritise these requests and make your priority order clear when requesting support from your institution. Be ready to provide a detailed plan of what the support would enable you to do that wouldn’t happen without the support.
Match fund everything
You are likely looking to unite a number of research groups within your new centre. This might mean groups across departments, groups across universities, groups across sectors (including charities and industry). The larger organisations probably have access to the most money to contribute, while the smaller organisation probably have the most to gain from new partnerships. “Match-fund” everything. Giving businesses the opportunity to get in on the ground level of a new multi-institutional research centre is a really valuable proposition. For a few thousand pounds a business could be integrated into the fabric of the centre, and have their investment matched by multiple organisations. Don’t be afraid to set up a few meetings with businesses who may be interested in this proposition, making it clear that they have an opportunity to get involved pre-launch.
Within the Sussex Cancer Research Centre we were trying to unite two universities, a medical school, and had identified a local cancer charity who has supported a lot of our research previously. This meant we potentially have 4 partners who could match-fund any contribution.
Order is important to secure leverage
Start with external stakeholders (e.g. charities) if possible. Approach them and explain the centre, explain that you’re looking to secure some pump-priming funds for new collaborative research within the new centre. Be transparent about your strategy. Make it clear that you want every pound they invest to be matched 2 or 3 times. What you are aiming for is a commitment of a few thousands pounds, contingent on matched support from the universities/other institutions within the centre. This is likely to succeed as it may multiply the impact of their investment and is low risk, they won’t spend anything unless their investment is matched. This also maximises your leverage as when you meet with leaders at your research institution as they will be clear that they are leaving external money on the table if they don’t commit to matched funding.
Once you have secured a commitment for external matched funding, you want to work your way through meeting each budget holder who can unlock matched funding for your centre. Arrange these meetings in order from most likely to support, to most unlikely to support. As each partner comes on board the proposition becomes more appealing and the fear of being left out increases. If you have commitment from a charity and two universities, to equally match-fund research within your new centre, the final stakeholder is going to struggle to say no. Not all budget holders should be approached directly, you want to work your way up to them appropriately within organisational structures. For example, if the vice chancellor makes the final call, you probably want to meet your head of department, director of research, and head of school with the request for funding. If they support you going up the chain of command they may approach the VC on your behalf. This will be more effective than anything you can do directly. A director of research or head of department may also be aware of some accessible funds within their department/school/remit that could contribute to your goals.