Grants

Mind Your Way brings over a decade’s experience supporting academics’ competitive grant and fellowship applications across all NHMRC, ARC, and other major funding schemes.

We cater to applicants at any stage of the grant writing journey, be they experienced researchers with an established history of funding success or early-career researchers wishing to develop their writing skills.

Our services encompass one-on-one grant edits, reviews, and consultations, but also group workshops and a self-directed online course to ensure we meet the different needs and levels of “readiness” among both sponsors and applicants.

What is your story - Mind Your Way
Contact us about Grants

How are we different?

Grant applications require more than just accurately written text and a worthy topic.

In the highly competitive world of research funding, they also require a compelling story that connects funders to the problem, the urgency and potential impact of the research, and the credentials of the individuals or teams named on the proposal.

That’s why all our grant support services start off with an initial Story Analysis, which explores the essential building blocks of a persuasive narrative.

This is a sophisticated and structured method that Mind Your Way has taught for over a decade and that delivers profound insights and grant success to clients.

While any reviewer can put comments in the margins – “Make this point stronger!” or “Rewrite for clarity!” – we take the time to explain what is missing and provide guidance on how to address it. This means we remove the guesswork behind such feedback and offer a pathway for what the client needs to add or change.

What our clients say

  • "Our project proposed to implement the first Help Line for low back pain in Australia. The challenge that we faced was to create a convincing and exciting story for the proposal. Mind Your Way’s services to edit the grant and tell a persuasive story definitely made the proposal stand out. Mind Your Way had a significant impact on the whole group of investigators, helped the grant to be approved and put my university in the spotlight as the leading institution for establishing a Help Line for people with low back pain."

    Professor Paulo Henrique Ferreira, University of Sydney

  • "I really valued the collaborative process and thoughtful discussions to clarify what was needed before making any changes. This approach was both refreshing and highly effective. It was a genuine pleasure working with the editors, and I would enthusiastically recommend this service. Not only did it strengthen my application, but it also prompted a mindset shift that will benefit my future applications and broader research communication."

    Dr Malcolm Starkey, Monash University

  • "Mind Your Way's process for reviewing the main points of argument was very effective and certainly helped me to understand what needed to be said in a far clearer way than I had appreciated before. They also presented our statements of claim in a far bolder way than I would do naturally. On reading the final version I was much more convinced of both the need for and the design of the proposed project."

    Professor Simon Broadley, Griffith University

OUR SIGNATURE SERVICE

Grant Edit

The most comprehensive, hands-on support for crafting a compelling application.

14-22 hours of editing time; 2-week turnaround.

Best suited for:

  • Well-developed and complete drafts of the relevant sections of the funding application.

  • Near-miss applications from the previous round.

  • New proposals that have undergone internal peer review or mentoring within the applicant’s institution.

  • The editor conducts a strategic assessment of the draft's strengths and needs using our curated analytic tools — capturing explicitly what other grant reviewers only do intuitively. Initial feedback and questions identify story components that are present, missing, or underdeveloped.

  • The editor rewrites and restructures the text to strengthen arguments and highlight the significance of the research. All edits are tracked with explanatory comments, and a clean and tracked version is sent to the applicant.

  • The editor discusses the changes with the applicant, explaining the reasoning behind the key editorial decisions. This ensures the applicant fully understands and confidently owns the final draft before submission.

  • The editor has additional hours available to devote to the editing of a grant and/or additional feedback loops. The editor will discuss with the applicant or sponsor how these extra hours are best used for the benefit of the application

STRATEGIC FEEDBACK WITHOUT THE REWRITE

Grant Review

High-level feedback and recommendations on a complete or near-complete draft — guiding researchers to make the changes themselves. Consists of a Story Analysis followed by a Run-Through discussion.

8-14 hours of reviewing time; 1-2 week turnaround.

Best suited for:

  • Resubmissions that require repositioning.

  • Applicants who have the time and skills to implement the feedback.

  • Tight turn-arounds for single applicants or sponsored cohorts.

EARLY-STAGE STRATEGIC FEEDBACK

Pitch Consulation

When ideas are still taking shape or an expression of interest (EOI) document is needed, our project consultation provides strategic direction before significant drafting effort is invested.

Online or in-house delivery.

Best suited for:

  • Early-phase project development.

  • Multi-stage grant applications.

  • Teams wanting a facilitated project-development workshop.