UMCG Grant Navigator Training Programme​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

About the Training Programme

Securing research grants is critical to a researcher's career at all stages. Identifying "best-fit" grants, writing proposals, and successfully securing funding are essential skills for thriving in the competitive world of science. Yet, many researchers find the national and EU funding landscape complex and difficult to navigate, often leading to disappointing outcomes.

In times of changing political priorities, reducing dependency on structural funds and proactively seeking alternative funding sources is more important than ever. Building the skills to identify and apply for relevant funding is essential to advancing your career.

To support researchers in overcoming these challenges, the UMCG Grant Office offers a series of workshops and tutorials designed to help you successfully apply for funding at both national and European levels.

Who should attend?

This training is designed for postdocs and senior researchers planning to apply for personal or consortium grants shortly. It is also ideal for research project managers and funding officers.

Practical information:

• Open to researchers and research managers from UMCG and partner organizations (RUG, 4 schools connected to RUG, Hanze, Isala Hospital, Leeuwarden Hospital, Martini Hospital)

• Limited to 10-20 participants, depending on the workshop

• Priority registration for UMCG employees

• Cost: €100-300 per workshop

Tailored workshops:

Workshops can be booked individually or as a series. Departments or institutes can also request tailored workshops for groups of at least 20 participants, depending on trainer availability.

Register now:

Registration for the Autumn 2025 and Spring 2026 workshops is now open. Each workshop is limited to 20 participants, except for the storytelling workshop, where the limit is 10 participants. To confirm your participation, you can secure your spot by transferring the participation fee via the provided payment link. Spaces are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

We look forward to meeting you!

The Grant Navigator Training Programme Team, UMCG Grant Office

Workshops and tutorials

The silent disease of research proposals: How to demonstrate innovation value in national and EU grants?

2 October 2025, 9.00-12.00, in-person training

Topics: innovation value that sells your research, critical analysis, and positioning research within a broader national, EU, and global context, understanding innovation scales and types, common pitfalls, and self-correction.

Understanding the national and EU funding landscape. From missed opportunities to strategic funding planning

Session 1: Step-by-step guide on how to develop a grant strategy, 16 Oct 2025, 9.00-11.00, in-person training

Session 2: Personalized feedback on the grant strategy developed, 6 Nov 2025, 9.00-11.00, in-person training

Topics: key granting organizations, main funding lines, budget cycles, combining multiple grants and long-term planning, creation of a grant strategy.

How to design the impact section for your future proposal?

Session 1: Theory, online, self-paced

Session 2: Personalised feedback, 13 November 2025, 9.00-11.00, in-person training

Topics: analyse the different levels of impact, create an impact plan for a project, evaluate and create coherence between the excellence and impact of your research proposal.

Storytelling in proposals. How to create a coherent story for your funding proposal?

Session 1: Theory & first draft of skeleton structure, online, self-paced

Session 2: Feedback on drafts, 11 December 2025 or 15 January 2026, 9.00-11.00, in-person training

Topics: introduction to scientific storytelling techniques, translating project ideas into a coherent story, creating a one-page summary of your project.

May the patient voice be with you. Designing research that matters

12 March 2026, 9.00-12.00, in-person training

Topics: why patient involvement is essential for research quality, relevance, and impact; recognizing patients as knowledge holders; levels and forms of participation; common misconceptions and pitfalls; tools to plan involvement across project phases.

How to write a competitive grant proposal? Step-by-step guide to designing impactful collaborative research projects

Module 1: 24 Mar 2026, 9.00-12.00, in-person training

Module 2: 14 Apr 2026, 9.00-12.00, in-person training

Module 3: 19 May 2026, 9.00-12.00, in-person training

Topics: academic writing vs. grant writing, check fit to call, creation of a clear structure of a proposal, defining and writing impact.

Using generative AI for enhanced funding proposals. Unlocking the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in grant proposal writing

16 Apr 2026, 10.00-12.00, in-person training

Topics: how ChatGPT and Microsoft CoPilot can help you in proposal writing, how to create effective prompts that improve writing quality and reduce your workload, possibilities, and limitations of using generative AI when writing proposals

Contact

If you have any questions you can contact us by e-mail.