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

Schedule

This workshop will have two sessions, linked by a practical assignment:

Session 1: 16 Oct 2025, 9:00-11:00 Step-by-step guide on how to develop a grant strategy.

Session 2: 6 Nov 2025, 9:00-11.00 Personalized feedback on the grant strategy developed + network gap analysis.

Why attend?

Submitting research grants is essential for every researcher's career. However, navigating the complex national and EU funding landscape can be challenging. Many researchers are unaware of available opportunities or lack the time and networks needed for strategic planning ahead.

Our funding strategy and networking workshop aims to respond to these challenges by providing you with the guidance and tools needed to navigate the national and EU funding landscape effectively. Participants will build a yearly individual research funding plan, enabling them to:

• apply for “best-fit“ grants,

• combine different grants in line with their funding plan timeline,

• fund projects that drive their research forward instead of ones that slow them down,

• with the partners that are essential and complementary to their knowledge.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants should be able to 

• Name the key national and EU granting organisations, be aware of the budgeting cycles, the funding lines, and the yearly fixed call cycles

• Differentiate between bottom-up grants and top-down (topic) grants

• Place their research problem on the ‘innovation ladder’

• Use four key filters to critically select grants

• Break down larger research ambitions into smaller phases to make it easier to find suitable grants and build up funding from multiple sources

• Combine different grants in line with their funding plan timeline

• Design a year-long individual research funding plan

• Understand the importance of involving the right stakeholders to reach their research impact

• Evaluate the current network and analyse the gaps​

• Identify the right/needed partners to reach their research goal​s 

Maximum number of participants: 20 people

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. The workshop is NOT a good fit for PhD-students.

Conditions for participation

• Open to researchers (postdoc level and more senior) and research managers at UMCG and partner organizations (RUG, 4 schools connected to RUG, Hanze, Isala Hospital, Leeuwarden Hospital, Martini Hospital).

• Cost: 100 Euros/workshop.

• First come, first served basis. Priority registration for UMCG employees.

• Please note, this workshop is only available combined with the innovation value workshop, due to the dependency of their content.

Register

• Pre-registration for October/November 2025 workshops opened in July 2025.

• Limited to 20 participants per workshop.

• Participation is secured by transferring the participation fee.

• First come, first served basis.

Tailored workshops

The workshops of the Grant Navigator Training Programme can be booked stand alone or as a series. The practical assignments within the workshops are interconnected and can be used to develop a full proposal and network. Departments or institutes can request tailored workshops with a minimum of 20 participants. Tailored workshops are dependent on the capacity and availability of our trainers.

The trainers

Eszter Ashlock-Kéthelyi, Miriam Boersema, Laura Damiano

Skills developed by attending the Grant Navigator Training Programme

• Strategic planning for funding

• Networking and collaboration

• Demonstrating innovation value

• Effective storytelling in proposals

• Writing competitive proposals

• Defining societal impacts of research

• Using generative AI in grant writing

Evaluation of learning

Each module concludes with a practical assignment to measure competency development.

Accessibility of training materials

Materials will be shared via e-mail with all participants.