Consistently Securing Research Funding in Today’s Competitive World: Is it Submitting Perfect or Strategic Proposals?

CRN Charles Raphael
Tengeru Institute of Community Development, Tanzania
Email: crn201412@gmail.com

Abstract: This study explores whether it is perfect or strategic proposals that influence consistently securing research funding among researchers in Tanzania. Getting research funding consistently make or break work of the researchers in developing countries like Tanzania. Some of the given researchers dedicate their energies into writing and submitting either perfect or strategic proposals for funding. However, there is scarce empirical evidence on what really matters between perfect and strategic proposals for consistently securing research funding from Tanzanian context. Therefore, this study addresses two questions: Which type of proposal that consistently secure research funding between perfect and strategic proposals in Tanzania? What are the reasons of consistently securing research funding between perfect and strategic proposals in Tanzania? The questions given were addressed by using interpretivism research philosophy with qualitative approach and exploratory research design. The data was collected through documentary review and in-depth interview with 18 purposively sampled researchers involved in research proposal development, submission, or evaluation. The data collected were analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that consistently research funding is not always influenced by perfect academic proposals but the strategic proposals in today’s competitive world. This is because the perfect proposals have hidden costs of academic perfection while the strategic proposals have good enough revolution and success. Therefore, the Tanzanian researchers with limited resources can be game changers through consistently securing research funding by submitting strategic proposals rather than perfect academic proposals.