GRANTED - The Research Grant Game

As autumn passes, new calls for grant proposals are usually also released. Are you interested in getting into grant-writing mode using an entrepreneurial approach to grant-writing with strangers (that could become your collaborators)? Then maybe this workshop is something that you should participate in.

We will be running a grant-writing board game (yes you read that correctly) as a half-day workshop called GRANTED – Research Grant edition.

ESHIP:NavigatingUncertainty is a game developed by Dr. Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit and his game studio BioSymfonix EduGames that publishes learning games. The Entrepreneurship game is already a highly successful and award-winning game that teaches Entrepreneurship and handling uncertainty to students interested in starting a venture. This game is already in use by 70+ institutions across 20+ countries. The GRANTED game uses some of the same award-winning mechanics of the original game but with the focus of a Research Grant proposal instead.

The aim of this workshop is simple. Come with an open mind. Find someone you have not interacted with earlier and form a team together (min. 3 people per team and max of 5). Maybe you have interacted with someone already or discussed a project proposal theoretically – and would like to now form a real team – this is also OK. You will then have just under 4 hours to identify your research question, and structure an interdisciplinary grant proposal in a fictive and uncertain setting facilitated by the board game. We say “fictive” as there is “roleplaying element” in the fictive board game that will help you break the ice but also be more imaginative and creative. There will be some uncertainty thrown in as well – as it is uncertainty that makes things interesting and maybe even opens up new opportunities. While playing the game you will be documenting your process either using a physical paper based template or a companion digital tool – and towards the end of the workshop you will present your project proposal to your peer teams.

Key Takeaways: What will you take away from the session – We hope that at the end of the session you would have built new bridges, identified new collaborators, come up with interesting research proposals, become better equipped to deal with inevitable uncertainties, have fun and most importantly have a skeletal grant proposal that you can use to build towards future grant calls or other interdisciplinary grant calls.

All seasoned grant writers as well as novice writers are invited to participate. If you are a PhD student and curious about the world of grant-writing – this could also be relevant for you.

Schedule

10.00 am – 1.00 pm: Granted – The Research Grant Game 

1.00 – 1.30 pm: Lunch with the participants 

1.30 – 3.00 pm: Post-game debrief and feedback 

Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit Bio

Dr. Rajiv Vaid Basaiawmoit, Ph.D., MBA, is currently the Head of Sci-Tech Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Aarhus University, Denmark. He is a polymath of sorts having a PhD in Biophysics (2007), a double Masters in Biotechnology (2001) and in Business Administration (MBA - 2011). Rajiv has since straddled various disciplines and spent various amounts of time in various fields such as Nanoscience, Molecular Biology, Organizational Psychology, Environmental Sustainability, Marketing, Social Entrepreneurship, Gamification, & Ludology. In parallel, he also launched a Game studio – Biosymfonix Edu Games under his consulting business Biosymfonix. One of it's flagship products is a multi-award-winning board game called ESHIP:NavigatingUncertainty which is currently in use in over 60 different institutions across 22 different countries. During COVID Rajiv used the down-time to create even more games and one is spin-off to the aforementioned flagship, now called GRANTED: The Research Grant Game – which helps interdisciplinary teams come together and create a skeletal grant proposal in under 3 hours.  

Owing to his multi-disciplinary background and ability to innovate as well as coach on how to innovate, he is an invited speaker and thought leader at many conferences, events and institutions around the world from TedX to NATO and many others. Rajiv’s multi-specialty achievements and interests have spawned various inter-disciplinary collaborations with disparate entities and individuals that range from artists to scientists, to philosophers to entrepreneurs as well as Museums, Communication agencies, Game studios and of course universities and schools.