Hi all

I am trying to raise some funding/sponsorship for my studies.

How do people approach potential funders - I am not talking about ESRC and the like as I have tried all those organsations without success. Nor am I talking about charities.

Has anyone tried any private commercial organisations?

If so, what has been the approach?

Has anyone had any success?

What I am really thinking is what is the approach to a profit-making organisation - an organisation that will almost certainly be thinking "What's in it for me" if I sponsor this project- so, eg. how do you sell the marketing etc. benefits which that organisation might gain from sponsoring what (in my case) is a project based very much on theory rather than practice?

N

Not speaking from experience, but you are likely going to have to change some of your project goals so that that it has some strong practical application and is of more interest (having more potential for direct and measurable gain) to the potential funder.

I have approached a law firm ref fudning/sponsorship.

Is that likely to lead to any ethical issues?

N

It's fine as long as it is declared on all publications, presentations, thesis etc as a potential conflict of interest. (Others may have more to add here - my experience has been with public sector stakeholders such as schools and NHS trusts rather than private companies).

PS - you might find this useful in your quest for finding an alternative source of funding: