The problem

Dear Nature,

I am a young faculty member at a university in China, passionate about my research and eager to contribute to my field. However, I’m increasingly overwhelmed by the pressure to secure grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). In our academic evaluation system, success in obtaining NSFC funding has become a crucial metric for career advancement — affecting promotions, tenure and even annual performance assessments.

Young scholars spend many hours crafting grant proposals, often at the expense of actual research, such as conducting experiments, analysing data and writing papers. The stress is immense: the fear of repeated rejection not only threatens our career prospects but also erodes our confidence and enthusiasm for science.

How can I navigate this pressure? Should I prioritize grant-writing skills over research itself, or is there a way to reconcile the need for funding with my original passion for scientific inquiry? — A frustrated young academic

The advice

This is by no means a unique challenge. Your frustration will resonate with plenty of academics around the world who, like you, are battling to secure funding. Moreover, the pressure often soars for early-career researchers aiming for tenure.

But the competition for funding seems to be particularly fierce in China. A grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) — the main funding source for basic research in the country — is often expected in the Chinese system for a tenure position. However, owing to the growing number of applicants, the success rate has dropped rapidly over the past decade: from around 22% in 2016 to a little over 12% this year.

Many young Chinese scholars say that workload pressure also comes from their ‘up or out’ contracts, which mean that they have six years to secure tenure or otherwise face dismissal.

Nature talked to four China-based researchers, who shared their thoughts on the grant struggle and how to tackle it.

Put research ahead of the funding

Xu Chi, an ecologist at Nanjing University, obtained his first NSFC grant in 2009, and now reviews grant proposals for the organization. Xu says that better writing skills can certainly help, but what will really make your proposal stand out is whether the topic is “important, novel and unique”.

“It is also important that the candidate can showcase that he or she is the right person to carry the project to the finishing line,” Xu notes. “For that, the candidate should explain their advantages and unique selling points.”

Improving your grant-writing skills and research “should not be an either/or choice,” adds Guo Tong, dean of the School of Civil Engineering in Southeast University in Nanjing. Guo, who has won seven NSFC grants since 2007, says that writing a grant proposal can help an applicant to clarify a project’s methodology and set achievable milestones. “In this way, grant writing can actually strengthen one’s science rather than replace it,” he explains.

Change your mindset

Tong Xinzhao, a bioinformatician at the Xi’an Jiaotong–Liverpool University (XJTLU) in Suzhou, says she faced a similar dilemma last year after her fourth NSFC grant application was rejected.

“Am I doing this research because this is something I really want to pursue, or am I doing this research just to get funding and get on the career ladder?” Tong recalls asking herself at the time.

In the end, she realized that she would want to work on her chosen topic regardless of the outcome of her next application. “That decision helped me clear my mind,” she said. “Suddenly, I stopped feeling the pressure. I felt light. And my preparation also seemed easier.”

Guo agrees, saying that even if a proposal is not funded, it can still be a valuable road map for your work.

Guo says that a mindset shift is often necessary. “A paper reports completed work — data, results and conclusions. A proposal, on the other hand, is about the future,” he explains. “This requires shifting from describing what you have done, to convincing others of what you can achieve and why it matters.”

It is also crucial that you introduce your research question in a detailed and logical way in your proposal, according to Tong. She says that Chinese reviewers often look for a particular format for that: the general landscape of your field; what problems need to be resolved; what others have tried before; what is left to be resolved; and what you can do to fill the knowledge gap.

“In a nutshell, the goal is to break the current research ceiling and dig a bit deeper,” she explains.