1. Could you share a bit about your background and how you got started in the world of research and funding?

Yes, it may surprise you that I have a degree in child development with a focus on the psychology of the hospitalized child. 20 years ago I was working with hospitalized children and families in the Washington DC area, supporting them through their most difficult moments.

Fast forward to 2010 when I moved from the USA to Lausanne, Switzerland thanks to my status as the trailing spouse of a postdoc at EPFL. I continued my work in hospitals in Lausanne, but ultimately decided to change my career path. I took an entry level internship position at an academic publisher. Eventually I moved into more senior positions in the company and later opened their first office in the US after I moved to Seattle in 2015. For me, I think my skills in working with people 1:1 in crisis situations made me pretty stellar at problem solving in a publishing setting.

I worked for 8 years in academic publishing which is where I met Judy Mielke, Founder of ScientifyRESEARCH. We worked well together, building notable Editorial Boards and journals. Of course, working with a Pediatrics journal was my passion during my publishing career, but my greatest successes were probably in my roles as a Commissioning Team Lead or as a Project Management, solving efficiency issues.  You know the saying “Never be afraid to hire someone smarter than you”? My superskill is hiring very smart people.

2. What inspired you to create ScientifyRESEARCH and focus on helping researchers access funding?

I wish I could say that I had even a small role in the initial inspiration behind ScientifyRESEARCH. The inspiration to create ScientifyRESEARCH was all Judy’s. She founded the company in 2021 about a year before I joined her as co-founder.

We have a solution for a fundamental challenge in research. A funding database that has an open version so any researcher in the world can find funding information. There are clearly inefficiencies with the academic system at large, and researchers spend many hours each year applying for funding that they never get. Yet, we also see funders extending their deadlines which means there is money out there that more researchers should know about. Knowing which funding to apply for should not be determined by word-of-mouth only. Researchers should know about all of the options for funding they are eligible for and have access to an elegant tool for this.

3. Can you recall a particular challenge you faced while establishing ScientifyRESEARCH and how you overcame it?

Start-ups come with many challenges, all of which can be solved. At the moment, our biggest problem is we need more people on our team to grow our company. We’ve been able to tap into some excellent resources in Sweden to bring more talent to our team, e.g. Vinnova grant funding for Marie Curie scholars and Jobbsprunget.

4. In your journey from working with researchers to founding ScientifyRESEARCH, what were the key insights that led you to develop a solution focused on optimizing research productivity?

When you work in academic publishing and moving the publication process forward, you will see statements like these in your inbox dozens of times each day:

“I’ve not been able to get to this review because I’m buried in a grant application”

“I won’t be able to submit this proposal now, I have a grant deadline coming up…”

These are not excuses. This is the reality of a researcher. The research cycle starts with funding and publication comes later, but it’s a continuous cycle.

5. Could you elaborate on ScientifyRESEARCH’s mission and the vision you have for the impact it can make?

At scientifyRESEARCH, our mission is to help researchers get research funding and our vision is for a world where the best research and the most promising researchers are funded.

We believe that the best research can only happen if we have a diversity of ideas. We believe that the complexity of the challenges that we face today as a society requires large-scale collaborations. We also believe that fair and effective research funding starts with all qualified researchers having access to research funding information.

6. In your opinion, why is research funding so crucial for the progress of both individual researchers and society as a whole?

Without funding, there is no research, there are no publications, there is no scientific progress. It all starts with funding, and we want to make this easier!

7. Could you explain the key features of ScientifyRESEARCH’s research funding database that make it stand out from other resources?

There are other databases that exist. The problem is that not every researcher in the world is granted access to them via an institutional subscription.

We also believe we have the best data structuring to allow researchers to quickly assess their eligibility.

We make daily updates to our funding opportunities, and we have a grant alert mechanism to send new grant information directly to researchers via email.

8. Could you explain if registration or subscription is necessary for availing the benefits of ScientifyRESEARCH, or is there free access available?

We have a free and open version that allows anyone to access the full list of research funding opportunities in our database. However, this version has limitations and we encourage researchers to sign up for a freemium account to make use of some of our eligibility filters.

9. Are there any premium versions of ScientifyRESEARCH other than the free access? If so, what additional facilities or features are provided in the premium versions?

We do have a monthly premium membership that individuals, research offices or research institutions can purchase. This allows access to all of our eligibility filters and other advanced functionality, e.g. save search filters, favorites, add grants direct to calendar features and more. With premium access, finding the best suited funding is very easy.

10. How do the eligibility filters contribute to helping researchers find the most relevant funding opportunities?

Sure you can go to google and search for funding, but reading through the eligibility criteria of every grant is not a good use of time. We remove this noise and curate the eligibility details to make it simple to find all of the most relevant funding options for each unique situation.

11. Can you elaborate on the consultancy services that ScientifyRESEARCH provides for researchers seeking funding? Is this consultancy offered before the funding application process, after receiving funding, or at various stages of the research funding journey?

We do offer consultancy services if researchers are interested in talking with us about how to look for funding opportunities. It’s often helpful to hear from us about the best way to search and how to use our filters. Sometimes researchers could use support thinking about how to expand their searchers or consider different types of funding sources.  Alongside our consultancy services, we offer access to the premium version to ensure researchers have all of the tools and information for a successful search.

Beyond this pre-award stage, we can recommend other companies that we know and trust who offer bespoke grant writing services.

12. Could you please provide more details about the “Grant Alert” section on ScientifyRESEARCH? What does it entail, and how does it benefit researchers in their pursuit of research funding opportunities?

This is a fantastic free service that we offer which allows researchers to sign up to receive an email each time a new grant is listed in our database.

13.  Could you provide more information about the research event calendar offered by ScientifyRESEARCH? How does it assist researchers, and what types of events are typically included in the calendar?

We organize free webinars on various topics of interest to researchers who are interested in upskilling, e.g. grant writing, giving scientific talks or peer review. We like to invite expert guest speakers.

Ideally, we would like to be very comprehensive about listing all of the online events related to research funding that would be of interest to researchers, e.g. webinars hosted by funders on their funding mechanisms.  

Anyone hosting a research-related event could submit a suggestion to post an event Here.

14. Could you tell us if ScientifyRESEARCH offers newsletters or regular updates to keep researchers informed about new funding opportunities and developments in the research funding landscape?

Yes, we have a free monthly newsletter that researchers can sign up for Here:

Soon we will also be sending a newsletter dedicated to research offices and another for research funders. We offer services for all three of these audiences, all are equally important to us. We want to be the link between the researchers and the funders. Research Administrators are our partners in this and we want our tool to be a useful offering for them to empower researchers with their own funding searches.

Vijay : Thank you, Kate, for sharing your valuable insights and dedicating your time to this interview. Your passion for empowering researchers and advancing the field of research funding through ScientifyRESEARCH is truly inspiring. We appreciate your expertise and the impactful work you and Dr. Judy Mielke are doing to support the global research community. We look forward to witnessing the continued growth and success of ScientifyRESEARCH and its positive influence on researchers worldwide. Thank you once again for being with us today.

Kate: Thank you, Vijay. It was a pleasure to speak with you. I’d also like to point out that you have also dedicated significant effort to make aspects of the life of a researcher easier. You have great resources on your site which I’m sure many researchers find helpful. Thank you for your interest in scientifyRESEARCH. 

In this enlightening conversation with Kate Gardner, co-founder of ScientifyRESEARCH, we have uncovered a world where innovation meets dedication, and where passion fuels a mission for positive transformation.

ScientifyRESEARCH, a brainchild of Kate and Dr. Judy Mielke, stands as a beacon of hope for researchers worldwide. It bridges the gap between aspiration and opportunity, offering an open-access, comprehensive research funding database that transcends barriers.

Through their tireless efforts and unwavering commitment, Kate and Judy have not only revolutionized the landscape of research funding but have also embodied the spirit of collaborative progress and equality. Their vision is not just about streamlining access to funding; it’s about unlocking the potential within each researcher to contribute to a brighter, more informed, and collectively empowered world. ScientifyRESEARCH is more than a platform; it’s a catalyst for change, inspiring researchers to push boundaries and ultimately, create a global impact through the power of knowledge and research.