Expert guidance for setting up and organising research grant applications following established patterns for UKRI, EU, and other funding bodies
Use this skill when creating new grant application repositories, organising proposal documents, or setting up collaborative grant writing workflows.
Standard grant application repository:
grant-name/
├── .claude/ # Claude Code config (optional)
├── .gitignore
├── CLAUDE.md # Claude instructions
├── README.md # Overview, timeline, collaborators
├── coapplicant_details/ # Co-applicant information
│ ├── coapplicant1.md
│ └── coapplicant2.md
├── correspondence/ # Email correspondence, queries
├── data/ # Planning data
│ ├── milestones.csv # Milestone tracking
│ └── plan.csv # Work package timeline
├── docs/ # Call documentation, guidance
│ └── call-specification.pdf
├── submission/ # Main submission documents
│ ├── application.qmd # Full application
│ ├── research_vision.qmd # Research vision/summary
│ ├── approach.qmd # Technical approach
│ ├── team_capability.qmd # Team and capability
│ ├── references.bib # Bibliography
│ ├── schematics/ # Figures and diagrams
│ └── cell-numeric.csl # Citation style
└── slides/ # Presentation materials (optional)
# [Grant Title]
[Brief description of the grant application]
## Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|------|-----------|
| [Date] | Collaborator list agreed |
| [Date] | Case for support drafted |
| [Date] | All sections complete |
| [Date] | Final submission deadline |
## Collaborators
| Name | Institution | Role |
|------|-------------|------|
| PI Name | Institution | Lead applicant |
| Co-I Name | Institution | [Work package/expertise] |
## Structure
- `/submission/`: Main application documents
- `/docs/`: Call documentation and guidance
- `/coapplicant_details/`: Co-applicant information
- `/data/`: Planning data (milestones, timeline)
# CLAUDE.md
This file provides guidance to Claude Code when working with this repository.
## Repository Overview
This repository contains a [FUNDER] grant application focused on [TOPIC].
The project aims to [BRIEF OBJECTIVE].
## Document Structure
- `/submission/`: Main application documents
- `/docs/`: Call documentation and guidance
- `/coapplicant_details/`: Co-applicant information
- `/data/`: Planning data (milestones, timeline)
## Language Requirements
Always respond in British English (UK).
## Word Count Utilities
```bash
# Count words in a QMD file (excluding YAML header and references)
cat submission/document.qmd | sed '1,4d' | sed '/# References/,$d' | sed 's/\[@[^]]*\]//g' > temp.txt && wc -w temp.txt && rm temp.txt
submission/references.bib@placeholder for unavailable references (never invent citations)[@author2024] or [@author2024;@author2025] for multiple[Include example text in preferred style]
### .gitignore
.DS_Store .pdf !submission/.pdf *.html _files/ temp.txt .Rhistory
## Quarto Document Setup
### Application Document Header
```yaml
---