As one of the world’s leading design faculties, the Faculty of Indurtial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology faced the challenge of significantly improving the quality and quantity of research proposals in order to secure major funding beyond the traditional design area, to remain competitive and to advance the discipline of design. This included several projects aimed at supporting both researchers and funding advisors, designing and developing data-driven tools, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement.
As one of the world’s leading design universities, securing major research funding beyond traditional design areas such as healthcare, mobility and sustainability is crucial to remaining competitive and advancing the discipline of design. In order to attract more funding in these areas, we face increased competition from consortia outside the design discipline, which requires a significant improvement in both the quality and quantity of research proposals. I have been given considerable freedom and responsibility to identify effective strategic measures to achieve this. Together with the Delft Design Innovation and Impact team, we mapped the current funding journey and designed an ideal process. Based on these insights, I developed several interventions to improve the quality and quantity of proposals, ensuring that the Faculty could secure more funding and maintain its international leadership.
Delft University of Technology, 2023-2024
With: Delft Design Impact & Innovation Team
To improve the quality of research proposals, I developed an AI tool as part of the Intelligence Project. The tool automatically analyses hundreds of feedback letters from previous proposals, summarises key findings and provides personalised guidance to researchers. It also scores successful consortia and individual profiles to identify eligibility factors, providing data-driven insights for more effective applications. Prototyped in KNIME in combination with Open AI’s GPT 4o, and developed in Python using LLAMA LLM for text generation. This intervention provides researchers with actionable feedback and tailored advice, significantly improving the quality of proposals and increasing the faculty’s chances of securing funding. The project was tested with several researchers and the Dean, and generated considerable interest for further development across TU Delft.
In order to help funding advisors cope with the increased workload resulting from a higher number of grant applications, I designed and prototyped a project management software, later named Leon by my colleagues. This application, prototyped in Notion and Microsoft Sharepoint, is currently under development and will be released in September 2024. The main aim is to provide grant advisors with the right tools to monitor applications, manage workloads and ensure efficient service levels, thus tackling the volume aspect of proposal management. In addition, the software uses this data for business intelligence, enabling performance tracking and informed decision making. I conducted extensive UX/UI research, including user flow mapping, to ensure that the software would meet the needs of its users and drive improvements in proposal volume and funding success.
From the Intelligence Project we identified several key areas for improvement: proposal writing, consortium building, call selection and personal profile development. To address these, we set up The Academy to run bimonthly information sessions. Developed with funding advisors, experienced researchers and university-wide support, these sessions provided in-depth guidance on key topics for researchers. This initiative positioned the Delft Design Innovation and Impact (DDII) team as experienced, data-driven coaches, enhancing researchers’ skills and improving the quality and success rate of research proposals.
