Hi, I’m Clare, Founder and CEO of GrantShape. I was a ‘first in family’ to attend university and I am passionate about opening up opportunities for all, including accessing research funding.

I studied history, sociology, criminology and anthropology at the University of Edinburgh, and after finishing my PhD in 1997 I moved into various teaching, research and leadership roles in UK universities and served on various professional bodies.

I was thrilled to be elected Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in 2014, Fellow of the British Academy in 2023 and Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2025. I am also honoured to serve as a Trustee of Royal Museums Greenwich, where I am Vice-Chair of the Collections and Research Committee.

I have led many research projects and programmes, and as “Principal Investigator” I’ve been awarded funding of £6.5m+ from the AHRC, British Academy, ERC, ESRC, Leverhulme Trust and Wellcome Trust. This has included interdisciplinary work and local, national and international collaborations with museums, heritage organisations and communities as well as universities, governments and NGOs. I peer review for all the major funders in the UK, alongside various bodies overseas, and I have served on BA and ESRC panels, including as vice-chair.

Over the past decade, I have supported numerous colleagues with funding applications, from early career researchers to lecturers and professors. This has included working on ideas and proof of concept, thinking about research questions, working through methodologies and commenting on application drafts. I have also worked with academic teams to nurture research ideas at different stages of development, supporting everyone in their grant writing ambitions - including through application of my interdisciplinary expertise. Finding enormous satisfaction in helping others to meet their funding goals, in 2025 I decided to set up this business.

Viewing research funding as a route to excellence in publication, collaboration and postgraduate and postdoctoral support, I want to share my insights and experience with you. My aim is to support you and your teams to develop world-class funding bids that empower you to meet your professional and strategic ambitions.