What steps to take when funding starts to run out Although researchers often face uncertainty when grants expire with no replacement in sight, there are creative ways to ease the dry spell. By Neil Savage

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01570-y?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=29096efd03-nature-briefing-daily-20240529&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b27a691814-29096efd03-50432164 Only one-quarter of grant proposals to major funders are successful, so funding gaps are common and stressful. Bridge-funding programmes can allow researchers to gather more data and bolster their next, larger grant application. Some institutions offer in-house ‘sabbaticals’ — funded positions to work with a colleague from a different department — or support scientists with money for research that has commercial potential. It’s also worth looking beyond the big funders, says research director Bryony Butland: “You just need to think about it a little bit differently, speak a slightly different language, but relate to their challenges and opportunities in a way that maybe you haven’t thought about before.”