Ten Simple Rules for Developing a Successful Research Proposal in Brazil

Writing well is fundamental to publishing and having a successful scientific career [1], and being able to write a good research proposal is critical for obtaining financial support [2]. In emerging economies, such as Brazil, it is necessary to confront drawbacks not encountered in high-income countries [3]. The developing world has growing investments in science, technology, and innovation in many areas [4–6], including computational biology [7]. These investments have produced positive results in scientific quality in developing countries [8]. Although this is remarkably positive, the emergence of high-level research groups creates a highly competitive environment. We suggest a roadmap of ten simple rules for writing a consistent and convincing research project, which may be useful for researchers in Brazil and other emerging economies. There are several funding agencies in Brazil, and two of them—the National Council for Research Development (CNPq) and the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)—are used as examples of how proposals can be better adjusted in order to be successful. The latter represents the state funding agencies. Our ten rules will consider these agencies as the generic targets of proposals. When describing the ten rules below, we consider applications for research grant proposals and for MSc and PhD fellowships.