SciTube for Grants

Research Animation for Grant Applications

A simple way to include clear, credible research communication directly within your proposal
Why Research Communication Now Matters in Grants
Funders increasingly expect proposals to demonstrate this — including major bodies such as NSF, NIH, UKRI, Horizon Europe, NSERC, CIHR, and DFG:
Communication beyond academic audiences
Public engagement and accessibility
Real-world relevance
Clear dissemination plans
Often referred to as:
Broader impacts
Knowledge translation
Research impact
Public engagement
The expectation is clear:
It’s not just what you will discover
It’s how that work will be understood and used
And there’s a simple reason for that.
A significant proportion of research is publicly funded.
Which means it shouldn’t just exist within specialist circles.
It should be accessible
It should be understandable
And it should be able to reach the people it ultimately serves
The Common Challenge
Most researchers recognise this shift.
All work is handled in-house by our core team.
There’s also a practical consideration around funding.
Some universities provide central support for research communication.
Others don’t, or support is limited and highly competitive.

This means many researchers are left trying to deliver communication activities without a clear budget or defined resource.

To avoid this uncertainty, it’s often best to include communication as a dedicated, costed component within your grant from the outset.

A Practical Way to Strengthen Your Proposal
SciTube provides a defined, deliverable communication output you can include directly in your grant.
We turn your research into a short, clear animation that explains:
The core idea
Why it matters
Who it benefits
This gives you something concrete to reference in your proposal.
SciTube has already been included in funded proposals across NSF, NIHR, and similar programmes as a defined communication output.

What This Looks Like in a Strong Proposal

Most proposals include a communication section.
But many rely on broad statements such as:
“We will engage the public”
“We will disseminate findings widely”
“We will communicate results through outreach activities”
These are well intentioned.

But they are difficult to evaluate, difficult to measure, and often difficult to deliver in practice

What Stronger Proposals Do Differently
Stronger proposals move beyond general intent and define:
Specific outputs
Clear formats

Identifiable audiences

Measurable activities and impact
For example:
“We will produce a professionally developed animated explainer video through SciTube to communicate our research clearly to non-specialist audiences, including policymakers, educators, and the wider public. The video will be disseminated through established digital platforms to support engagement and accessibility.”
In practice, this gives you the output of a full internal team, without needing to build one.

Why This Matters

It turns communication from:
The Practical Advantage
In many cases, the difference between a good proposal and a strong one is not the idea.

It’s how clearly the delivery is defined.

Adding a structured, deliverable communication component:
Strengthens the impact section
Reduces ambiguity for reviewers

Makes execution more realistic

A Simple Upgrade

Instead of describing what you intend to do…
Define what you will produce
Define how it will be shared
Define who it is for
That’s where proposals become stronger.

A Fully Managed Process — From Creation to Dissemination

We handle the entire process, from initial concept through to final distribution.
This includes:
Scriptwriting in clear, accessible language
Visual design and animation
Voiceover, subtitles, and full production
Researcher review and approval at each stage
Active dissemination across multiple platforms
Researchers remain fully in control throughout.
Typical researcher input:
Everything else — from translation to production to dissemination — is handled by our team.

A Simple Upgrade

Creating content is only part of the challenge.

For research communication to have real impact, it needs to be seen.

As part of SciTube, we actively share and distribute content across:

our wider Science Diffusion network
Reaching a combined audience of 100,000+ science-focused viewers, alongside broader platform discovery.
Each piece is:
Optimised for platform visibility and accessibility

Published where audiences already consume content

Linked back to the researcher, institution, and grant provider

Why This Matters for Grants

This directly supports key funding requirements:
Public engagement
Broader impacts
Knowledge dissemination
Broader impacts
Instead of simply stating that research will be shared, you can point to:
A defined communication output
A defined distribution pathway
A defined, reachable audience

Designed to Be Reusable

The final animation is not just for the grant.
It becomes a long-term communication asset that can be used across multiple areas:
Broader impacts reporting
Future funding applications
Teaching and outreach
Presentations and conferences
Websites and public engagement
This means the same piece of content continues to deliver value long after the project itself.
Not just a deliverable
A long-term asset that can be reused, repurposed, and built upon
It also has ongoing practical use beyond formal reporting:
Researcher and lab recruitment
Attracting collaborators and partners
Supporting grant resubmissions and new proposals
Visual abstracts alongside journal submissions
Press releases and media coverage
Social media and platform distribution
Stakeholder and policy engagement
Internal communication and training
How Many Animations Should You Include?
There’s no fixed number.

Some projects include a single animation.
Others build a more structured communication plan.

However, for most grant applications, we typically recommend a simple three-stage approach:
Project Launch (Start)
Create an initial animation at the beginning of the project.
Purpose:
Midpoint Update (During)
A second animation partway through the project.
Purpose:
Final Output (End)
A final animation once the research is complete.
Purpose:

Why This Works

Instead of only communicating at the end, this approach:
Brings audiences along the research journey
Builds understanding over time
Creates multiple engagement points
It also provides:
Clear, defined deliverables
Measurable outputs
Reusable assets at each stage
Flexible by Design
This is a guide, not a requirement.
Projects can include:
A single animation
A small set of outputs
Or a larger programme depending on scope
Proven Across Universities Globally
We’ve delivered 2,500+ projects across 40+ countries.
Supporting individual researchers, departments, and institution-wide communication programmes in all areas including:
SciTube has been used within funded research projects to support broader impacts, outreach, and communication planning, and is a recognised public engagement channel.
Examples of Work
These examples show how complex research can be translated into clear, engaging formats that reach beyond specialist audiences.

Sustainable aquaculture through biomolecular solutions

  • Complex biomolecular science translated into a clear, accessible narrative
  • Showed how sustainable aquaculture can reduce disease, antibiotics, and environmental impact
  • 3,000+ YouTube views and 7,000+ additional views across platforms, demonstrating reach beyond specialist audiences
  • Part of the EU-funded BioAqua COST Action initiative

Reducing Racial Disparities in Anemia in Pregnancy

  • Large-scale maternal health research translated into a clear, accessible narrative
  • Highlighted racial disparities in anemia and links to severe pregnancy complications
  • 4,000+ YouTube views and 8,000+ additional views across platforms, reaching audiences beyond academia
  • Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Nursing Research
Why Video and Animation Work
Grant-Ready Pricing
SciTube can be included as a costed line item within your proposal.
Typical options:
£850 Video Lite (2 minutes)
£2,310
 Custom 2D animation (3 minutes)
For Research Development Teams
SciTube helps teams:
Provide a clear communication pathway
Reduce researcher workload
Strengthen proposal quality
We welcome working alongside you as a recommended trusted broader communication platform
Get a Grant-Ready Paragraph You Can Paste Into Your Proposal

If you’re preparing a grant, we can provide a short, tailored paragraph you can include directly in your application.

Get Your Grant-Ready Blurb

Tell us a little about your project and we’ll send you a tailored paragraph you can use directly in your proposal.

No pressure. No hard sell. Just something useful for your proposal.

We sometimes introduce ourselves by email—if you’re verifying legitimacy, you can read client testimonials.