Applicants for funding from the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme are asked to present their innovation to a funding committee.
These are some do’s and don’ts to bear in mind when presenting to the funding committee, incorporating accessibility best practice.
Planning ahead…
- 10 min presentation (timing will be strict)
- Up to three presenters (must be named team members)
- Technological, clinical and commercial aspects must be covered
- Q&A session to follow
- Know your audience; check the i4i webpage to find out who is on the funding committee
- Attend the presenter drop-in session; a friendly space to make sure your presentation runs as you expect when we run it, and an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the day.
What to expect on the day
- A formal setting
- There will be 15 to 25 funding committee members in attendance
- A member of the secretariat will play your presentation
- Timings will be strictly adhered to
Do…
Presentation design
- Frame your story
- Number your slides
- Leave a space (white rectangular box at the top right corner of the slides) so that the on-screen timer does not obscure your content
- Avoid text-heavy or busy slides; keep it simple
- Rehearse your presentation
- Test your videos and audios in advance (recommended formats: mpeg, wmv or mp4)
Presentation delivery
- Introduce the presenters
- Speak directly into the camera maintaining a front-face view to support lipreading
- Mute audio and video when you are not speaking
Don’t…
- Leave it to the last minute
- Come unprepared
- Exceed the allocated time
- Share one connection/device for all presenters