Following a successful paper submision to the SWCTN Data Prototype open call, we (Jon and I) were invited to a pitch and interview on 21st October. This was hugely intimidating, even via Zoom. We went over our material again and again, adding, removing, editing; expanding and contracting our content; losing then regaining the message. The content was too big and unstructured to clearly express our idea and our ability to deliver it. With lots of help and critical feedback from friends and advisors, and last minute changes, we delivered a pitch we were happy with. Questioning from the panel was probing, fair and not hostile. We finished feeling that if we did not get funded, it was not becasue we failed to deliver a good account of our idea, ourselves, and our network. SWCTN took longer than expected to get back to us. On 3rd November at 4:24pm I got a WhatsApp message from Jon which said simply: Call me when you can.

Call Me message on whatsapp

So I called, not daring to hope.

“We got it. We got funded!”

“You’re joking”, I replied. “I wouldn’t joke about something like this” said Jon.

Knowing how competitive SWCTN funding rounds are, and how many business and creative teams were going for it, I kept my expectations strapped down. You have to when you are applying for grants and opportunites. Over the course of the call, and over the next few hours, belief crept back in.

Alongside the elation and excitement, and a torrent of new ideas that I had held back since the pitch, there was a growing realisation:

We are going to have to deliver this!