I've been involved in research, and spent a lot less than 40% of my time "chasing grants" (although it's unclear what activities that one does might be consider

I've been involved in research, and spent a lot less than 40% of my time "chasing grants" (although it's unclear what activities that one does might be considered "chasing a grant"). And there really isn't that much of a bureaucracy barrier to submitting and maintaining grants, particularly if you have any kind of institutional support. I daresay the kinds of hoops one jumps through to get and keep funding from VC et al make grant applications look like a joy. In any event, the things you do as a researcher on a day-to-day basis - keeping up on the literature, writing papers and disseminating your findings, thinking hard about your research problem...if done competently, make grant submission easy.