School of Engineering and Informatics
This form should normally be submitted electronically to the Research and
Enterprise Coordinator (Luke Scott, l.scott@sussex.ac.uk) and Research
Development Officer (Richard Taylor, richard.taylor@sussex.ac.uk) no less than 6 weeks prior to the formal grant deadline. The full grant application must be circulated for signatures at least 3 working days before the submission deadline.
1. Principal applicant (PI) at Sussex
Lead Institution:
2. Co-applicants (and institution if not at Sussex)
3. Project title
4. Grant funding body and initiative/call
5. Deadline or intended submission date
Project details
6. Proposal Summary
List the objectives of the proposed research
Approximate grant value
< 5,000
School of Engineering and Informatics grant proforma 2014-02-20, page 1/5

Describe why the proposed research is novel
What are the expected impacts of the proposed research?
(Please contact Christina Miariti (C.Miariti@sussex.ac.uk) if you would like help on impact)
Why is this research important?
Describe how this proposal matches the specific requirements of this funder/call.
School of Engineering and Informatics grant proforma 2014-02-20, page 2/5

7. Track record in this and/or related research areas
Please describe why you and your environment are the best to carry out the proposed research
8. Does the proposal require a letter of support?
Letter required from
9. This or a related proposal has been rejected before
If so, provide the details: Funder, scheme, time of application
Yes
Yes
No
No
10. I have received feedback on the previous application Yes No
11. Name at least two critical friends
Critical friends are expected to help with the proposal, both with advice in the early stages and by internal review in the final stages of preparation (please choose at least one colleague from outside the research group).
a) has agreed b) c) has agreed has agreed
12. Preliminary costing information
Project start date Project end date
PI hours per week Co-Is hours per week
Number of staff (e.g. PhD students, postdocs, technicians)
Large pieces of equipment/facilities usage
School of Engineering and Informatics grant proforma 2014-02-20, page 3/5

13. Sussex Research Programmes:
Is this a Sussex Humanities Lab (SHL) bid?
Is this a Sussex Sustainability Research
Programme (SSRP) bid?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Notes
1.
We need to know this to be able to communicate about all matters relevant to the proposal
2.
This information is needed early on to avoid any complications associated with larger or inhomogeneous consortia or complex contractual agreements. If you are the sole applicant, please leave empty.
3.
The title is helpful to us to identify the area of research and to be able to help with the selection of appropriate
“critical friends”.
4.
We need to know the call and initiative you are applying for to support you with the correct procedures and information about eligibility and grant review criteria.
5.
The deadline is important so that we can optimally assist with the preparation of the proposal.
6.
The information required in this section encompasses the most typical criteria for the review of grant proposals. We believe that it is important to address these criteria very early on before the actual grant writing commences.
7.
The track record information is particularly important in case a supporting letter from the Head of
Department or Head of School is needed. But it is also important to match the existing expertise with the proposal goals and identify potential problems early on in any case.
8.
Please indicate whether you will need a letter of support from Head of Department
(HoD) or Head of School (HoS) so we can prepare well in time for the submission deadline.
Also ask the HoD or HoS directly 3 weeks in advance of the deadline/intended submission date.
9.
We need the information about previous rejections to be able to advise about resubmission policies of funders and in particular with respect to the EPSRC
“blacklist”.
10.
If you do have feedback from previous proposals, please make sure to make the best use of it, also in conjunction with the “critical friends”
11.
The
“critical friends” are expected to help writing the proposal at all stages, in particular early on, to be able to advise on the overall strategy and structure of documents and, at a late stage, to pre-review the near final draft. We strongly encourage meeting in person with them .
12.
The preliminary financial information is needed to facilitate support of the grant writing process by the research development team.

Approval Procedure and Timeline
Action
Notify
“critical friends”, meet and discuss the outline of the proposal with one of them
Submit the grant application proforma
If required before submission, initiate review with the Research Governance Committee.
If required, ask the HoD/ HoS for a letter of support.
Initiate pre-submission review of the near-final draft with at least one
“critical friend”
Submit the completed grant application with its supporting documents to the Research and
Enterprise Coordinator.
Submit the proposal to the funder.
Timescale Guideline
6 weeks before deadline.
6 weeks before deadline.
(Applications may be refused if insufficient notice is given).
3 weeks before deadline.
3 weeks before deadline.
2 weeks before deadline.
3 working days before deadline.
For proposals where RDO needs to confirm submission, 1 day before deadline unless otherwise agreed.
Post-Decision Follow up
Please inform the Research and Enterprise Coordinator (REC) and Research
Development Officer (RDO) as soon as you receive notification that your grant has been approved or has been unsuccessful.
Contacts and Further Information
School Research Grant Pages: http://www.sussex.ac.uk/ei/internal/research/resgrants
RDO (Research Development Officer) is Richard Taylor – richard.taylor@sussex.ac.uk
REC (Research and Enterprise Coordinator) is Luke Scott – l.scott@sussex.ac.uk
DoRKE (Director of Research and Knowledge Exchange) is Thomas Nowotny – t.nowotny@sussex.ac.uk