Proposal Development
“Starting well is half the job.”
~Korean Proverb
Why Pursue Grant Funding?
Expand your research
Provide student support through student salary or
scholarship
Acquire new equipment
Pilot project or development funding
Perceived Barriers To
Proposal Writing
•Time
•Lack of release time
•Lack of adequate clerical support
•Indirect cost recovery distribution
•Lack of graduate assistants
•Lack of grantsmanship experience
•Insufficient preliminary data
•Lack of appropriate research software
•Internal routing and approvals
•Lack of knowledge about where the money can be found
Where Is The Money?
USD Office of Sponsored Programs Funding Opportunities Website http://www.sandiego.edu/sponsored-programs/funding/index.php
•Links to Databases:
• Community of Science (COS)
• Copley Library, Funding Resources
• Grant Advisor Plus
• Grants Alert
• Grants Net
• Other External Funding Sources by Category
Foundation Center Database – OSP and Foundation
Relations have a subscription
Email Alert Systems (Sample: http://www.nsf.gov/ )
What To Look For In A Grant Funding
Announcement
Grants – A financial assistance mechanism between a sponsor and
recipient for approval activities. Performance responsibility lies primarily
with the recipient.
Contract – An award instrument establishing a legal procurement
relationship between the sponsor and the recipient obligating recipient to
furnish a project or service defined in detail and binding the sponsor to
pay for it.
Cooperative Agreement – Award instrument reflecting an assistance
relationship between the sponsor and the recipient in which a substantial
programmatic involvement by the sponsor is anticipated.
Fellowship – Financial aid granted to a student or faculty member to
provide for further study.
Terms
BAA – Broad Agency Announcement (grants and contracts)
RFP – Request for Proposals (grants)
RFA – Request for Applications (contracts)
PA – Program Announcement (grants)
Announcement Will Specify
•A type of funding opportunity.
•Scope of work or target opportunity.
•What agency is soliciting the proposal.
•Who is eligible (Do they fund institutions such as USD?)
•Geographic restrictions.
•How to apply (Electronic, paper copies, font & page limitations.)
•General and specific award conditions.
•Budget ranges.
•Who gets the money (you? USD?)
•Other special considerations (cost share?)
Before You Write
•Match your needs to the sponsor’s interests
•Start Early – Dates on the calendar are closer than they appear.
•Contact the Program Officer.
•What percent of proposals are likely to be funded?
•Do you have sufficient preliminary data for this RFP?
•Find funded proposals or abstracts to review.
•Talk to your faculty advisor/colleagues/chair/dean/unit head
•Don’t work alone. Get peer reviews often. When possible, seek
collaborations.
•Deadlines, letters of intent, matching required, page limits, font
size, copies.
•How transmitted? Electronic? Paper?
Before You Write
•Read the guidelines carefully… and then read them again.
•Understand the agency’s review process. Who will read the
proposal?
•NSF says proposals should be understandable by a non-specialist
– a “scientifically literate lay reader.” Reviewers are often chosen
on the basis of the abstract and title. If a non-specialist doesn’t
grasp the issue, it may be reviewed by the wrong people.
Proposal Development
When writing is hard…
talk it out.
Writing The Proposal
How is proposal writing different than other kinds of
writing?
A proposal is a request for funding crafted to persuade a
reviewer that:
•Your topic is important;
•Your plan is sound;
•You are qualified to pursue it;
•You will complete it successfully; and
•Your project matches their priorities.
Basic Proposal Information
A proposal will answer the following questions:
•Why do you want the money? What situation are you
trying to fix? - This is the need section.
•What will the situation look like when you finish? – What
are the goals and objectives you will meet?
•What will you do to meet the goals and objectives? – This is
the method section.
•How will we know what was accomplished and that
methods were valid? – This is the evaluation section.
•What will all this cost? – This is the budget.
•Why should they fund you?
Writing The Proposal
Think like a reviewer
Format the proposal so that it is easy to:
•Find key points;
•Read and appreciate;
•Directly address the reviewers comment format; and
•Type the guidelines into your narrative so the reader knows
exactly where you are.
Writing The Proposal
Think like a reviewer
Write in paragraphs
•Include only one major idea per paragraph;
•Make the first sentence in a paragraph a topic sentence;
•Use headers frequently;
•Break up the narrative text with charts, graphs and pictures
(when appropriate).
Writing The Proposal
Think like a reviewer
Let your text flow
•Indent paragraphs;
•Skip a line between paragraphs;
•The proposal does not have to reach the page limits
- Brevity is fine.
Writing The Proposal
Government Proposals
•Follow the guidelines precisely.
•Type the reviewers scoring format into the proposal.
•Ask faculty advisor or colleagues to review initial concept
and later full proposal.
•Don’t work alone.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Title
•Conform to the agency’s guidelines for titles (there may be
a limit on length)
•Make the title an accurate statement of long term goals
•Include keywords in the title
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Abstract
•First and possibly last section to be read – the most
important part of the proposal
Write it last (even though it’s the first item.)
•Every proposal, even very brief ones, should have an
abstract approximately 200 words.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Table of Contents
•Very brief proposals with few sections ordinarily do not
need a table of contents.
•Long and detailed proposals may require, in addition to a
table of contents, a list of illustrations (or figures) and a list of
tables.
Common Sections OF A Proposal
Introduction
•A capsule statement of what is being proposed and then
should proceed to introduce the subject to a stranger.
•Don’t assume that your reader is familiar with your subject.
Should be comprehensible to an informed layman.
•If the explanation of the proposed research will be complex,
the introduction might end by specifying the order and
arrangement of the sections.
•Explain the underlying assumption of your research
hypotheses.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Need or Problem Statement (Program Proposal)
•This sections describes the situation which caused you to
prepare the proposal.
•It should refer to the situation(s) outside of the
organization.
•Use statistics, supplement with quotes from authorities.
•The lack of your project is Not The Problem.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Literature Review (Research Proposals)
•Discuss current thinking on the topic and review efforts
devoted to it in the past.
•Don’t overload reviewers with extraneous materials.
Literature reviews should be selective and critical.
•Should lead logically to the research rationale.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Typical components of a research plan (NIH terminology)
•Specific Aims – short overview of what you aim to accomplish (~5%)
•Background & Significance –Why work is important, necessary (~1015%)
•Preliminary Data – Pilot data (~25%)
•Research Design and Methods – the experiments you will conduct
(~55-60%)
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Need or Problem Statement (Research Proposal)
•State Objectives Clearly.
•Provide background on the state of the field. Include
information about general literature.
•Define what additional questions should be answered or
gaps in knowledge should be filled.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Research Methods
•Explain your previous work related to the topic.
•Explain the work of likely reviewers.
•Be hypotheses driven.
•Highlight your strengths in the area of research:
―Your experience and that of collaborators (including
publications);
―Methodology and equipment available;
―Unique approach.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Research Methods (con’t)
•Be realistic. Distinguish between long-range goals and
short range objectives.
•Be clear about the focus of the research. Pose the specific
question(s) the project is intended to answer.
•Explain the connection between the research objectives and
the research method.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Research Methods (con’t)
•Do you have preliminary data?
•Are the time and skills of staff adequate to conduct studies
proposed?
•Explain expected outcomes and contingencies:
―A series of experiments must not rely on finding a
specific result in prior experiments.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Institutional Resources
•The institution’s demonstrated competence in the pertinent
research.
•Availability of experts in related areas.
•Supportive service.
•Research facilities or instruments available to the project.
Common Sections To A Proposal
Personnel/Bio Sketches
Include for critical personnel % of time and role:
•Principal Investigator (PI)
•Co-Principal Investigator (CoPI)
•Co-Investigators
•Senior Personnel
•Collaborators
•Consultants
•Research Assistants with Special Skills
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Personnel/Bio Sketches (con’t)
Include:
•Training, experience
•Grant support
•Publications
―Separate peer reviewed articles, reviews, chapters, and
abstracts;
―Place in chronological order with complete information (i.e.
title, vol., and page numbers);
―Limit “manuscripts in preparation” to manuscripts
you would be willing to send to the committee.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Budget
•Start with the application guidelines;
•Determine the dollar amount available;
•Pinpoint the earliest start date and end date;
•Check for budget restrictions and cost sharing
requirements;
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Budget (con’t)
•Direct Costs – Costs specifically identified and allocable to
the project. Examples are salaries and benefits, travel,
equipment and contract services.
•Indirect Costs (Facilities and Administrative Costs) – Costs
that cannot be directly allocable to the project but are real.
Examples are heat, lights, trash, gardening, security,
procurement, accounting, HR, administration, OSP,
depreciation.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Budget (con’t)
•Provide no surprises here! The budget tells the same story
as the plan of operation.
•Cost Share/Matching must be documented in the same way
the funder award is documented.
•Cost Share can be donated time, donated services or cash.
Common Sections Of A Proposal
Budget Narrative
Serves two main purposes:
•Explains how the costs were estimated;
•Explains the need for individual items.
Common Sections To A Proposal
Appendices
•Don’t include information critical to the understanding of
the narrative.
•Narrative must stand alone. Appendices may not be read
by the reviewers.
•Appendices to proposals are occasionally used for letters of
endorsement or promises of participation, intent to form a
subcontract or consultancy.
Common Sections To A Proposal
Appendices – Letters of Commitment
•The individual will explain the scope of work relevant to
the project.
•Attests to understanding of award terms and conditions.
•Institutions should state if subject to a-133 audits and if
recent audits had ‘findings’.
•Consultants must not be on the suspended or
debarrred lists.
Why Are Proposals Rejected?
•The proposal contained an unreasonable number of
mechanical defects that reflected carelessness and the
author’s unwillingness to attend to detail. The risk that the
same attitude might extend to execution of the proposed
study was not acceptable to the reviewers.
•The problem is not of sufficient importance or is unlikely to
produce any new or useful information.
•The research is based on a hypothesis that rests on
insufficient evidence, is doubtful, or is unsound.
Why Are Proposals Rejected?
•The proposed tests, or methods, or scientific procedures are
unsuited to the stated objective.
•The investigator does not have adequate experience or
training for this research.
•The investigator appears to be unfamiliar with recent
pertinent literature or methods.
•Readers are human and they may disagree.
Why Are Proposals Rejected?
•Avoid the reviewer “feeding frenzy” where they find one
thing they don’t like and then look for others.
Project Checklist
•Follow grant guidelines closely. Meet each requirement
and don’t leave out any steps.
•Ask several people to review your grant for common sense
and clarity before you submit it.
•Make sure your grant application contains a clear and
logical budget, with narrative description that explains the
costs in each category.
•Supply documentation on how the costs were determined.
•Gather statistics to support your request.
Project Checklist
•Do a survey to demonstrate the need for the project.
•Be sure to include information on how you will evaluate the
success of the project.
•Be sure to indicate how our project will meet state or
national standards.
•Review the list of projects that have recently been funded by
the agency you are applying for to determine if your project
will meet the funding criteria.