Kristin Wetherbee
CAH Research Office
February 16, 2011
 Sources of Funding
 Building Relationships
 The Proposal Process
 Proposal Components
 Dos and Don’ts
 I’ve Submitted, Now What?
 Resources
Funding Sources
Community of Science (COS): www.cos.com
Illinois Research Information Service (IRIS):
http://www.library.illinois.edu/iris/
The Foundation Center:
http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/
Grants.gov
Where do I start?
 Sponsor
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Know their funding priorities and giving history
Look for list of funded or sample grants on agency web site
Read agency’s annual report
Call sponsor agency contact program officer
 Peers
 Contact successful applicants to request a copy of proposal
 Involve those who will work on the project
 Don’t get caught with funding for a project no one is willing to
implement
 Avoid barriers to submission or implementation contact
chair, CAH Research, and ORC (i.e. budget issues, IRB
approval, intellectual property, subcontracts)
 Discuss with chair
 Meet with CAH Research
 Write proposal
 Submit ARGIS PTF for electronic approvals
 PI or CAH Research can enter
 ORC submits proposal to agency
 Abstract or Project Summary
 Introduction or Need Statement/Research
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Questions
Organizational History and Capabilities
Project Description
Workplan and Timeline
Budget and Budget Narrative
Bibliography
Other
 One page or less
 Write for a general audience
 Discuss significance, principal activities,
and expected results
 NEH and NEA limited to one-page
 NSF requires statement of intellectual merit
and broader impacts
 http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/HCRR.html
 State the need or problem your research
addresses
 Express how you identified this need and its
significance
 Who will benefit from the project?
 List research question(s) and/or objectives
 Bullet list
 Action-oriented
 Related to sponsor’s goals
 Org history and mission
 For Research Foundation submissions – list RF mission first,
then UCF
 Explain institution’s strengths for conducting the project
 Technical infrastructure
 Scientific facilities
 Staff
 Other resources
 Describe prior experience in areas related to the project
 Literature Review
 Topical, area of theory, related to methodology
 Methodology
 Subjects, type of design, data collection techniques
 Data Analysis/Evaluation
 How will you analyze data?
 What effects will be analyzed?
 How does it relate to objectives or hypothesis?
 Sustainability
 Be detailed
 Break project into stages or phases
 Show when results will be attained
 Use a chart or table
 Be as exact as possible
 Verify allowable expenses
 Equipment, salary limits, tuition, overhead
 Narrative categories should match with
budget categories and amounts
 Break out costs (3 printers @ $150 each)
 CAH budget workshop: March 2 and 3
 Use format noted in guidelines or standard
in field (APA, MLA, Chicago)
 Cite your sources in body
 Verify all citations are in bibliography
 iThenticate - Turnitin.com version for
researchers and publishers
 Resumes/CVs – adhere to page limits
 Current and Pending Support
 Letters of Support
 Work Samples
http://homepages.sover.net/~paulven/sit/proposal.html
Do:
 Thoroughly read the sponsor’s guidelines
 Research the sponsor
 Read successfully funded proposals
 http://www.neh.gov/news/recentawards.html
 Outline proposal based on sponsor guidelines
 Follow all directions (font, spacing, page limits,
attachments, forms, etc.)
 Write to the evaluation criteria
 Cite your sources
Don’t:
Make the reviewer hunt for material
Use too many acronyms or jargon
Repeat yourself, get off topic or be repetitious
Criticize other researchers in the field
Submit proposals that are incomplete,
unproofed, or nonconforming to guidelines
 Submit proposals that are not a match to the
funder’s priorities
 Submit only 1 proposal to 1 agency; find other
submission opportunities
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 While waiting for response:
 Start writing for a new project
 Find additional opportunities for same project
 If declined:
 Contact sponsor for feedback, resubmission process
 If funded:
 Start thinking about phase II
CAH Research Office www.research.cah.ucf.edu
Office of Research and Commercialization (ORC)
www.research.ucf.edu
The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, 5th edition, by
Jane Geever. Free audiobook download.
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/learnabout/audiobook.html
 Questions?
 Thank you for attending
 Contact:
CAH Research Office
Dr. Nancy Stanlick or Kristin Wetherbee
cahresearch@mail.ucf.edu
Carlson, M. (2002). Winning grants step by step. San
Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Smith, J.A. (n.d.). Writing a research proposal. Retrieved
February 15, 2011, from
http://research.cah.ucf.edu/resources.php
The Foundation Center. (2011). Proposal writing short
course. Retrieved February 15, 2011, from
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/