University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center

A Beginner's Guide to the Proposal Writing and Submission Process
at the University of Virginia

Locating funding to explore research ideas is a critical component of a successful academic career at the University for both faculty and graduate students. Yet the pro- posal writing process, from idea conception through submission to a Sponsor, is often intimidating. First-time researchers can have a difficult time understanding the process of submitting a proposal for sponsored programs at UVa. This adds tension to an already stressful situation.

This document is an effort to decipher the proposal writing process into understandable and implementable tasks for first-time researchers. Larry and Virginia Decker, authors of Grantseeking: How to Find a Funder and Write a Winning Proposal, divide the fund-seeking process into six activities:

This report focuses on the first four activities, from generating a good research idea to submitting your proposal to a potential Sponsor. Research can be funded by either sponsorship or donations.

What is a sponsored program?

Most projects are funded by Sponsors. A sponsored program involves a contract between the University and the Sponsor, not between the researcher and the Sponsor. Sponsored funding leaves the responsibility for the financial reporting to the Office of Sponsored Programs at the University. You, the researcher, must take responsibility for all accounting and bookkeeping. Most departments have support personnel to assist you in this process. This includes keeping track of the balances and spending in order to double-check the itemization of expenses on the University budget reports, which are usually current except for open commitments. Normally, you are also responsible for reporting on project activities.

A gift is handled differently than sponsored funding. A gift is usually a check that is provided to a Principal Investigator or school without any financial monitoring requirements or technical progress report. Gifts are often managed by foundations for each school, such as the Virginia Engineering Foundation for the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Check with your research administrator for details on how to proceed with gifts.

Where to find help at UVa (or Research administrators) All sponsored research at UVa is handled through the Office of Sponsored Programs. Each school has a designated office or research administrator for handling the faculty's proposal writing efforts. The responsibilities of research administrators, as well as guidelines for proposal writing efforts and the submission process, vary from school to school within the University. This document highlights general guidelines which apply throughout. For detailed information on proposal requirements for a certain school, you should contact the appropriate research administrator (see appendix B).

Generating a good research idea The first item essential to the proposal process is a good idea. It is often useful to generate a list of your best ideas from which to work. In developing the list, you, as the Principal Investigator, should take into consideration your professional interests; the state of the art in your discipline; the state of the world, the economy, the environment; and any other factors which will help identify new and important research questions. Brainstorming with a group may aid in this effort as might the TRC handout on Idea Mapping.

Next, identify ideas that are creative or innovative, that build upon the strengths of all involved personnel, and that take into account institutional capability. You need to think in terms of: "What is my product?" and "What am I selling?". When selecting a product or research idea, you need to make sure it is something with which you will be comfortable for the long-term funding and work.

At this point, your idea should be fairly well formulated, and you need to address personnel and resource issues. Larry and Virginia Decker suggest asking the following questions:

Once these questions have been addressed, you are ready to tackle the full development of the idea into a pre-proposal or concept paper.

This brief paper, one to two pages that detail the "meat" of the proposal, should include:

Structure the paper in a way that will help you clarify your ideas and get colleagues' comments. The final format of this paper will be dictated by the application requirements of the particular funding source being targeted.

DIALOG Provides information about actual grants given. DIALOG is available at Alderman Library. The agencies included in this system are:

In addition to the database systems, announcements are displayed in many publications, including:

When you have found a funding agency, you will probably need to adapt your idea to their requirements. To do so, ask questions such as these:

Use this information in your concept paper to work out any focus changes that you think will help target your potential Sponsor. Once this is done you are ready to pull together all of your resources for an effective pre-proposal strategy.

Once a funding source has been targeted, a good pre-proposal strategy can insure a better chance of obtaining funding from the funding agency. You can use your preproposal or concept paper to generate feedback from colleagues and your potential Sponsor, thus strengthening the possibilities of an award:

Once you have received feedback from the program officer, you can write the final proposal.

A persuasive proposal links you and your ideas with the funding agency's money and resources as well as with their primary objectives. Your research idea must meet one of the funding agency's primary needs in order to be worth their implementing it. In order to make this link, you must accomplish three tasks:

Suggested proposal format

Although proposal formats will vary by sponsor and by university, we provide below a suggested proposal format that you can use as an aid in discussions with colleagues, department chairpersons, and research administrators.

I. Cover Page: title, to whom the proposal is being submitted, who it is submitted by. The cover page is completed on forms provided by the Sponsor, if available.

II. Title page: (optional) The title page provides contractual information (total funding requested, project period, administrative contacts), and signatures of authorized officials (if not on Sponsor form).

III. Abstract: One-page description of overall project goals and objectives, the significance of the work, and the relevance to the Sponsor's aims.

V. Curriculum Vitae: The vitae needs to demonstrate that you have the training and experience needed to meet and complete the research objectives. (Some Sponsors limit the page length.)

VI. Current and pending support (if required by Sponsor): lists the proposals presently funded or under consideration by other Sponsors.

VII. Budget: Needs to conform to format requested by Sponsor. Usually involves three parts:

Creating a powerful set of allies

The proposal writing and submission process involves many parties beyond the initial researcher or proposal writer. In order to insure effective and efficient processing of a proposal, you should make every effort to assemble a powerful set of allies for the proposal who become a juggernaut of persuasion. How to create a powerful set of allies:

Submitting the proposal

You need to contact the appropriate research administrator or, for SEAS, the Pre-Award Administration office. If you are approaching a foundation or corporate funder, your proposal must first be cleared by the Development Office before submission. In both cases, see your research administrator for specific procedures. He or she will schedule the proposal in their "processing pipeline," begin to prepare or refine budgets, and advise you of any special approvals or protocols needed to support the proposal. When contacting the research administrator, have the following information available:

Once this review is complete, the research administrator forwards the proposal to the Office of Sponsored Programs. The Office of Sponsored Programs, located in Carruthers Hall, must approve each proposal before it is submitted to a potential Sponsor. This approval process takes approximately three days to complete. In addition, the research administrator works with the Office of Sponsored Programs to insure compliance with federal regulations regarding lobbying, drug-free work environments, etc.

Proposal review process

Once the proposal has been submitted by the University to the potential Sponsor, the wait begins as the Sponsor reviews the proposed idea. The time frame for the entire proposal reviewing effort, from the submission of the proposal to confirmation of funding from an agency, is agency- and program -dependent. It can take approximately three months to hear from CIT, and six months to hear from NSF, whereas the DOD and DOE can take as long as eighteen months to two years. In addition, the length of funding is variable. For instance, funding from NSF is provided for projects lasting approximately two and a half years. Many state agencies, such as CIT, provide funding for periods of one year.

After approval of funding

After the research funding has been approved by the Sponsor, the University and the researcher are left with the task of administering the grant, conducting the research, and evaluating the project. Research administrators can aid the researcher in maintaining adherence to regulations as well as helping them seeking additional funding or funding continuations. Carrying out the grant-funded project is as important and as difficult as getting the grant. Keep in mind that approval means that the job has just started!

APPENDIX A - Grant proposal submission schedule

Although the proposal submission process will vary in length, a guideline suggested by Bill McDermott, Research Administrator for the Curry School of Education, follows. Note that this schedule is only a suggestion. Please contact your appropriate research administrator well ahead of time to coordinate your specific schedule.

This schedule typifies the efforts and schedule you will need to keep when answering a Request for Proposal (RFP). Keep in mind that proposal efforts that are not yet targeted at a specific funding agency should precede this schedule. In general, final materials should be submitted to your research administrator at least five working days in advance of the Sponsor's mailing deadline. You must allow more time if your proposal involves faculty from other schools or institutions, cost sharing, or special approvals.

APPENDIX B - Research Administrators

APPENDIX C - ResourcesThe following is a list of potential publications to aid in your proposal writing. All are available through the University library system or at the Teaching Resource Center as indicated.

Notes

A prospectus should contain an overall estnnnnnnimate of project costs in lieu of a detailed budget. An informal proposal does not need to be processed through the formal review and approval procedures of the University. However, it is suggested that budgetary matters be discussed with the research administrator for your particular school or department to ensure that the estimated overall cost is realistic for the proposed project. A lack of correlation between the proposed project and its estimated costs may lead to immediate rejection. If you get to know people within the agency or industry (when approaching an industry getting to know a project leader interested in your research can be helpful) from which you are soliciting funds, the lead time can be reduced significantly.

I would like to thank the participants in the proposal writing seminar held in the fall of 1992: William Wulf, Alf Weaver, Bernard Carlson, Thomas Hutchinson, Regina Carlson, and Bobbe Nixon. Their thoughts and insight, along with the information provided by William McDermott of the Curry School, provided the basis of this document. I would also like to thank Julia Pet-Edwards and Marva Barnett for reviewing and editing the pamphlet; their comments greatly added to the value of the document. And finally, thank you to Freda Fretwell, for being a constant source of cheerful support. Jennifer Tyler

A Publication of the Teaching Resource Center, University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA 22904-4136
By Jennifer Tyler, Graduate Student Associate, TRC (1992-93)
Edited by Annamarie Black, Coordinator, TRC (1994-96)
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