Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
1
Analyzing the RFP & Its Role in Proposal
DevelopmentBy Mike Cronan & Lucy Deckard
Office of Proposal Development
Office of Research & Graduate StudiesTexas A&M University
305 J. K. Williams Administration Building (845-1811)
http://opd.tamu.edu/
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
2
OPD Flash Seminar SeriesNoon-1 pm, Jack Williams Administration Building Room
310 • "How To" Strategies for Finding Research Funding, September 18 & 19
• Analyzing the RFP & Its Role in Proposal Development, September 25 & 26
• Analyzing the Agency Culture, Mission and Research Priorities, October 2 & 3
• Understanding the Review Process & Writing for Reviewers October, 9 & 10
• Overview of How to Write a Competitive Project Summary and Proposal Narrative, October 16 & 17
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
3
Office of Proposal Development
• Supports faculty in the development and writing of research and educational proposals to federal agencies and foundations--• Center-level initiatives, • Interdisciplinary research teams, • New & junior faculty, • Institutional diversity initiatives,• Health Science Center collaborations, • Multi-institutional research partnerships.
• Offers a full suite of grant writing training programs to help faculty develop and write more competitive proposals.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
4
OPD Member List• Jean Ann Bowman, PhD (Physical Geography/Hydrology),
earth, ecological, environmental, [email protected];• Libby Childress, Scheduling, workshop management,
project coordination, [email protected];• Mike Cronan, PE (inactive), BS (Civil/Structures),
BA, MFA, Center-level proposals, research and educational partnerships, new proposal and training initiatives, [email protected];
• Lucy Deckard, BS/MS (Materials Science & Engineering), New faculty initiative, fellowships, engineering/ physical science proposals, equipment and instrumentation, centers, [email protected];
• John Ivy, PhD (Molecular Biology), NIH biomedical and biological science initiatives, [email protected];
• Phyllis McBride, PhD (English), proposal writing training, biomedical, editing, [email protected];
• Robyn Pearson, BA, MA (Anthropology), social sciences and humanities proposals, editing and rewriting, centers, [email protected]
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
5
“There is no amount of grantsmanship that will turn a bad idea into a good one, but there are many ways to disguise a good one.”
William Raubformer Deputy Director, NIH
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
6
Types of University Proposals
• Research (basic, applied, mission, applications, contract)
• Educational• Hybrid research and education• Small $, few PIs• Large $, multiple PIs, centers • Supplements to grants
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
7
The Solicitation• Known as a Request for Proposals (RFP), Program Announcement (PA), Request for Applications (RFA), or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).
• One common starting point of the proposal writing process.
• Other starting points to the proposal process include investigator-initiated (unsolicited) proposals, or white (concept) papers common to the defense agencies.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
8
Unsolicited Proposals
• Program Description or Program Announcement instead of a solicitation• More general statement of interests of funding agency or program
• Typically the main source of research funding for individual researchers funded by NSF (~50%), NIH (~80%), DoD• Majority of external research funded by NSF and NIH result from unsolicited proposals
• Formatting guidelines often in a separate document• NSF Grant Proposal Guide• NIH SF424 Application Guide• DoD long-term Broad Agency Announcements
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
9
Unsolicited Proposals• NSF
• Administered by disciplinary “programs” within directorate and division
• Typically due once or twice per year (sometimes due dates; sometimes “target dates” or “windows”); 1 – 3 PIs
• Synopsis of research interests and abstracts of funded proposals on web site
• NIH• Parent Announcements (for RO1, R03, etc.)• Typically due twice per year
• DoD Agencies• Long-term Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
• Establish• What entity (office, program, division) within the agency will fund research?
• What are their goals and interests?• What have they funded in the past?
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
10
What is a Solicitation?
It is an invitation by a funding agency for applicants to submit requests for funding in research areas of interest to the agency.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
11
What is in the Solicitation?
• The key information you will need to develop and write a competitive proposal that is fully responsive to an agency’s •submission process, •research objectives, •review criteria, and •budget requirements.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
12
What it is; what it is not
• The RFP is a non-negotiable listing of performance expectations reflecting the goals and research objectives of the funding agency.
• The RFP is not a menu or smorgasbord offering the applicant a choice of addressing some topics but not others, depending on interest, or some review criteria but not others.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
13
No irrational exuberance!!
• Understand the RFP for what it is…not what you want it to be…
• It is not a speculative investment…
• Invest your time, resources, and energy wisely
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
14
The RFP as Treasure Map
• Follow directions• Review step by step• Understand it• Understood by all PIs• Keep focused• Don’t wander off path• Continuously calibrate ideas, objectives, and details to the RFP
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
15
Map your expertise to the RFP
• Is it a fit?• Is it really a fit?• No partial fits allowed
• No wishful thinking
• Close doesn’t count
• If you are not a fit—don’t submit!
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
16
Relationship to Program Officer
• Never be hesitant about contacting a program officer for clarifications—
• timidity is never rewarded in the competitive proposal process, but
• ambiguities are always punished!
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
17
Reviewing the RFP• Clarify ambiguities; if unresolved--
• Get clarification from a program officer.
• Ambiguities need to be resolved prior to proposal writing so the proposal narrative maps to the guidelines with informed certainty.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
18
Never be Timid!
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
19
The RFP as Reference Point
It is used continuously throughout proposal development and writing as a reference point to ensure that an evolving proposal narrative fully addresses and accurately reflects the goals and objectives of the funding agency, including the review criteria.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
20
Role of RFP in Proposal Organization
• Use the RFP to develop the structure, order, and detail of the proposal narrative.
• Use the RFP as an organizational template during proposal development to help ensure every RFP requirement is addressed fully.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
21
Keep on Track
• Copy and paste the RFP’s key sections, research objectives, and review criteria into the first draft of the proposal narrative
• The RFP then serves as an organizational template for the proposal and a reference point to ensure subsequent draft iterations of the narrative are continuously calibrated to the guidelines.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
22
RFP template ensures a proposal
• Fully responsive to all requested information,
• Written in the order requested, • Provides the required detail, • Integrates review criteria into the narrative, and
• Does not drift off topic or sequence.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
23
Address the Review Criteria in the RFP
• The description of review criteria is a key part of the RFP.
• A competitive proposal must clearly address each review criterion, and the proposal should be structured so that these discussions are easy for reviewers to find.
• Subject headings, graphics, bullets, and bolded statements using language similar to that used in the RFP can all be used to make the reviewers’ jobs easier.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
24
Read Material Referenced in RFP
• If the RFP refers or links to publications, reports, or workshops:• Read the referenced materials • Understand how the references influenced the agency’s vision of the program
• Cite those publications in the proposal as appropriate
• Demonstrate in the narrative you are fluent with the ideas underpinning the RFP.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
25
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
26
Well-Written & Less Well-Written RFPs
• A well-written RFP states the funding agency’s research objectives clearly.
• Not all RFPs are clearly written.• Sometimes the funding agency may be unclear about specific research objectives, particularly in more exploratory research areas.
• Where there is ambiguity, keep asking questions of the program officer to clarify.
Sept. 25 & 26, 2008
Office of Proposal Development
27
Remaining OPD Flash SeminarsNoon-1 pm, Jack Williams Administration Building Room
310
• Analyzing the Agency Culture, Mission and Research Priorities, October 2 & 3
• Understanding the Review Process & Writing for Reviewers, October 9 & 10
• Overview of How to Write a Competitive Project Summary and Proposal Narrative, October 16 & 17
