Proposal Writing Resources
Proposal Writing Resources
Top Reviewer Criticisms
Lessons Learned from 10,000 Proposal Reviews: Top Reviewer Criticisms and How to Avoid Them
IDC Rates
UNC’s current federally-negotiated indirect cost (IDC) rates.
Institutional Information
Institutional information frequently required in proposals.
Fringe Rates
Fringe benefit rates for salaries to be used for proposal budget development.
Data Management Plans
The NSF and other agencies require data management plans.
More Proposal Writing Resources
Additional resources include: developing and writing proposals; agency-specific info; budget development; logic models; and more.
- Developing Competitive Proposals – Grants Resource Center
- A Proposal Writing Short Course – Foundation Center
- Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal – S. Joseph Levine
- Developing and Writing Grant Proposals – Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
- On the Art of Writing Proposals – Social Science Research Council
- A Practical Guide for Writing Proposals – Alice Reid
- A Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing – Jeremy T. Miner and Lynn E. Miner
- Approaching the Foundation – W. K. Kellogg Foundation
- Applying for a Foundation Grant: Basic Advice for Grantseekers – W. K. Kellogg Foundation
- How to Develop and Write a Grant Proposal – Congressional Research Service
- Grantwriting Checklist for Research Proposals – modified from the NIH checklist
- Art of Grantsmanship – Dr. Jacob Kraicer
National Science Foundation
- A Guide for Proposal Writing
- Proposal Preparation & Submission
- Grant Proposal Guide
- Examples of Broader Impacts Criterion
- 12 Steps to a Winning Research Proposal
- Award Search (for examples of successful projects)
National Institutes of Health
- NIH Grant Tutorials
- NIH Grant Application Basics
- Planning Your Application
- Writing Your Application
- Video of NIH Tips for Applicants
- Preparing Area Proposals (audio file) (transcript)
- Samples and Examples
- NCI Quick Guide for Grant Applications
- New & Early Stage Investigator Policies
- Peer Review Policies & Practices
- Search Funded NIH Awards
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Education
- How to Get A FIPSE Grant by Eulalia Cobb, former FIPSE Program Officer
- Grantmaking and ED
- DoED Research & Statistics
- Search Funded IES Research Grants
Department of Health & Human Services
- Developing Competitive SAMHSA Grant Applications
- Award Search (for examples of successful projects)
- HRSA: Tips for Writing & Submitting Good Grant Proposals
- A Grantwriting Project Planner Spreadsheet– David Bauer’s Excel spreadsheet for proposal planning and project development
- The Grant Proposal Guide Budgets – National Science Foundation
- Plan Your Budget – National Institute of Health
- Proposal Budgeting Basics – The Foundation Center
- Logic Model Development Guide– W. K. Kellogg Foundation
- Logic Model Builder – Innovation Network Point K Learning Center: Register for free, log in, and go to “Tools” at the bottom of the menu on the left of the screen to find the link to the Logic Model Builder, an interactive tool that guides the user through the process of developing “program goals, activities and resources, and how those elements work together to produce your program’s intended outcomes”. Register and log in to view this tool.
- User-Friendly Handbook for Mixed Method Evaluations – National Science Foundation
- Evaluation Plan Builder – Innovation network Point K Learning Center: Register for free, log in, go to “Tools” at the bottom of the menu on the left of the screen to find the link to the evaluation Plan Builder, an interactive took that helps the user determine “what program success will look like before the fact” and “how to tell that success has been achieved after the fact”. The EPB may be used for outcomes evaluation, implementation evaluation, or both. Register and log in to view this tool.
- MEASURE Evaluation – Training materials and tools on M & E topics for use by researchers, program managers, trainers, policy makers, students, and other public health professionals.
- Basic Guide to Program Evaluation – Free Management Library
- Evaluation Handbook – W. K. Kellogg Foundation
- Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches in Program Evaluation – The World Bank
- The Academic Scientist’s Toolkit – From the Journal Science
- U.S. Census Bureau – starting place for census data
- National Center for Education Statistics Data Tools
School District Profiles - Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR)
Find & Analyze Data - Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Bureau of Justice Statistics
- Department of Education, Institution of Education Sciences
- Education Statistics
- Centers for Disease Control & Prevention
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Databases and tools
- United Nations
- Demographic and Social Statistics
- Colorado Department of Education
- Colorado Educations Statistics
- SchoolView – Interactive portal for the Colorado Growth Model and school performance data
- Special Education Data Records
- CDE Data Dictionary
- Great Education Colorado
- Colorado Department of Higher Education
- Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Colorado Department of Local Affairs
- Colorado Office of Economic Development & International Trade
- Annie E. Casey Foundation – Kids Count
- Compare the status of children in Colorado with children nationwide on 10 measures of well-being
- Colorado Department of Labor & Employment
- Colorado Department of Corrections
- Colorado Bureau if Investigation
- Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice
- Office of Research and Sponsored Programs & Statistics
- Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment
Proposal writing is not the same as academic writing.