Resources by Agency
The links below contain agency-specific resources for developing your proposal.
Note: Agency and funding opportunity requirements and deadlines may change from year to year. The resources below are not a substitute for official agency guidance. Always consult the relevant solicitation/funding opportunity announcement for the most up-to-date requirements.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG): The NSF publication containing instructions on preparing and submitting proposals.
- Merit Review Principles and Criteria: This section of the PAPPG describes the review criteria (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts) the NSF uses to review all proposals, along with general information about NSF guiding principles for proposal review.
- SciENcv: A tool that automatically generates an NSF Biosketch and Current and Pending Support document that meet NSF formatting requirements. Requires creation of a unique ORCID. A Quick Guide to getting set up in SciENcv is available here (from Colorado State University.)
- NSF Tips on How to Work with a Program Officer
- How to Write a Successful NSF Proposal: A list of quick tips created by Carleton College for successful NSF proposal writing.
- Broader Impacts Wizard: A tool for writing an effective Broader Impacts statement by following a five-step process. Hosted by ARIS and Rutgers University and supported by the NSF.
NSF Career
- NSF 101: Four tips for applying to NSF's CAREER program: NSF blog post from 2020
- Five Tips You Need to Know to Obtain an NSF CAREER Award: Perspectives from the founder of the Broader Impacts in Research organization at the University of Oklahoma
- CAREER do's and don'ts: Perspectives from a faculty member at Oregon State University
- NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Tips: A 2007 essay collection containing in-depth perspectives from faculty at various universities
- Webinars and panels:
- NSF CAREER Webinar and FAQ: Recording and slides from the NSF's 2023 webinars about the CAREER program
- NSF CAREER Proposals (University of Georgia): A recording of a 2019 panel featuring CAREER recipients and review panelists from the University of Georgia
- NSF CISE CAREER Workshop (UNC-Chapel Hill): A recording of a 2022 webinar organized by UNC-Chapel Hill, featuring remarks from NSF Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) staff and CAREER awardees from several universities. Created for a computer science audience, but contains broadly relevant advice.
Sample Proposals
National Institute of Health (NIH)
- Biosketch Instructions: Please note the updated changes.
- NIH Grant Writing Tip Sheet: NIH guidance on application preparation.
- NIH Review Criteria at a Glance
- R15 FAQs: published by the NIH
- Contacting an NIH Program Officer: NIH blog post containing information and tips on how and when to contact a program officer.
- Criterion Scores, Impact Score, and Funding Outcomes: A 2016 NIH blog post summarizing an internal analysis of predictors of funding. Contains useful information about the relative significance of individual application components to funding success.
- RePORTER: A database of projects funded by the NIH and its centers and institutes, searchable by mechanism, agency/institute/center, PI, and other criteria.
- Sample Applications: NIH page containing links to samples of funded proposals submitted to several NIH institutes.
- Data Management and Sharing Plan: NIH page containing how to write and submit pans.
- R-Series "Cheat Sheets:" Quick guides with an overview of key information about NIH R-series grant proposals. Prepared by UToledo Proposal Development. (These documents are not substitutes for the full instructions provided in the SF424(R&R) or individual FOAs.)
Sample Proposals
National Aeronautics and Space administration (NASA)
- NASA For Researchers Overview page: Also known as the Service and Advice for Research and Analysis (SARA) site, this page is NASA’s main source of information for prospective grant applicants. The How-To Guide and Library and Useful Links are particularly helpful.
- NASA Workshop on Proposal Writing: Tips and Tricks (slide deck): Slide deck from a NASA presentation on proposal writing, containing an overview of the grant application process and general proposal-writing advice.
- NASA Proposal Essentials (UC Boulder): A step-by-step guide to preparing a NASA grant proposal from the University of Colorado Boulder.
- NASA Early Career Faculty presentation (Arizona State): Contains video of a virtual panel presentation on NASA’s Early Career Faculty (ECF) solicitation mechanism from Arizona State University’s Research Development office.
- AAS Hints on Preparing Research Proposals: Tips gathered by the American Astronomical Society from various presentations. Specific information on application procedures may be out of date (source presentations date from the 1990s), but general advice is sound.
- Insights into NASA Grant Research Funding: A 2018 blog post from Mendeley that provides an overview of the different types of NASA funding opportunities available.
Sample Proposal
Content after: select and edit or delete
National Endowment for the humanities (NEH)
- Division of Research Programs: Information about the NEH division that supports scholarly research. Includes the Fellowships program, the Summer Stipend program, and others.
- Grants Search: Search NEH funding opportunities, with options to filter by applicant type, availability, and division/office.
- Information for First-time Applicants
- NEH’s Application Review Process
- How to Get a Grant from NEH: A 2008 feature from the NEH’s Humanities Magazine with advice on preparing a grant application.
- Sample Grant Application Narratives: A library of narrative sections of successful proposals, organized by division and grant type.
- NEH Toolbox (Wellesley): A resource page including tips and frequently asked questions, from Wellesley College.
Other