UD Proposal Development Guide

Remember, it takes time and effort to develop a successful proposal — in fact, proposal success rates average 20–33%, depending on the field. Funding agencies reject half the proposals they receive because the applicant did not follow instructions or the proposal did not match the funding program.
However, the rewards for garnering research funding can be great, enabling you to explore new frontiers, instruct your students in the conduct of research, and yield new discoveries and knowledge of benefit to society.
*All proposals submitted to external sponsors from the University of Delaware, regardless of the amount, source of funding or the type of project must be reviewed and approved by the Research Office in accordance with UD’s External Sponsorship and Grant policy. For a proposal to be submitted, a proposal record must be created in the UD grants module system. This will originate a form to route for approval of the proposal submission.
Upcoming Events
NSF PROPOSAL CHECKLIST 24-1
PAPPG 24-1 Effective May 20, 2024 (download pdf)
Category | Items |
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Cover Sheet |
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Project Summary – REQ’D |
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Project Description – REQ’D |
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References Cited – REQ’D |
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Biosketch – REQ’D for Senior Personnel (No page limit) |
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Current & Pending (C&P) – REQ’D for Senior Personnel |
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Budget – REQ’D |
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Budget Justification – REQ’D |
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Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources – REQ’D |
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Supplementary Documentation |
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Suggested Reviewers* |
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Collaborations and Other Affiliations – REQ’D |
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Synergistic Activities – REQ’D for Senior Personnel |
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Mentoring Plan – as REQ’D |
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Data Management Plan – REQ’D |
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Feature | Notes |
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Font | Use Arial (not Arial Narrow; mac users may also use Helvetica and Palatino), Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger; Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger; or Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger. A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figures, tables, or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. Other fonts not specified above, such as Cambria Math, may be used for mathematical formulas, equations, or when inserting Greek letters or special characters. |
Type Density | When printed, text in the entire proposal (including figure captions) may be no more than six lines per vertical inch. |
Paper Size and Margins | Standard page size (8.5 x 11 or 11 x 8.5) with 1 inch margins in all directions required. |
Page Formatting | Single column format for the text is strongly encouraged. Do not include page numbers (the system will automatically paginate a proposal). |
These requirements apply to all uploaded sections of a proposal, including supplementary documentation.