Explore Research Roles and Responsibilities Where can I locate research funding opportunities? How do I develop a competitive proposal? Where do I find the UD data I need to complete my budget? You’ll find the answers here, courtesy of the Research Office. A handy proposal checklist also is provided for your convenience.

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

PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT

Institutional Information

NIH Proposal Checklist

NSF Proposal Checklist

PI Eligibility

Institutional Information

NIH Proposal Checklist

NSF Proposal Checklist

Close Section

NSF PROPOSAL CHECKLIST 24-1

PAPPG 24-1 Effective May 20, 2024 (download pdf)

CategoryItems
Cover Sheet
  • Solicitation number, and due date (if applicable)
  • Requested effective dates should allow at least six months for NSF review, processing and decision.
  • Title follows naming convention, if required (i.e. Collaborative Research, RAPID, RAISE, EAGER)
  • If a LOI was submitted, enter the LOI ID number issued upon submission
  • If a preliminary proposal was submitted, provide the Preliminary Proposal Number
  • Funding of a Foreign Organization or Foreign Individual. List applicable countries involved if this box is checked.
  • International Research/Education/Training Activities. List the primary countries involved on the Cover Sheet.
  • Select “Collaborative Status” based on type of proposal submitted
  • Off-Campus or Off-Site Research: Check this box if UD is the lead organization and any organization participating in the collaborative activity involves data/information/samples are being collected off-campus or off-site, such as fieldwork and research activities on vessels and aircraft.
  • Co-PIs limited to 4 individuals
Project Summary – REQ’D
  • 1 page max.
  • Overview, Intellectual Merit, and Broader Impacts addressed (required headings)
Project Description – REQ’D
  • 15 pages max including images and figures
  • Includes:

    • Objectives for the period of the proposed work and expected significance
    • Relation to longer-term goals of the PI's project
    • Relation to the present state of knowledge in the field
    • Relation to work in progress by the PI under other support and to work in progress elsewhere
    • Broader Impacts resulting from proposed activities (separate heading)
    • Description of the work to be performed by the subaward must be included in the project description
    • If a foreign organization or individual is proposed, a justification must be included in the project description including:
      • Why support from the foreign counterpart’s in-country resources is not feasible;
      • Why the foreign organization or foreign individual can carry out the activity more effectively than a U.S. organization or U.S. individual
      • What unique expertise, organizational capability, facilities, data resources, and/or access to a geographic location not generally available to U.S. investigators the foreign organization or foreign individual brings to the project; and
      • What significant science and engineering education, training, or research opportunities the foreign organization or foreign individual offers to the U.S.
    • Must not include Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)
    • Results from Prior NSF Support: 

      • Include for each PI and Co-PI who has received NSF funding with an End Date or current funding (including NCEs) in the past 5 years regardless if directly related to proposal or not.
      • Limited to 5 of the 15 pages
      • If the project was recently awarded and there are no new results, describe major goals and broader impacts.
      • Required elements per PI/Co-PI:
        • The NSF award number, amount and period of support;
        • The title of the project;
        • A summary of the results of the completed work, including, for a research project, any contribution to the development of human resources in science and engineering;
        • Separate headings for Broader Impacts and Intellectual Merit
        • A listing of the publications resulting from the NSF award (a complete bibliographic citation for each publication must be provided either in this section or in the References Cited section of the proposal); if none, state "No publications were produced under this award.”
        • If the proposal is for renewed support, a description of the relation of the completed work to the proposed work.
References Cited – REQ’D
  • Each reference includes:
    • The names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication- no “et al”),
    • The article and journal title, book title, volume number,
    •  Page numbers, and
    • Year of publication
Biosketch – REQ’D for Senior Personnel (No page limit)
  • Must be generated through SciENcv.
  • Identifying Information: Name should be entered as Last Name, First Name, Middle Name
  • ORCID ID: Optional
  • Organization and Location: Enter City, State/Province, Country where Primary organization is located
  • Professional Preparation (REVERSE Chron. Order (highest degree to lowest degree); includes Postdoctoral appointments) including institution, location (formatted as city, state/province and country), major/area, degree and year (formatted as MM/YYYY)
  • Academic/Professional Appointments (Reverse Chron. Order):
    • Must include all titled academic, institutional, or professional appointments whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary), including location (city, state/province and country)
  • Products (5 related; 5 other significant); Each product must include full citation information; however, “et al” may be used in the event that listing multiple authors makes it difficult to fit the information into the allotted space. If only publications are included, the heading "Publications" may be used.
  • Senior Personnel are required to certify that the information provided in their Biosketch is accurate, current, and complete.This includes information related to domestic and foreign appointments and positions. Certification also includes they are not a party in a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
  • For Other Personnel, proposers may include biographical information for Post Docs, other professionals, or students (research assistants) with exceptional qualifications that merit consideration in proposal evaluation.  The non-senior personnel biographical information does not need to comply with the NSF Biosketch format but must be clearly identified as ‘Other Personnel’ biographical information and uploaded as a single PDF file in the Other Supplementary Documents section of the proposal.
  • Equipment Proposals should provide for each auxiliary user a short biographical sketch and a list of up to five (5) publications most closely related to the proposed acquisitions
  • Must be uploaded as a single file per each Senior Personnel associated with the proposal

Current & Pending (C&P) – REQ’D for Senior Personnel
  • Must be generated through SciENcv.
  • Include all federal and non-federal current projects and pending projects with a time commitment even if they receive no salary support from the project(s).  
  • Include information on objectives and overlap with other projects
  • Include in-kind contributions NOT for use on the project/proposal being proposed (such as office/laboratory, space, equipment, supplies, employees, students)
  • In-kind support/contributions that are intended for the use on the project/proposal being proposed to NSF must be included in the Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources.
  • Include funding directed to the individual (vs. UD) if it has a time commitment
  • • Disclose contracts associated with participation sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored or affiliated activities or government-sponsored talent recruitment programs (even if through an intermediary).
  • Senior Personnel are required to certify that the information provided in their C&P is accurate, current, and complete and that the individual is not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
  • “This Proposal” submitted by PI must be listed as pending.
  • Must be uploaded as a single file per each Senior Personnel associated with the proposal.
Budget – REQ’D
  • If more than two months of salary in any one year is requested, justification for requesting more than 2 months should be included.
  • The names of the PI(s), faculty, and other senior personnel and the estimated number of full-time-equivalent person-months for which NSF funding is requested and the total amount of salaries requested per year are listed.
    • If PI/Co-PI salary is not requested, their names should not be included in the budget.
  • Participant Support requested includes information on the number of participants to be supported.
  • Subawards have a separate budget.
  • Post-docs and Graduate Students, if budgeted, require a mentoring plan in supplementary docs.
Budget Justification – REQ’D
  • 5 pages max; if subawards are included, each subaward justification is limited to 5 pages.
  • Equipment is justified, listed individually by description and estimated cost.
  • International travel is justified including countries to be visited (also enter names of countries on the proposal budget), and dates of visit, if known.
  • Definition of a salary year: “The University of Delaware effort policy defines a “salary year” as September through August” should be included
  • F&A calculation should be included
Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources – REQ’D
  • Only existing resources directly applicable to the proposed work are described.
  • Collaborators:
    • Include description of work to be performed provided, must not include any quantifiable financial information
    • Any substantial collaboration with individuals not included in the budget should be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources document (also include a letter of collaboration from each)

Supplementary Documentation
  • Any substantial collaboration with individuals. Letters of collaboration should be limited to stating the intent to collaborate and should not contain endorsements or evaluation of the proposed project.  The PAPPG suggests standard language to use in letters of collaboration. 
Suggested Reviewers*
  • List suggested Reviewers or Reviewers not to include.  Include mail address and institutional affiliation.
    *For reviewers not to include, the reason why does not need to be included.
Collaborations and Other Affiliations – REQ’D
  • Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information must be separately provided for each individual identified as senior project personnel in the proposal.
    • Must use NSF Excel template
    • Rows may be inserted as needed and the font size within a cell may be reduced to accommodate long names or other information.
    • Column size and font type must not be altered.
    • Information is not required to be sorted alphabetically.  
Synergistic Activities – REQ’D for Senior Personnel
  • 1-page max
  • Include up to 5 distinct examples that demonstrate the broader impact of the individual’s professional and scholarly activities that focus on the integration and transfer of knowledge as well as its creation.
Mentoring Plan – as REQ’D
  • If a postdoctoral researcher or graduate student is included in the budget, then a mentoring plan is required.
  • Limited to 1 page for the entire proposal.
Data Management Plan – REQ’D
  • Data Management Plan – 2-page max

 

FeatureNotes
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 DensityWhen printed, text in the entire proposal (including figure captions) may be no more than six lines per vertical inch.
Paper Size and MarginsStandard page size (8.5 x 11 or 11 x 8.5) with 1 inch margins in all directions required.
Page FormattingSingle 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.

PI Eligibility

Proposal Development Assistance

Proposal Info/Checklist

Proposal Writing

3-Day Proposal Deadline Policy

Proposal Development Assistance

Proposal Info/Checklist

Proposal Writing

3-Day Proposal Deadline Policy

Categories of Sponsored Activities

NSF Safe and Inclusive Environment Plan

Categories of Sponsored Activities

NSF Safe and Inclusive Environment Plan

 

BUDGETS & RATES

Budget Categories

Budget Justification Guidelines

Budget Justification Template

Budget Salary- DHHS Caps

Budget Categories

Budget Justification Guidelines

Budget Justification Template

Budget Salary- DHHS Caps

Administrative Salaries

Equipment

Facilities & Administrative (F&A)

Fringe Benefit Rates

Administrative Salaries

Equipment

Facilities & Administrative (F&A)

Fringe Benefit Rates

Modified Total Direct Cost

Salary Reference Sheet

Graduate Tuition Rates

Off-Campus Definition

Modified Total Direct Cost

Salary Reference Sheet

Graduate Tuition Rates

Off-Campus Definition

 

SUBAWARD PROPOSAL INFORMATION

Subaward Proposal Info

Subaward Monitoring

Federal Demo Project (FDP)

Subawards Proposal Forms

Subaward Proposal Info

Subaward Monitoring

Federal Demo Project (FDP)

Subawards Proposal Forms

 

PROPOSAL REFERENCES

Gifts vs. Sponsored Project

Data Management Plans

Institutional Letters of Support

UD Financials: PeopleSoft

Gifts vs. Sponsored Project

Data Management Plans

Institutional Letters of Support

UD Financials: PeopleSoft

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Getting Started

Am I eligible to serve as a principal investigator (PI) on a research proposal?

What is a conflict of interest and do I have a conflict?

Where can I find Funding Opportunities?

What should a researcher do before submitting for funding? Or I've found a funding opportunity that is the right match for my research. What are my next steps?

How do I develop a competitive proposal?

The solicitation requires that my proposal be submitted electronically. How do I obtain access to various electronic submission site (example: Fastlane, ERA Commons, NSPIRE, etc)?

How do I route a proposal approval form for signatures?

I found a solicitation that limits the number of proposals that can be submitted. What is the UD Research Office proceedures on Limited Submission Proposals?

Do pre-proposals require UD Research Office approval?

I am preparing a letter of intent, does it have to be signed by the Research Office?

Who at University of Delaware signs as the authorized representative for proposal applications?

What basic information should be on the SF424 for a Grants.gov proposal submission?

What are the important points I should know when preparing an NIH Grants.gov application?

Where do I find more information about NIH Grants.gov application procedures?

Where can I find the NSF Grants.gov application guidelines?

Where do I find information regarding sponsor guidelines?

How do I construct a budget?

Proposal Preparation

Am I eligible to serve as a principal investigator (PI) on a research proposal?

Where can I find research funding?

I've found a research opportunity that is right up my alley. What are the next steps?

How do I develop a competitive proposal?

My proposal has been funded! Now what do I do?

What is the difference between Post Doctoral Fellow and Post Doctoral Researcher?

How do I gain secured access to the Grants system for proposal submission and inquiry?

I have a Post-Doc listed in my NSF proposal budget. What should I include in my Mentoring Statement?

I am preparing a NIH application that involves human subjects and I see there is an entire section of the Research Plan that is devoted to Human Subjects. What should be addressed in this section?

How do I know if I should add a project to my proposal for an individual in another department?

What approvals are required to add or remove projects from an approved proposal?

Proposal Submission

1. How do I obtain access to People Soft grants module?

2. How do I go about getting a letter of support for my research project from the UD administration (Deputy Provost for Research Office, Provost, or President)?

3. When do I need to route a Proposal Approval Form for signatures?

4. Do Pre-Proposals require Research Office approval?

5. I am preparing a Letter of Intent, does it have to be signed by Research Office?

6. What is the process for faculty to gain access to Research.gov?

7. Who at the University of Delaware signs as the Authorized Representative for proposal applications?

8. What is the procedure for a Sponsored Research Program Income?

9. How to avoid common problems and increase submission success regarding PDF documents?