Develop Proposal
The Develop Proposal phase of a sponsored project focuses on crafting a competitive proposal narrative and a budget that meets both the sponsor’s guidelines and U-M’s policies. Activities include assembling required documentation, securing commitments from subrecipients and preparing the proposal for internal approval. Proposal development largely happens within U-M schools, colleges, departments, and units.
Principal Investigator: Roles and Eligibility
A principal investigator (PI) is responsible for the design, conduct and reporting of a sponsored project, including the scientific, technical, administrative and financial aspects. Learn about PI roles, eligibility requirements and responsibilities for the administration of sponsored projects at the University of Michigan.
Budget and Cost Resources
Budgets that outline estimated costs may be required by sponsors for sponsored research projects. Find information on budget format, budget justification language, direct versus indirect costs, costs by type and more.
Biographical Sketch (Biosketch)
Biosketches are required by most funding agencies and institutions to provide information on senior/key personnel and to collect disclosure information from investigators. Explore general and agency-specific information about preparing biosketches.
Cost Sharing Overview and Requirements
Cost sharing occurs when the University of Michigan contributes resources to a sponsored project. Learn about types of cost sharing, U-M policies, how to document cost sharing and more.
Frequently Required Proposal Data & Documents
When developing a proposal, sponsors will require a lot of information about the University. Find a list of the frequently required information that sponsors ask for in proposals.
About the University of Michigan – Shareable Content for Proposals
Project sponsors often require information about the academic institution where the research will take place. Find an overview of U-M and its research enterprise for project teams to use in proposals.
Current and Pending (Other) Support Reporting
Sponsors may require researchers to disclose all resources supporting their research, including time commitments. Learn more about other support reporting.
Working With Subrecipients / Subrecipient Forms
A subrecipient is an entity that receives a subaward from the University of Michigan to carry out a portion of work under a sponsored project. The terms subrecipient, subawardee and subcontractor are often used interchangeably in this context. Learn about subawards, U-M standard forms and cost/price analysis needed in some cases.
Subawards, Hybrid Agreements and Purchase Orders
Subawards, hybrid agreements and purchase orders are all different kinds of agreements that may be needed in the course of a sponsored project. Find out the difference among these and which office to work with at U-M depending on the type.
Information Security Requirements
Sponsors may include strict information security requirements to protect their information and systems. Find out what to watch for in solicitations and who to consult.
Steps To Develop a Proposal
1.
Start early.
Begin preparing your proposal as soon as possible. Funding agencies often have complex requirements and deadlines.
2.
Read the guidelines thoroughly.
Read (and re-read) the guidelines, the funding opportunity announcement or request for proposal. Every one is different — even if they come from the same agency.
3.
Notify the department or unit and its research administrators.
They provide help with budgeting, compliance, and submissions. View the Roles and Responsibilities for Proposal Development guide to better understand everyone’s roles. This resource outlines key duties for principal investigators, research administrators, departmental officials and ORSP staff.
4.
Browse U-M’s resources for researchers.
The Office of the Vice President for Research provides a Research Resources Portal to find information on various topics and phases of a research project.
5.
Assemble the proposal components.
Common components of a proposal may include: abstract, project narrative/description, budget and justification, biosketches/CVs, facilities and resources and compliance information (e.g., human subjects, animals, conflict of interest).
6.
Budget preparation.
Carefully develop the proposal budget. Include all required elements such as salaries, benefits, equipment, travel and indirect costs.
7.
Use U-M’s standard templates.
U-M offers a variety of templates for use in proposal development and other stages of the project lifecycle. Templates are included within topic-specific pages and also listed in the Forms and Checklists section of the website.
Preapplications, preproposals and letters of intent
More and more, funding agencies are asking for preproposals or letters of intent to preview potential applicants. Typically the agencies request a brief summary of the project, personnel and budget (although this may vary). The sponsors review these summaries and some applicants are invited to submit formal applications. The University of Michigan’s eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) system allows for the preparation of a preproposal (PRE) as well as proposal approvals (PAF).
ORSP’s Standard Operating Procedure: 100.01 Routing Pre-Proposals (PREs) and Proposal Approval Forms (PAFs) helps to determine when to use PRE and when to use PAF. Contact the ORSP Pre-Award Team with questions regarding preproposals, preapplications or letters of inquiry.
Compliance and Ethics
Compliance is a continuous responsibility, not a single step. The University of Michigan upholds high standards for ensuring compliance and ethics is ingrained in every stop of the sponsored project lifecycle. Learn more about Compliance and Ethics.
FAQs
ORSP’s FAQs offer quick answers about common questions around sponsored projects, proposal submissions, award management and more. Visit the ORSP FAQs.