Proposal Development Resources by Agency
The following collection of resources was curated to aid in research proposal development activities. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of research funders, only those federal sponsors most frequently submitted to by our researchers. Please contact OGCA for information on other sponsors' processes and procedures.
Grantmaking offices at the Department: The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE); Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE); Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS); the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE); and the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA).
New Applicant Extended Information - Detailed information about the discretionary grants application process.
Grantmaking at ED - Provides a non-technical summary of ED's discretionary grant process and the laws and regulations that govern it.
Overview of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) Funding Process - Use this guide to learn about IES-specific guidance and recommendations to help you ensure your application is complete and submitted on time.
IES Standards and Review Office (SRO) - Links to IES Peer Review Process, as well as resources for researchers, including webinars, videos, datasets, and other tools that can help researchers conduct rigorous studies on education.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA Grant & Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM)
NASA For Researchers - New Principal Investigator (PI) Resources
2020 NASA Research Announcement (NRA) and CAN Proposers' Guidebook
NASA Library & Useful Links - Includes Strategic Plan, policies, peer review guides, and various presentations
SCIENCE 2020-2024: A Vision for Scientific Excellence - Science Mission Directorate's (SMD's) newest version of its Science Plan, details priorities and strategies intended to focus attention on those areas where NASA can have the greatest impact over the next five years.
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
NEH Division of Research Programs - Supports scholarly research that advances knowledge and understanding of the humanities. Through twelve annual funding opportunities, awards are made to scholars—individuals, collaborative teams, or institutions—working on research projects of significance to specific humanities fields and to the humanities as a whole.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Understand NIH: Finding the Right Fit for Your Research - (NIH)
NIH Matchmaker Tool - (NIH)
Apply for a Grant –Writing, Budget & Additional Elements (NIAID)
Sample Applications (NIAID)
Common Mistakes in Writing Applications (NIMH)
Format NIH Attachments (NIH)
Annotated Forms Set: FORMS-F Series (NIH)
Writing Your Application - A step-by-step procedural (NIH OER)
Conduct a Proposal Self-Assessment (NCSU)
NIH Presentation - Grant Writing for Success (NIH)
Know How to Address Rigor and Reproducibility in Your Next Application (NIAID)
Applying Electronically - FAQs (NIH OER)
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG 20-1); Effective June 1, 2020 - The NSF PAPPG is the underlying guidance for all proposals submitted to NSF. When an individual program solicitation differs from the PAPPG, the program solicitation’s guidance applies.
NSF PAPPG 20-1 FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions for the current NSF Proposal Guide.
NSF-Approved Biosketch - Effective October 5, 2020, approved formats for creating biographical sketches are:
SciENcv - (Revised May 1, 2020) NSF has partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF-approved format for use in preparation of the biographical sketch section of an NSF proposal. Adoption of a single, common researcher profile system for Federal grants reduces administrative burden for researchers. SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of the biographical sketch. Proposers must save these documents and submit them as part of their proposals via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov.
SciENcv Guidance on Creating an NSF Biographical Sketch, including step-by-step instructions and screenshots for each of the four required sections (This is a subsection of the guidance at SciENcv Help)
NSF Chapter II: Proposal Preparation Instructions - (Revised 2023)
FAQs on using NSF Fillable PDF
NSF-Approved Current & Pending Support - Effective October 5, 2020, approved formats for creating current & pending support are:
SciENcv - (Revised May 1, 2020) NSF has partnered with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF-approved format for use in preparation of the current and pending support section of an NSF proposal. Adoption of a single, common researcher profile system for Federal grants reduces administrative burden for researchers. SciENcv will produce NSF-compliant PDF versions of the current & pending support format. Proposers must save these documents and submit them as part of their proposals via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov.
SciENcv Guidance on Creating an NSF Current and Pending Support document, including step-by-step instructions and screenshots for the two required sections (This is a subsection of the guidance at SciENcv Help.)
NSF Fillable Current & Pending Support PDF - (Revised May 1, 2020) NSF is providing a fillable PDF for use in preparation of
the current and pending support document. Proposers should download and save the blank PDF document prior to adding content. The completed and saved
PDF can then be uploaded via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov.
FAQs on using NSF Fillable PDF
NOTE from Research.gov: If you choose to use the NSF-approved fillable PDF format, NSF recommends Adobe Acrobat Reader for an optimized experience in preparing biographical sketch and current and pending support documents. In particular, Mac users have reported upload and proposal printing issues when using software other than Adobe Acrobat Reader to complete NSF Fillable PDFs.
NSF-Approved Formats Webinar - For additional information on NSF Biosketch and Current & Pending revisions, NSF recorded a webinar on the use of NSF-approved formats on April 9, 2020.
Training for the External Community on the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)(NSF 20-1) - February 6, 2020; PowerPoint Slides
NSF Policy Center Resources – Recorded webinars and presentation slides
United States Department of Agriculture / National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA)
NIFA supports research, education, and extension activities through three primary funding mechanisms: competitive grants, capacity grants, and non-competitive grants.
NIFA Grant Training - Overview of NIFA eligibility and processes
FAQs - Applying for a Grant