The following resources will help you understand what documents are required for each of these federal agencies but also guidelines for writing a high-quality proposal. If you are interested in submitting a proposal to any of these agencies, please contact an EHE grant manager – Niraj Gupta or Essence Vaughn.
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- USDA NIFA
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Register for an NSF Account to Begin Using FastLane and Research.gov
This resource provides guidance on how to create and account, move your account from one organization to another, manage your account, and many other functions.
How to Share Your Proposal with Your Grant Manager
This document shows a Principal Investigator how to add your grant manager to the proposal so they can access the proposal and submit it on your behalf.
How to Share Your Proposal with Your SPO
You need to provide your SPO access to your proposal with the ability to submit the proposal on your behalf which is a different level of access than your grant manager.
Proposal Development Guides
Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
This version of the PAPPG is in effect for proposals submitted or due on or after January 30, 2023. It provides general information about the National Science Foundation. Includes guidance on proposal preparation and submission. Also lists information on awards, administration and monitoring of grants, and cooperative agreements.
Guidelines for Submitting a Collaborative Proposal
A collaborative proposal is one in which investigators from two or more organizations wish to collaborate on a unified research project. This link provides information on the two ways they can be submitted and the required documents from each organization.
NSF Proposal Toolkit
Learn more about NSF’s funding opportunities in education and explore resources to help you in the proposal preparation, submission, and review process. The toolkit was developed by CADRE, a network for STEM education researchers funded by the National Science Foundation’s Discovery Research preK-12 (DRK-12) program.
Broader Impacts
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- 5 Tips for Your Broader Impacts Statement
How does your research impact society? Researchers funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation are accountable to taxpayers for conducting research, and collectively moving their research beyond the lab to impact the public good, thereby benefitting the economy, society and discovery itself. This is what NSF defines as “Broader Impacts.”
- 5 Tips for Your Broader Impacts Statement
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- Dear Colleague Letter: A Broader Impacts Framework for Proposals Submitted to NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)
Some SBE proposal writers have asked for additional guidance on how to articulate the broader impacts for their research. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) responds to these requests by offering a framework that SBE researchers can use to develop and communicate their projects’ broader impacts more effectively. This “broader impacts framework” in no way alters NSF’s existing criteria ‒ rather, it offers guidance on how to consider and convey broader impacts in ways that are easier for others to understand.
- Dear Colleague Letter: A Broader Impacts Framework for Proposals Submitted to NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE)
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- Broadening Participation in STEM Research Brief
This brief, from the NSF INCLUDES National Network, shares evidence-based strategies for improving equity and inclusion of individuals in underrepresented racial and ethnic groups.
- Broadening Participation in STEM Research Brief
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- Brief on Broadening Participation
Broadening Participation-Making STEM Learning Relevant and Rigorous for All Students explores factors that contribute to opportunity gaps in STEM education based on race, ethnicity, gender, ability, and socioeconomic status. The brief showcases the work of several DR K-12 projects and describes promising approaches for removing barriers for underrepresented groups and enhancing the STEM learning of all students.
- Brief on Broadening Participation
- Dissemination Toolkit
Thinking about how to best disseminate your work? This toolkit offers resources, tips, and strategies that may help. There are multiple ways to use this toolkit, depending on the stage of your project and your purposes for dissemination. We suggest three possible entry points: create an overall project communication plan, create a strategy for disseminating a specific product, and find resources specific to your dissemination approach and needs.
Required Sections
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- NSF Biosketch
NSF requires a biographical sketch for each individual identified as senior personnel. The biographical sketch is currently limited to three pages and approved formats for creating biographical sketches may be found on this page.
- NSF Biosketch
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- NSF Collaborators and Other Affiliations (Template)
NSF requires the use of the template linked on this page for identifying Collaborative and Other Affiliations Information (COA) information. The template has been developed to be fillable, but the content and format requirements must not be altered by as this will create printing and viewing errors.
- NSF Collaborators and Other Affiliations (Template)
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- NSF Current and Pending Support
NSF requires information on all current and pending support for ongoing projects and proposals. Approved formats for submitting this information (including a helpful recorded webinar) may be found on this page.
- NSF Current and Pending Support
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- Plans for Data Management and Sharing of the Products of Research
Proposals must include a document of no more than two pages uploaded under “Data Management Plan” in the supplementary documentation section of Research.gov. This supplementary document should describe how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results.
- Plans for Data Management and Sharing of the Products of Research
Institute for Education Sciences (IES)
IES FY2025 Funding Opportunities
Includes the IES Application Submission Guide which provides information on how to prepare and submit applications electronically. Provides steps to complete an FY2025 application.
Steps to Applying for IES Grants
Provides step by step guidance for the process of applying for IES grants. Includes deadlines, informative webinars and information regarding Letters of intent.
FY2025 Proposal Checklist for 84.305A Applications
The document includes a summary of the sections outlined in the 84.305A guidelines, restrictions, and notes for each section.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Proposal Development Guides
NIH Funding for Every Career Stage
The agency has released a new graphic that discusses funding opportunities by career stage, from undergraduate to established investigator.
Crash Course in NIH Fundamentals
Are you new to the world of NIH grants or looking for a refresher? NIH has curated playlists of their YouTube videos designed to provide an overview of the grants process, the different funding programs available, key tools to use as you develop your application, and grant writing advice straight from NIH staff.
Writing a Winning Application—Write To Excite
Create a winning application by keeping its audience—your peer reviewers—in mind as you anticipate and address their questions about your project’s significance and innovation.
NIH All About Grants Podcast: Considerations for a Research Plan
In a new podcast, two program officers discuss how to develop a research plan for a grant application. They examine the difference between specific aims and research strategy and share common pitfalls.
Tutorials on Preparing and Submitting Your NIH Grant Application
Four new interactive tutorials on the basics of preparing, writing, and submitting your NIH application are available. Tutorials take between 4 to 11 minutes each to listen through, and you can easily jump ahead to chapters of interest, or navigate back to review something you’ve missed. These tutorials link to additional resources and transcripts.
One-Pager on Human Subjects Research
Researchers who work with human subjects, conduct clinical trials, or have questions about inclusion will find a trove of helpful links in a new one-page resource page assembled by NIH.
Be a Fly on the Wall at an NIH Mock Study Session
What happens during a scientific review of a proposal? NIH has a video of a mock study session that shows what goes on behind the scenes.
NIH Annotated Form Sets
Provides documents to assist in understanding the business rule checks run against submitted applications. You MUST follow the instructions in your funding opportunity announcement and application guide, but these documents are a great visual resource for a quick reference.
NIH Proposal Page Limits
Lists the page limits for the attachments in your grant application, unless otherwise specified in the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) or related NIH Guide notice.
NIH Other Support Guidance
Includes an example of NIH’s “Other Support” documentation.
Required Sections
- NIH Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples
NIH requires submission of a Biosketch for each proposed senior/key personnel and other significant contributor on a grant application. Some funding opportunities or programs may also request Biosketches for additional personnel. This page provides information on the required Biosketch format, and includes Biosketch examples.
- Data Management and Sharing Plan
As of January 25, 2023, the new NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy is in effect. You must use FORMS-H forms for NIH grant proposals after this date. See Writing a DMS Plan for the details on what to include in a Plan. Note that any costs to support data management and sharing should be accounted for in either the R&R Detailed Budget Form or the PHS 398 Modular Budget Form along with a brief justification of those costs. See Budgeting for DMS and the Application Instructions for details. The OSU Research Commons has created an overview page of the NIH Data Management & Sharing (DMS) Policy with links to Ohio State University resources.
Checklists
USDA-NIFA
Proposal Development Guides
NIFA Application Guide
Provides guidance for the preparation and submission of NIFA grant applications via the Grants.gov system. This guide provides general information and references pertaining to the grant application process as well as NIFA-specific instructions and requirements.
NIFA Grant Writing Tips
Tip sheet to aid in the preparation of competitive grant proposals.
Logic Model Resources and Template
Provides information on Logic Models and NIFA’s own generic logic model. Also includes frequently asked questions.
Required Sections
USDA Current & Pending Support – Application forms are required as part of the process for submitting proposals that request funding from NIFA. This page has templates for Conflicts of Interest, Project Summaries, Felony & Tax Delinquent Status, Current & Pending Support (additional guidance is included for Agriculture and Food Research Initiative applicants), Organizational Information (NIFA-666) and the Internal Confidentiality Agreement.
