These pages are designed to provide SIUE faculty and staff with information about developing and preparing grant proposals. Please use the links on the navigation bar to obtain information about funding agencies, and other institutional resources. If you need additional assistance in preparing your proposal please contact Teri Gulledge or Christa Johnson in the Office of Research and Projects.
Information for New Faculty
How to Find Funding
Proposal Writing Help
Sample Proposals
Proposal Tools: SIUE Quick Facts
Proposal Tools: SIUE Points of Pride (under construction)
It is a good idea to address the following topics early in the proposal development phase. In some cases it could take considerable time to manage all applicable clearance, compliance and certification processes, and to uncover the mysteries of budgeting for a grant.
Compliance and Oversight - Various committees on campus review and approve protocols for adherence to government and University regulations in the following areas: human subjects protection, animal studies, conflict of interest, environmental health and safety, radiation safety, biological & chemical safety, and Federal export controls.
Private Sponsors - You will find numerous funding opportunities available through private foundations and corporations listed in the Community of Science (COS) database. Before approaching a private foundation or corporation, however, University clearance may be required. For further information please contact the ORP.
Letters of Support - Funding opportunities that request University matching funds will require letters of support from both your school dean and your department chair. If you propose to utilize university facilities such as The National Corn-To-Ethanol Center or East St. Louis Center in your application, you will need letters of support from both the director of the center and the dean of the appropriate school.
Preparing a Budget - Federal cost-accounting principles and administrative requirements from the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determine how you can spend your money on a federal research grant. There are legal and financial implications to improper expenditures, so it is important to make sure your proposal budget is in compliance with federal regulations. The ORP can assist you in preparing your budget for applications to both federal and private sponsors. Please see Budget Preparation for further information.
Constraints on Eligibility- Some funding agencies -- both private and public -- restrict the number of applications they will accept from a single institution within a given funding cycle. For these programs, an internal competition will be conducted to determine which proposal(s) will represent SIUE. Internal deadlines are set well in advance of the agency deadlines in order to allow ample time for the adjudication of faculty proposals.
Intellectual Property, Licensing, Patents - Please notify the ORP for assistance with any intellectual property issues, from patents, copy-rights, know-how, and proprietary materials to consulting agreements and research contracts.
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Additional information for new faculty
If you are new to the world of sponsored projects you may want to check out the following websites:
Resources for New Investigators a new webpage from the National Institute of Health dedicated to new investigators which includes the useful "Help with the Application Process."
Research Funding Opportunities for New Faculty (UC Berkeley) This site maintains a list of Young Investigator Awards from the Department of Defense, NASA, NIH, NSF and various non-profit agencies.
UMA Guide to Funding Opportunities Organized By Discipline The University of Massachusetts Amherst has compiled this comprehensive list of funding opportunities arranged by subject area, including an overview of the Arts & Humanities. This is a helpful guide that is in no way to be taken as an exhaustive source. Regular searches on a database such as COS is the best way to find out about new opportunities in your research area.
You will find virtually all the funding opportunities available through private foundations and corporations listed in the Community of Science (COS) funding opportunities database. Contrary to the site's title, the database also includes sources that provide funding in the arts, humanities and other non-scientific areas.
Here are some important things to remember when doing a search of funding opportunities (updated daily):
You do not have to fill in every box. Use only the boxes that correspond to fields you want to search.
In the most successful search, only one or two boxes will contain search information or key words. For example, if you are looking for funding opportunities in Women's History, you only have to enter the term "women's history" in the Subjects/Keywords box.
To search by keywords, enter "Main Search" and browse the keywords under the "Keywords" section. You can browse through the hierarchy like you can through folders and documents in a personal computer file manager. The terms start with the broadest possible headings and step down to the narrowest subheadings. If you use more than one search term, seperate the terms with AND, OR, or NOT.
Researchers can receive a weekly Funding Alert customized to their area of expertise. COS Expertise contains more than 440,000 profiles of researchers from more than 1,300 institutions worldwide.
Explore the site for more features, consult our Frequently Asked Questions and feel free to contact the ORP if you have any further questions.
Additional sites on using COS:
Searching COS Basics (UNC) succinct instructions (pdf file) on using COS, prepared by the UNC GrantSource Library.
Virginia Tech COS FAQ Covers some common questions.
When crafting a proposal keep the following tips in mind:
"To write a good proposal takes a long time. Start early. Begin thinking about your topic well in advance and make it a habit to collect references while you work on other tasks. Write a first draft at least three months in advance, revise it, show it to colleagues. Let it gather a little dust, collect colleagues' comments, revise it again. If you have a chance, share it with a seminar or similar group; the debate should help you anticipate what reviewers will eventually think. Revise the text again for substance. Go over the language, style, and form. Resharpen your opening paragraph or first page so that it drives home exactly what you mean as effectively as possible."
from "The Art of Writing Proposals" by Adam Przeworski and Frank Salomon
Useful All-Purpose Grant-Writing Resources:
Proposal Writing Short Course (The Foundation Center) covers the components of a proposal for funding from non-profits: the Executive Summary, Statement of Need, Project Description, Budget, Organizational Information and the Letter proposal. "You need to follow a step-by-step process in the search for private dollars. It takes time and persistence to succeed ... The recommended process is not a formula to be rigidly adhered to. It is a suggested approach that can be adapted to fit the needs of any nonprofit and the peculiarities of each situation. Fundraising is an art as well as a science. You must bring your own creativity to it and remain flexible."
Guide For Writing a Funding Proposal by S. Joseph Levine, at the Michigan State University. Clearly laid out, with a wealth of examples. "A major theme that runs throughout the Guide is a concern for the development of meaningful cooperative relationships - with funding agencies, with community organizations, and with the people you are serving - as a basis for the development of strong fundable initiatives."
Tips on Writing Proposals by Prudence M. Rice, at SIU-Carbondale. Practical checklist to guide you through the proposal process.
Proposal Writing adapted from NCURA and SRA instructional materials, made available through Georgia Perimeter College. Succinct presentation with particularly helpful guide to effective writing, editing and evaluating overall objectives.
Specific Guides and Information from Federal Agencies:
CFDA Developing & Writing Grant Proposals
Department of Energy Grant Application Guide
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)
EPA Grant Writing Tips
EPA Grant-Writing Tutorial made available through Purdue University.
FIPSE: "How to get a FIPSE Grant"
by Eulalia Cobb, former FIPSE program officer, Department of Education/ Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE):
FIPSE: "Funding Your Best Ideas: A 12-step Program"
by Joan Straumanis, former FIPSE program officer
Fulbright Commission
NEH: "Advice on Preparing Your Grant" National Endownment for the Humanities
NIH resources for Grant Applicants:
NSF: A Guide for Proposal Writing (National Science Foundation)
10 Steps to Prepare a Proposal
Proposal Preparation FAQ
PI Tipsheet
ONR Procedure for Submitting a Proposal Office of Naval Research
SSRC: "The Art of Writing Proposals: Some Candid Suggestions for Applicants to Social Science Research Council Competitions"
by Adam Przeworski and Frank Salomon.
Social Science Research Council (1998)
In this section you will soon be able to review sample proposals and copies of proposals that have been successful, both from SIUE and other institutions.
NEH
The Pompeii Forum Project - an example of a large-scale NEH proposal
NSF
"Studies to Develop a Biosensor for Controlled Antibiotic Use During Ethanol Production from Corn" Ron Worthington (PI), SIUE
"The Effects of Robotics Projects on Girls' Perceptions of Achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics" Jerry Weinberg, SIUE
PROPOSAL TOOLS: FACTS ABOUT SIUE
The following links and sources of information are listed in order to facilitate the writing of your proposal narrative. Please proceed to the Budget Preparation page when you are ready to move on to the next part of your proposal. And, as always, please contact ORP for assistance as needed.
SIUE Quick facts This web site is maintained and updated by The Center for Institutional Research. Please contact Barbara Kessel or Roberta Stanford or at ext 3415 if you have any additional questions.
General information about the institution
SIUE, located in Edwardsville, Illinois in the greater metropolitan St.Louis area, is a predominantly undergraduate institution with approximately thirteen thousand students, almost eleven thousand of which are undergraduates. Originally a satellite campus in the SIU system, SIUE was launched in 1957 as two "residence centers" in Alton and Edwardsville respectively, expecting to enroll 800 students; more than double that number applied. Today SIUE is a major public university offering a broad choice of degrees and programs ranging from career-oriented fields of study to dynamic academic disciplines. There are seven Schools at the university, including the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Schools of Business, Dental Medicine, Education, Engineering, Nursing and Pharmacy. The world-class facilities include extensive research laboratories, vibrant community outreach activities, a state-of-the-art corporate research park, and cultural treasures such as the 30-acre Myer Arboretum and a geodesic dome designed by former faculty member R. Buckminster Fuller.
-- adapted from SIUE Fact Book 2006
Number of Students and Faculty, 2005
| Number of Students | All | Underrepresented Minorities* | Women |
| Undergraduates (total) | 10,945 | 1,513 | 6,017 |
| Graduate | 2,515 | 242 | 1,433 |
| Total | 13,460 | 1,608 | 7450 |
| Number of Faculty | All | Underrepresented Minorities* | Women |
| With Tenure | 262 | 89 | |
| Tenure-track | 194 | 93 | |
| Lecturer, Instructor | 100 | 62 | |
| Total | 556, 813** | 95** | 244, 362** |
*Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic. **Includes both full-time and part-time faculty.
PROPOSAL TOOLS: FACTS ABOUT SCHOOLS, DEPARTMENTS AND RESEARCH CENTERS AT SIUE
The following abstracts have been provided by the various schools and institutes at SIUE.
College of Arts and Sciences
East St. Louis Center
The Lovejoy Library
The School of Business
The School of Dental Medicine
The School of Education
The School of Engineering
The National Corn-To-Ethanol Research Center
The School of Pharmacy
The School of Nursing