General Proposal Development Resources

Tips for a Winning Research Proposal
10 Common Grant-Writing Mistakes
Agency Public Access Plans and Repositories
Foundation Directory Online - a tool for those seeking grant funding and company information
RIO Research Development: Funding

See specific agency links below for additional proposal development resources.

Sponsor Specific Information

OCG has compiled numerous links to sponsor specific resources.

Grants.gov

Grants.gov offers resource materials on the following pages:

Keck Foundation

Funding Focus:

The Keck Foundation supports outstanding science, engineering, and medical research.

The Keck Foundation limits the number of proposals that one institution may submit. The first application phase is an internal competition at CU Boulder from which proposals will be selected to continue to the next phase.

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the Keck Foundation, contact Jessica Rowell, OCG Proposal Development Manager, at jessica.rowell@colorado.edu or 303-735-6299.

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA)

Funding Focus:

The Fulbright-Hays DDRA provides funding for individual doctoral students who conduct research in other countries, in modern foreign languages, and area studies for periods of 6 to 12 months.

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the Fulbright-Hays DDRA program, contact Amy Hoak, Proposal Analyst, at amy.hoak@colorado.edu or 303-735-6738.

Boettcher Foundation

Funding Focus:

The Boettcher Foundation Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Grant aims to support scientific innovation in Colorado by providing biomedical research funding for early career investigators at the state's research institutions.  

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the Boettcher Foundation, contact Allison Fischer, Senior Proposal Analyst, at allison.fischer@colorado.edu or 303-735-6754.  

Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT)

Funding Focus:

The OEDIT Proof of Concept Grant provides funding to identify and pull technologies from research institutions where they were discovered and connect them to the private sector where they can be developed into products for commercialization.

The University of Colorado System receives a predetermined allocation each year.  From that allocation, the PIs on each campus compete to be awarded a portion of the total amount allocated to the University.

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to OEDIT, contact both Venture Partners and your OCG Proposal Analyst.

CU Boulder Post-Award Contact:

If you have questions regarding your award from OEDIT, contact Jennifer Stroh, OCG Contract Officer, at jennifer.stroh@colorado.edu or 303-492-9412.

Searle Scholars

Funding Focus:

The Searle Scholars Program supports research of outstanding individuals who have recently begun their appointment at the assistant professor level, and whose appointment is their first tenure-track position at a participating academic or research institution.

The Searle Scholars Program limits the number of proposals that one institution may submit. The first application phase is an internal competition at CU from which proposals are selected to continue to the next phase.

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the Searle Scholars Program, contact Joan Eaton, Assistant Director, Proposal Development, at joan.eaton@colorado.edu or 303-492-2691.

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Funding Focus:

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, conscientious, and peaceful world.

CU Boulder Application Contact:

If you are interested in submitting a proposal to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, please contact Joan Eaton, Assistant Director, Proposal Development, at joan.eaton@colorado.edu or 303-492-2691.

Electronic Submission Registrations

​For system registrations not listed below, contact Lyn Milliken in OCG at lyn.milliken@colorado.edu or 303-492-3192.

Several federal agencies use Grants.gov to receive proposals from Principal Investigators (PIs). 

For all Grants.gov submissions, the application package is downloaded by your Proposal Analyst. They fill in as much information as possible.

NIH Applications - All PIs must have a Commons ID. If you do not have a Commons ID, please email Lyn Milliken, lyn.milliken@colorado.edu, in OCG to have one set up.

Once the proposal documents are ready, the PI emails them to grantgov@colorado.edu and to the Proposal Analyst. Your Proposal Analyst will upload the documents and budget into the Grants.gov package. Our Proposal Preparations: Forms, Checklists & Templates page has proposal checklists to assist with proposal preparation.

When everything is ready, your Proposal Analyst will review the proposal for anything that might prevent submission or review and then submit the package through Grants.gov and follow up if any errors occur.

For NSF, we use the FastLane system for proposal submission. If you do not have a FastLane login, please email Lyn Milliken in OCG, lyn.milliken@colorado.edu, to have a login set up. 

Your Proposal Analyst will start a proposal in FastLane and complete the Cover Sheet and budget forms once the budget is finalized. When the proposal documents are ready, you are responsible for uploading the required documents to FastLane (except for the budget) and reviewing the proposal for completeness. Our Proposal Preparations: Forms, Checklists & Templates page has proposal checklists to assist with proposal preparation.

Your Proposal Analyst will review the proposal for anything that might prevent submission or review.

When everything is ready, you will need to Allow SRO Access so that your Proposal Analyst can submit your proposal.

For NASA, we use the NSPIRES system for proposal submission. Lyn Milliken, lyn.milliken@colorado.edu, in OCG handles all NSPIRES registrations.

Our Proposal Preparations: Forms, Checklists & Templates page has proposal checklists to assist with proposal preparation.

OCG's standard business hours are 8 am - 5 pm, Monday through Friday.

ALL proposals and applications for funding must be submitted by an OCG Authorized Official within OCG's standard business hours, which may be earlier than the sponsor's published deadline in some cases.