Writing & Submitting Proposals

Confirming Eligibility to Apply for Grant Funding

Before beginning any grant application, confirm that you are eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator/Project Director for a sponsored award. See Principal Investigators of Sponsored Projects for more information. Note that some sponsors and/or funding opportunities may have additional specific eligibility requirements, such as degree credentials or tenure-track status.

Completing the “Intent to Submit” Form

The Intent To Submit (ITS) process is designed to notify the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship of your intent to submit an external grant proposal. Early submission of the form enables ORCS to review the grant opportunity; gain institutional support for your proposal early in the development process, and better support you in its preparation and submission. The ITS Form has been designed to ensure proposed projects are aligned with institutional priorities, are appropriate and feasible based on capacity and resources, and have the support required for success once funded. Only applications that have been preceded by an ITS Form should be submitted to a funding agency for consideration.

To ensure the best possible service from ORCS, please create an ITS form at least ten business days before the sponsor’s application deadline. The ITS form can be accessed via InfoReady.

Reading and Understanding the Guidelines

For any funding announcement (FOA) or request for proposal (RFP), carefully read the guidelines and proposal requirements. Every RFP can have different requirements for:

• Formatting and page limits
• Narrative sections or headers
• Forms or templates
• Ancillary documents (CV’s, letters of support facilities/equipment statement, etc.)

ORCS will work closely with you to ensure all that necessary information and documentation is included in your final submission.

Preparing Your Proposal

The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship (ORCS) offers personalized support and technical assistance for your grant application. Our help is tailored to your experience and specific needs.

Meet with ORCS early! This is the best way for us to assess your needs and plan effectively for a successful submission.

Common Ways ORCS Supports Applicants

• Completing administrative sections (e.g., cover sheets, forms)
• Providing institutional boilerplate language
• Creating detailed project budgets and accompanying budget narratives
• Reviewing drafts and offering editorial feedback (please allow at least one week before the deadline)
• Coordinating institutional letters of support
• Obtaining institutionally authorized signatures
• Ensuring final proposals meet sponsor requirements and Emerson College policies

When working with ORCS, please discuss these topics or any other needs you have with us.

Proposal Writing Guidance

Each sponsor has specific proposal guidelines that must be followed closely. ORCS can help you locate these requirements and provide appropriate proposal writing guides. First-time applicants may also benefit from insights from those familiar with the sponsor. Contact ORCS for support.

Requesting a Sample Proposal

The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship has an archive of successful proposals for both Emerson's internal grant programs and for select external sponsors. These samples are available to Emerson faculty members by request. If you are interested in obtaining a sample proposal, please contact us.

Developing a Proposal Budget

A proposal budget should tell the same story as your narrative, but in fiscal form. The costs, line items, and total amount requested should align with the project you are proposing. The budget spells out the project’s required costs usually with a detailed line-item table and an accompanying budget narrative.

A proposal budget must be:

• realistic,
• reasonable, and
• based on fair market estimates, government-approved rates, and good faith estimates of necessary person-time and labor.

Grant budgets must also follow Emerson accounting rules, as well as federal regulations on grant budgeting and cost allowability.

ORCS regularly works with faculty to develop budgets for their proposals, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you are in need of a budget, whether it’s a rough estimate or something more detailed. We will help you build a budget that fits the needs of your proposed activities, utilizes current rates for fringe benefits, student wages, etc., and aligns with both the sponsor’s and the College’s accounting and finance policies.

Proposal Budget Templates

• Detailed Budget Form (nonfederal): Use to create a detailed, line-item proposal budget for nonfederal proposals.
• Detailed Budget Form (federal): Use to create a detailed, line-item proposal budget for federal proposals.
• Simple Budget Form (nonfederal)
• Sample Budget Justification

Policies That Govern Proposal Budgeting

• Costing Policy and Cost Allowability
• Compensation and Effort Allocation on Externally Sponsored Programs (including faculty supplemental salary)
• Fringe Benefits on Sponsored Programs
• Indirect Costs/Facilities and Administrative Costs
• Cost Sharing and Matching on Proposals

Subawards to Collaborating Institutions

If you plan to include another institution on your proposal as a collaborative subrecipient (subcontractor/subawardee), please inform the ORCS early in the proposal preparation process. In order to submit a proposal that commits the resources and personnel of another institution, Emerson must have written approval from an Authorized Signatory (AO) of that institution. This is typically done through the submission of a subaward proposal to Emerson.

The following paperwork is therefore required from the collaborating institution's office of sponsored projects or equivalent institutional authority prior to proposal submission:

• Letter of Intent to Collaborate (also called a Subrecipient Letter of Commitment), signed by the collaborating institution's authorized official (typically the Director of Sponsored Projects or equivalent).
• Statement of Work detailing the role the collaborator will play, with any specific responsibilities or deliverables.
• Detailed Budget and Budget Justification (narrative)
• Ancillary documentation as required by the sponsor (curriculum vitae, facilities statement, etc.)

Subawards to Emerson from a Collaborating Institution

If you have been asked to perform work on another institution's grant proposal as a sub-recipient, work with ORCS in the same way you normally would when putting together a proposal. These subcontract proposals are handled the same way, and require the same level of review and approval as a direct-to-sponsor proposal. ORCS will assist you in putting together the required materials and obtaining any necessary institutional approvals.

Submitting Your Proposal

When submitting a proposal to an external sponsor, note that awards are almost always made to the institution rather than to the individual faculty member. Emerson College acts as the fiscal agent and is responsible for ensuring the terms of the award are fulfilled. Therefore, all proposals must undergo a process in which the proposal is routed for approval by the following individuals prior to submission:

• Department Chair of the PI
• Dean of the PI
• Executive Director for ORCS
• Provost (if cost sharing or institutional resources are being committed)

Applicants are encouraged to begin the approval process well in advance of the proposal deadline. The College reserves the right to withdraw applications that have not received institutional endorsements prior to submission.

When you are ready to submit your grant application to the funder, the following items should be provided to ORCS at least five (5) business days in advance of the deadline:

• Proposal budget and budget justification
• A final or working draft of your project narrative/scope of work
• Documentation of any cost-share/matching fund commitments (e.g., email from units on campus or outside partners committing funds)
• Ancillary document as required by the sponsor (CV, facilities and equipment statement, etc.)

Sponsor guidelines will usually dictate how your proposal is to be submitted. Most sponsors now utilize electronic submission systems. Only the staff in ORCS can act as the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) to submit proposals, and we are registered for these systems in this capacity. See Submitting Proposals for Externally Sponsored Projects for more information.

For paper (hardcopy) submissions, ORCS is happy to submit your application to the sponsor on your behalf, covering any associated shipping costs.

Questions and Assistance

The Office of Research and Creative Scholarship is happy to assist the Emerson community with the process of writing and submitting their proposals. Please reach out to us for anything at ORCS [at] emerson.edu (ORCS[at]emerson[dot]edu).