Office of Sponsored Programs | Christopher Newport University

Know the field and its literature well.
Know what other projects in your field are being funded.
Check the literature to make sure the project you are considering has not been done before, or has been done and its methods judged inadequate.
Brainstorm ideas with colleagues and mentors.
Discuss your proposal with the Office of Sponsored Programs.
Check to see if your idea matches the sponsor’s initiatives reflecting any high-priority areas.
Give yourself plenty of time to write the application, at least three to six months.
Considered asking a few of your senior colleagues to be on a mock review committee so that you can get ideas along with feedback on the concept, planning, and writing stages of your application.

Documentation:

Will you be doing human subjects research? Are you aware of IRB requirements?
Does the proposal require electronic application? Have you notified Sponsored Programs?
Are there any special requirements in the program announcement or request for proposals?

New Investigators:

Balance your lack of publications with more biographical information.
Outline modest, attainable goals that will match your level of experience.
Bring in (if possible, well-known) collaborators to fill gaps in your expertise and resources.
Show a solid understanding of the literature and recognition of the strengths and weakness.
Attempt a modest amount of work and not too much for your first research grant.

Hypothesis:

Develop a strong hypothesis.
Define specifically what you are setting out to prove/accomplish.
State importance to the field?
Is the hypothesis testable/measurable by current methods?
State your hypothesis in the proposal abstract and the specific aims section.
Focus your idea. Can it be accomplished with the time and resources you are requesting?
Does it fit with the sponsor’s mission?

Cited Literature:

List all publications supporting your hypothesis and methods.
Format the citations correctly, i.e., the names of all authors (not et al.), name of the book or journal, volume number, page numbers (not first page only), and year of publication.

Abstract:

Stay within the word/page limit.
State your hypothesis/problem.
Describe objectives and specific aims.
State the importance of the research and how it is innovative.
Outline the methods you will use to accomplish goals.
Exclude all confidential or proprietary information from abstract.
Keep the language of abstract simple and easy to understand for a broad audience.

Performance Site:

List all the sites where work will take place.
Match the information on the Resources page, if any.
Include a Key Personnel header, listing all people involved and their roles? Does each have a biosketch?

Consultants:

Refer to/defer to consultants any experience you lack.
Use consultants who are experts in their fields.
Include a letter of support describing the willingness of an investigator to participate as a consultant.
List consultants as key personnel and provide biosketches.

Biosketches:

Include biosketches in the proper order: principal investigator, then all others in alphabetical order by last name.
Include all required details: name, title, education, and employment history; note page limitations.
Does employment history contain a chronological list of current, relevant publications with titles and complete references (including all authors)?
Are my roles in other relevant research included?

Other Support:

Indicate whether other organizations are currently supporting you in the research you’ve presented.
Let the sponsor know of any other grant support or other projects you have.
If applying to more than this source of support for this project indicate that there's no overlap between them, and made sure the aims differ.
Make sure that you are not committed more than 100 percent effort on all your support/obligations.

Budget:

Is the budget realistic and appropriate for the project's aims and methods?
Have you requested enough, but only enough, money to do the work?
Have you made sure none of your requests appear to be extravagant or include resources already available to me?
Have you followed the budget instructions in the sponsor guidelines?
Have you planned for the cost of the entire project, including costs not requested of the sponsor?
Have you figured all of my costs into your budget?
Did you specify costs for consortium arrangements through subcontracts?
Have you avoided asking for expensive equipment unless I really need it to conduct this research?

Resources:

Show resources on hand; adequate equipment, space, and support staff to conduct the research.

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