Federal Proposal Development
A page within Research & Sponsored Programs
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Proposal Planning & Development Resources
Funding
- Grants.gov: searchable database of all federal funding opportunities
- Pivot funding database
- Set up an individual user account to access it. Custom searches can be saved, and users can set-up automatic email alerts for their queries. UWL access is made available through ORSP.
- GRC GrantSearch: Targeted database of approximately 2,000 funding opportunities that are recurring and have a national/regional scope.
- Contact ORSP for the institutional GRC log-in and password.
- Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) funding
- Department of Education (ED) funding
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding
- Institute of Education Sciences (IES) funding
- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) funding
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funding
- Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) funding
- USDA National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA) funding
- List of federal sponsors
- See the External Funding Sources webpage for more resources
For NIH and NSF, see the agency-specific proposal development webpages for funding and proposal resources.
Proposal planning & timeline
A successful proposal starts with thorough planning before you begin drafting the application. See below for the required proposal planning resources:
- Federal Proposal Development Guide & Checklist: general guidance for common federal sponsor requirements, including links to required UWL forms and templates. Agency-specific checklists are available below and at the NIH and NSF proposal development webpages.
- NEA Proposal Development Guide & Checklist
- NEH Proposal Development Guide & Checklist
- Proposal Development Timeline Generator: automatically generates a timeline for required internal deadlines to submit proposal components to ORSP, your chair/unit director, and your dean/division director for review and approval. This follows the UWL grant submission timeline requirements.
Use the timeline to work backwards from the submission deadline to establish proposal development due dates to guide your work. Keep in mind that substantive proposals (e.g., federal applications, collaborative projects) should be developed over a much longer timeline - typically six months to a year in advance of the deadline.
Below are additional tools to get you started:
- Federal Subaward Proposal Development Checklist: used when UWL is not the lead institution and would be a subrecipient
- Broader Impacts Toolkit & Wizard
- Grant writing tips for success
- How to contact the potential funding agency
- How to develop a concept paper/letter of inquiry (LOI)
Required UWL forms
- UWL Grant/Contract Transmittal Form
- Form preview
- See Grant Submission Timeline and Proposal Development Timeline Generator for due dates.
- Required for all federal proposals:
- Required for National Science Foundation (NSF) and US Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposals:
- Required for proposals involving subawards:
Budgeting
Budget Templates & Rates
- Budget Helper Spreadsheet
- Budget Justification Template
- Cost Sharing Template
- Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs - Current Rates
- Budget Guidance: Fringe Benefits Overview
Faculty & Staff Compensation
Student Compensation & Tuition
- Undergraduate Student Wage Guidance
- Graduate Assistant Compensation
- Tuition and Fee Information
Travel & Meals
- UWL Travel Information
- Lodging & Meal Per Diems
- Current rates until June 30, 2025:SFS Lodging & Meal Per Diem Calculator
- NEW calculator for travel occurring July 1, 2025 or later: Lodging & Meal Per Diem Calculator
- Ground Transportation
- UWL Food Host Meal Rates
Facility Rental
- For rental of on-campus facilities, contact Reservations for facility and cost information. A facility rate sheet is also available.
Narrative & supplementary documents
Sponsor guidance
- Department of Education (ED)
- Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Understanding, Managing, and Applying for EPA Grants
- Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) Funded Proposal Library
- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA): Grant Guidelines
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): Developing Competitive SAMHSA Grant Applications
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food & Agriculture (NIFA): Grants Overview
- Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200)