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How to apply for grants

A page within Research & Sponsored Programs

Proposal Development Workflow

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Use the following resources to help you on your grant writing journey to meet institutional deadlines, follow the necessary guidelines, and build a strong grant application.

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Proposal Development Resources

App Components

Proposal planning & timeline

A successful proposal starts with thorough planning before you begin drafting the application.

  • UWL grant submission timeline: outlines the minimum requirements for consulting with ORSP and submitting materials to ORSP, your chair/unit director, and your dean/division director leading up to the submission deadline for required reviews and approvals
  • 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

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:

Required UWL forms
Budgeting

See the budgeting webpage for more resources and guidance. For sponsor-specific tools and guidance, see the Agency Resources tab.

Writing

See the writing webpage for more resources.

Data & research resources

See the data & research resources webpage for more resources.

Institutional information

Agency Resources

National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF supports scientific and engineering research and education through several directorates. Highlighted resources are below:

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

NIH supports biomedical research and education through multiple institutes and centers. Highlighted resources are below:

Other Federal Agencies

 

Non-Federal Agencies

Compliance - Research

Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects

The IRB is responsible for protecting the rights and welfare of human subjects participating in research projects. This includes research involving human specimens or data. IRB review and approval does not need to be completed before a grant application is submitted but must be completed before any research begins. Some tools are highlighted below:

See the full IRB webpage. Contact IRB@uwlax.edu with questions.

Chemical & Physical Safety

A chemical is defined as any element, chemical compound or mixture of elements and/or compounds. These materials can pose a variety of hazards, including but not limited to toxic to humans and/or environment, fire, and explosion. Researchers should be prepared to identify all chemicals that will be used. The chemical identity can be completed through provision of a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

Physical hazards are defined as excessive levels of electromagnetic and ionizing radiations, noise, vibration, and extremes of temperature and pressure.

See the full Chemical & Physical Safety webpage. Contact Dan Sweetman with questions.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

The IBC is responsible for the oversight of research involving biological materials that entail a potential risk to humans, animals, or the environment (e.g., recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules; microorganisms and viruses; infectious agents or pathogens; biological toxins; human-derived tissues, fluids, and cells; non-human animal-derived tissues, fluids, and cells that are infectious, potentially infectious, or recombinant; genetically modified live animals; or other biological materials that may be toxic to living organisms). IBC review and approval does not need to be completed before a grant application is submitted but must be completed before any research begins.

See the full IBC webpage. Contact grants@uwlax.edu with questions.

Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC)

The IACUC is responsible for the oversight of the humane care and treatment of animals used in teaching and research. This responsibility is both an ethical and scientific necessity, and each person involved in using animals shares in this responsibility. The Animal Care and Use Program at UWL is committed to the highest standards of research and recognizes that laboratory animals must receive the best possible care, not only to obtain valid research data, but to ensure the health and safety of animals, researchers, and animal caretakers.

See the full IACUC webpage. Contact IACUC@uwlax.edu with questions.

Intellectual Property, Inventions, & Patents

Intellectual property (IP) is a work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a design, method, or manuscript, to which one has rights and for which one may apply for a patent, copyright, trademark, etc. An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, or process discovered during the course of a project that may be patentable. To be patentable, an invention must be novel, have utility (i.e., be useful for a particular purpose), and not be obvious.

Intellectual property (IP), inventions, and patents are subject to UW System policy, federal regulations (e.g., Bayh-Dole Act), and sponsor terms & conditions. The primary UW System policy requirements are as follows:

  • Completion of IP agreements: All UWL faculty, staff (except clerical and nontechnical employees), and student employees working on extramurally funded scholarly projects must sign an electronic IP agreement before they begin any project work and before any award funds are spent.
  • Disclosure of inventions: All inventions discovered by UWL faculty, staff, or students while pursuing their university duties, on university premises, or with university supplies or equipment must be promptly reported via the Invention Disclosure Form and submitted to UWL's WiSys Regional Associate. WiSys serves as the technology transfer office for UW comprehensive campuses.

See the full IP, inventions, and patents webpage for UW System and UWL requirements. Contact grants@uwlax.edu with any questions. Please note the webpage does not address additional federal regulatory or sponsor requirements.

International Collaborations & Programs

The university values the contributions of and collaborations with scholars from around the world. The diverse scholarly community and the openness of the scholarly enterprise has enabled discoveries that create a better nation and world. The university is committed to scholarly collaboration and openness, and also acknowledges the importance of being transparent about foreign relationships and activities. These relationships and activities are being paid increased scrutiny, particularly at the federal level. The general rule is that any and all activities and/or interests involving an international entity or collaborator be disclosed to ensure transparency and compliance with federal law. Requirements vary by project type and agency and apply to multiple application components and aspects of project activities. Examples  of these requirements include, but are not limited to, required disclosures in other support/current & pending support documents, biographical sketches, intellectual property and invention disclosures, external influence and interest reporting, gifts, international travel, import/export of tangible research materials and biological samples, foreign visiting scientists/scholars, and export controls and sanctions.

See the internal collaborations & programs webpage. Contact grants@uwlax.edu with any questions.

Research Participant Incentive Payments

UWL has established guidance for research that will include the payment of incentives to research participants. Incentive payments are low value payments or items given to individuals to encourage them to participate in research. In order to be an incentive, the value of a payment or item must be minimal and should be provided to all participants in the research project, regardless of whether they complete the activity. Incentive payments include small dollar items, cash, checks, or gift cards depending on the specifics of the individual research project. Drawings, raffles, and other “chance to win” offers may also be used as an incentive, but a Principal Investigator (PI) should consult with ORSP to determine allowability.

See ORSP's FAQs and the Business Services policy for guidance. Contact grants@uwlax.edu with questions. 

Compliance Requirements

Chemical & Physical Safety

A chemical is defined as any element, chemical compound or mixture of elements and/or compounds. These materials can pose a variety of hazards, including but not limited to: toxic to humans and/or environment, fire and explosion. PIs/PDs should be prepared to identify all chemicals that will be used. The chemical identity can be completed through provision of a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

Physical hazards are defined as excessive levels of electromagnetic and ionizing radiations, noise, vibration, and extremes of temperature and pressure.

Those PIs/PDs involved in research or use of chemicals or physical hazards should contact Dan Sweetman to assist in obtaining all required reviews and approvals. These approvals must be obtained before project work can begin but do not necessarily need to be completed before an application is submitted to a sponsor. See Chemical & Physical Safety and Environmental Health & Safety for more information.

Financial Conflicts of Interest (FCOI)

To ensure compliance with federal regulations, before submission, all applications for federal funding, including subawards and federal flow-through funding, require all UWL investigators to complete a significant financial interest (SFI) disclosure form. See FCOI Basics: Overview of Policy & Requirements for a summary of the requirements and items that need to be disclosed. The policy also applies to non-federal sponsors with FCOI requirements (e.g., Alliance for Lupus Research, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Arthritis Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Lupus Foundation of America, Susan G. Komen for the Cure).

If applying to a Public Health Service (PHS) agency (e.g., NIH), there is an additional FCOI training and assessment requirement for all investigators. As defined by PHS, investigators may extend beyond a project's PIs and co-PIs to include students, subrecipients, consultants, and/or other collaborators. Refer to the UWL Identifying Investigators resource for help determining who may constitute an investigator on a particular project. There are also FCOI requirements for external collaborators named in PHS agency applications. Refer to the UWL FCOI policy website for further information. 

Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC)

Projects involving animal subjects are subject to IACUC requirements. Protocols must be approved before project work can begin but not necessarily before an application is submitted to a sponsor. See the IACUC website for more information.

Additionally, some federal sponsors (e.g., NIH, NSF) require IACUC congruency review before award issuance and before project work begins, which is completed by the UWL IACUC Coordinator and recorded by ORSP. This ensures the approved protocol(s) aligns with the research outlined in the application. The PI/PD is responsible for initiating the review. To allow for potentially required protocol revisions, it is strongly recommended a PI initiate the process after application scores are received if a high score indicates funding is likely. Contact ORSP for further guidance.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

Projects involving recombinant DNA (rDNA) and other biological materials that entail a potential risk to humans, animals, or the environment are subject to IBC requirements. Protocols must be approved before project work can begin but not necessarily before an application is submitted to a sponsor. See the IBC website for more information.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects

Projects subject to IRB requirements must have approval from the IRB committee before project work can begin. While an IRB protocol does not need to be approved before an application is submitted to a sponsor, it is strongly recommended PIs/PDs begin the process as soon as possible to ensure adequate time for review. See the IRB website for more information.

Additionally, some federal sponsors (e.g., NIH, NSF) require IRB congruency review before award issuance and before project work begins, which is completed by the UWL IRB Coordinator and recorded by ORSP. This ensures the approved protocol(s) aligns with the research outlined in the application. The PI/PD is responsible for initiating the review. To allow for potentially required protocol revisions, it is strongly recommended a PI initiate the process after application scores are received if a high score indicates funding is likely. Contact ORSP for further guidance.

Intellectual Property, Inventions, & Patents

Extramurally funded scholarly projects are subject to UW System Administrative (UWSA) Policy 346: Patents and Inventions. UWL faculty, staff, and students are subject to the policy. For more information on requirements, see the Intellectual Property, Inventions, and Patents website.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

The following federal agencies have set forth RCR requirements for all institutions receiving agency funding:  

  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) (only some funding mechanisms, such as R25 and R36) 
  • National Science Foundation (NSF) 
  • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 

Each agency defines training expectations for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers participating in projects funded by the above agencies, whether they are paid or unpaid.

For applications subject to RCR requirements, all PIs must complete an RCR Student Training Plan Form before submission. The form outlines the PI's plan for fulfilling student training obligations. The UWL RCR Policy for Federal Agencies details the specific training requirements for each agency and provides information on how to access online RCR training modules. 

Restrictions of Publication & Proprietary Information

It is the policy of UWL that the results of research shall be fully communicated; accordingly, UWL does not engage in classified research and will not agree to grant or contract provisions that restrict the right of a UWL employee to publish, release, or otherwise share findings derived from the sponsored activities. UWL does recognize that some research may require access to proprietary data. As a consequence, it will permit the sponsor of the research an opportunity to review materials prior to publication and to request changes in order to protect proprietary data. The final decision on whether to publish, however, remains with the researcher; the right of review by the sponsor does not contain a corresponding right of approval. In addition, this review period is not to exceed 90 days.

Although UWL will agree to receive proprietary information and will exercise best efforts to maintain the confidentiality of this information, it insists such proprietary information be restricted to that which is absolutely necessary for the research. It must be clearly marked as "proprietary" at the time it is received by UWL. Proposed exceptions to this policy, including the negotiation of contracts or agreements covering classified research in the national interest, must be approved by the cognizant dean or director and the chancellor or their designee.

Subawards

Applications involving subawards to external collaborators are subject to additional requirements before an application is submitted and, for federal awards, before project work begins.

Before an application is submitted, subrecipient institutions must confirm their role in the proposed project and their requested budget. Before submission, an authorized organizational representative from the subrecipient (e.g., ORSP administrator) must provide the following documents to the lead institution:

  • Scope of work
  • Subaward budget and budget justification
  • Subrecipient commitment form or written confirmation of the intent to collaborate (e.g., memorandum of understanding)

Templates for the above documents are available from ORSP. There may be additional compliance requirements contingent upon lead institution and sponsor requirements (e.g., FCOI training, SFI disclosures, other certifications).

Before project work begins for a federal award, subawards must undergo the processes outlined on the Subaward Risk Assessment & Monitoring website.