The Research Development (RD) office offers a variety of tools and resources to assist with proposal development. The RD staff are available to individually meet with faculty to assist with finding funding opportunities, discuss topics such as communicating science and broader impacts, develop proposal checklists, assist with putting together a proposal package, and editing proposals.

Many other offices and services are available at NDSU to provide assistance with resources needed for sponsored projects.  See the topics and offices described below.  If you do not see what you are looking for, send an email to ndsu.researchdev@ndsu.edu.

NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) changes (effective May 20, 2024) The NSF has made a number of changes are across various areas including Mentoring Plans, Biographical Sketches, Current and Pending Support, and Approval for Proposals that Impact Tribal Resources or Interests.  Learn more >>

It is important to understand the missions and strategic priorities of the funding agencies to which you are applying.  Listed below are some common federal agency strategic plans and funding priorities.

FIVE STEPS

1. Identify a program officer.
2. Prepare a concept paper / abstract.
3. Make contact with the program officer. 
4. Talk / meet with the program officer.
5. Follow up after the meeting.

CREATE A CONCEPT PAPER TO PROVIDE TO THE PROGRAM OFFICER

To plan for the visit, prepare a brief 1-page concept paper that you can provide to the program officer prior to a phone call or in-person meeting. You should be ready to discuss a specific proposal. The format is flexible, but include:

1. Overall goal and objectives of the proposal.  SMART objectives should be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
2. Describe the problem to be addressed. Use Heilmeier’s Catechism - http://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~ddahlstr/misc/heilmeier.html
3. Refer to your unique personnel, resources, collaborations, whatever strengths will stand out in your proposal
4. To the extent possible, use the agency’s format, style, and terminology.
5. Use headings, color, and institutional branding, and employ meaningful graphics to assist in telling your story.
6. Ask others to review and provide feedback.

MEETING LOGISTICS

• Well before meeting, send an email to introduce yourself. Attach your concept paper & biosketch in agency format. Ask to set up a ½ hour meeting. Try to avoid peak review panel season if possible, a busy time for them.
• Be on time. At the meeting, listen closely for his/her advice and recommendations. Program officers will sometimes be willing to advocate for your proposal or refer you to other programs if appropriate, or even find other pockets of funding at times. This type of ‘inside information’ can be invaluable to you.
• Plan to keep the meeting within the planned time constraints, but take your cue from the program officer.
• To keep communication open, follow up with a thank you note to the program officer, including a brief written summary of the conversation. Also share the summary with any collaborators.

OTHER TIPS

• Do your homework on the grant agency beforehand so you have a good understanding of how it works.
• Customize questions for the funding agency and program to which you are applying.
• Do NOT ask who is on the review panel, but it’s appropriate to ask about the types of expertise of reviewers who will be on the panel.  Do NOT ask if a Congressman can help or provide a letter of support.
• Do NOT ask for a copy of a funded application, or if a particular person got funded - that information is available elsewhere.  
• DO ask how proposals from early career applicants are handled, if applicable to you.        

Library research support is available in several areas:

• Subject Librarians
• Request a Consultation with a Librarian
• Citation Management
• Information about Copyright
• Institutional Repository
• Data Management
• Research Resources
• Faculty Services

Information Technology Services include:

• Access to research and education networks 
• Data Management
• Data Storage
• ECI Server Hosting
• IT Security
• Technology Learning and Media Center
• Video Conferencing
• Web Hosting options

Research Computing:  The Center for Computationally-Assisted Science and Technology (CCAST) provides high-performance computing (HPC) including onsite hardware, software and filesystems for researchers and their private and public secotor partners, as well as help in utilizing leadership-class national HPC resources.  Since HPC applications can be found in almost any field, CCAST computing systems are a shared resource designed to accommodate everyone's computation needs.

National research computing networks are accessible to NDSU researchers, which allow for connections with more than 300 member institutions through high-capacity global research and education networks via Internet2.  Also, CCAST serves as an "on ramp" to national advanced computing environments such as the Open Science Grid (OSG) and Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE).

The NDSU Institutional Research and Analysis Office is a centralized data source and monitors NDSU as an institution, collecting data and conducting research regarding students, organizations, institutional resources and performance, and finances.  It includes those activities directed at empirically describing and evaluating the educational, administrative, and support functions of North Dakota State University. 

Provided through Information Technology, NDSU's Statistical Consulting Service is available to all faculty, staff and students at every stage of the research process.

The Statistical Consulting Service currently provides assistance to clients at various stages of the research process.

Planning Phase. Consultants will discuss:

• your research goals and assist you in identifying aspects of your research that may benefit from the application of statistical principles
• the design of experiments; e.g., identification of response variables, factors, and type of statistical design appropriate for your research.
• mechanisms for collecting, entering (e.g., Excel) and handling data prior to statistical analysis. 

Data Organization and Analysis Phase. Consultants will:

• assist in managing and processing data.
• suggest appropriate statistical methods for data analysis.
• obtain data from client, perform appropriate statistical analyses.

Communication of Results Phase. Consultants will:

• recommend methods of data presentation, portrayal of results.
• facilitate graphical display of data by pre-processing your data and generating transportable output such as GIF or PNG.
• generate presentation graphics for clients as needed.

Some general proposal writing resources are listed below. They include writing guides from agencies, foundations, and other grant writing groups. 

• New Faculty Guide to Competing for Research Funding (requires log-in)
• Making the Right Moves: A Practical Guide to Scientific Management for Postdocs and New Facultyproduced by Burroughs Wellcome Fund and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
• National Science Foundation's "A Guide for Proposal Writing" (for federal grant proposals)
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant Writing Tip Sheets
• Grantseeking in Minnesota: Writing a Successful Grant Proposal
• Writing a Good Grant Proposal
• How to Write a Federal Grant Proposal from Federal Grants Wire
• Heilmeier's Catechism (critical questions for research proposals)
• NSF CAREER Proposal Writing Tips (advice for young faculty; applicable to other programs as well)
• How Do I Review Thee? Let Me Count the Ways: A Comparison of Research Grant Proposal Review Criteria Across U.S. Federal Funding Agencies
• Why Academics Have a Hard Time Writing Good Grant Proposals

Some general proposal writing video resources are listed below. 

• How to Write a Grant Proposal: Step by Step
• The Grantsmanship Center: How to Get a Grant - Free mini webcast series to help nonprofit grant seekers.

Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)

The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) is an online portal for training in topics related to research integrity and compliance.  Topics include programs on Responsible Conduct of Research, Human Subjects Research, Animal Care and Use, Biosafety, Export Controls and Conflict of Interest.  CITI records from previous institutions can be transferred to NDSU.