Anatomy of a Typical Proposal

The sponsor's guidelines provide detailed information about what should go into the proposal and have specific guidelines for font and margin sizes, page limitations, and the use of appendices. It is imperative to obtain the most current version of the sponsor's guidelines and instructions prior to writing your proposal, regardless of whether the submission is done electronically or on paper. Refer to them often.

Many foundations and other non-federal sponsors use formats similar to those used by the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation.

Typically, proposals contain the elements described below.

• Title (Cover, Application) Page
• Table of Contents
• Abstract (Summary)
• Introduction
• Problem Statement (Needs Statement)
• Literature Review
• Goals (General Objectives)
• Objectives (Hypotheses)
• Research Design and Procedures (Methodology)
• Evaluation (Assessment)
• Future Funding (Institutionalization, Continuation)
• Dissemination of Results
• Timeline
• Personnel
• Facilities and Resources
• Budget (Projection of Costs, Itemized Costs)
• Appendices (Attachments)

Abstract/Summary

The purpose of the abstract/project summary is to summarize the most important elements of your proposed project. The length is often limited. It should be informative to the reviewers and other investigators in the field. The abstract is often published so should not contain any propriety information. The abstract should answer:

• What is the purpose or goal of your project, the need you’re addressing, or the problem you’re solving?
• What are the expected outcomes of your project, and how will you achieve them?
• How will you assess or verify the success of your project?
• Why is your project important?

It should not contain biographical information about the Principal Investigator, the amount of funding requested, or similar data, unless specifically requested by the sponsor.

Project Description/Project Plan

The project description describes your project, its purpose, relevance, implementation, and impact. Each sponsor has specific guidelines for this portion of the proposal, including page limitations that must be followed. Common sections in theProject Plans are:

• Introduction
• Specific Aims/Objectives
• Background
• Research Strategy/Description
• Methods/Plan of Work
• Timeline

There are any resources that provide information on how to apply for funding through government agencies and private foundations. The University of Arizona Research Gateway Application Guides webpage provides links to many of the resources:

Biosketches

Budget and Budget Justification

Bibliography/Literature Cited

The literature cited in the proposal should support the research. All references cited in the proposal should be included in the bibliography. It shows the sponsor that the principal investigator is familiar with the literature and is an important tool for the reviewers when assessing the proposal. Formats for citations and bibliographies can vary from sponsor to sponsor. The GCU library has many resources that can assist with the literature search.

Facilities and Resources

Many sponsors require information on the resources available for use on the proposed project. This section should describe space, instrumentation, and other services available. The facilities that will be used (laboratory, office, animal, computer, clinical, etc.) and their capacity, capabilities, proximity and availability are described in the section. Discuss ways in which the proposed studies will benefit from the unique features of the available resources and/or subject populations. Describe only those resources that are applicable to the proposed project.

The sponsor uses this information to assess the capability of the resources available to perform the proposed work.

Other Documentation

Sponsors may require other information, such as Data Management and Sharing Plans, Current and Pending Support, and Compliance documentation. The sponsor’s guidelines and instructions will specify the what information is needed and the required format.