Proposal Development

All grant proposals and funding applications, including pre-proposals, supplemental funding requests, and grant award revisions must be processed through ORSP. Our office is committed to helping all Merrimack principal investigators prepare and submit successful proposals. We are responsible for reviewing sponsor guidelines and submission requirements, reviewing budgets and budget justifications to ensure the proposal submission is following College policy and best practice, ensuring accuracy and adherence to sponsor and university policies, reviewing format and basic content, confirming that all internal approvals are in place prior to submission, and submitting proposals.

Step 1: Initiate Proposal

Submit the Intent to Propose form, designed to quickly and easily inform ORSP staff that you are interested in submitting a grant proposal. Please submit this form as early as possible in the process.

Step 2: Complete Pre-Submission Requirements

The following steps will be conducted in collaboration with ORSP:

Carefully review the Request for Proposals (RFP), a government Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), funder solicitation, or sponsor website for formatting and submission requirements, and necessary proposal elements, which may include:

• Narrative
• Detailed budget
• Logic model
• Biosketch and Other Support page

Plan ahead for proposal elements that may require special attention, such as:

• Subcontract documentation
• Signed letters of support from the institution and/or partner organizations
• Data management and sharing plans
• Intellectual property and compliance

Determine if there is a pre-proposal requirement, often called a Letter of Inquiry (LOI), Intent to Apply, Concept Paper, etc. Typically, the purpose of a pre-proposal is to inform and catch the interest of a potential sponsor so that the sponsor then requests a formal proposal including full technical and budget information. 

Create a timeline with internal and external deadlines and roles and responsibilities clearly delineated. 

Develop your budget, which generally includes two basic categories of costs: direct costs (e.g.,  salaries, fringe benefits, consultants, equipment, materials and supplies, and travel) and facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, also known as indirect costs. Many funders will have their own templates or required budget formatting, however, you will want to initially develop your budget using the ORSP Proposal Budget Template and Budget Narrative Template. It’s important to consider the following items when developing your budget:

• Federal policies, including the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
• Sponsor policies, such as the NIH Grants Policy Statement or the NSF Grant Proposal Guide
• Merrimack College current F&A Rate Agreement
  • Note: Foundations will often have a cap on allowable indirect costs. 
• RFP, FOA, or solicitation guidelines
• Project scope of work

Write the narrative, which will typically include several of the following elements depending on the funder requirements:

• Organizational and project descriptions
• Research aims
• Need statement
• Work plan and/or timeline
• Impact assessment and evaluation 
• Sustainability and dissemination plans

General Instructions for Preparing & Submitting Applications to NIH and Other PHS Agencies.

Step 3: Finalize Proposal Elements

Merrimack College has a dedicated Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), who is responsible for obtaining institutional approval, and reviewing and submitting all proposals on behalf of Merrimack College. ORSP requires a minimum of 7 business days prior to the submission due date to review and edit any proposal documentation required by the sponsor/funder, and to attain the required approvals. As such, please complete and submit the Proposal Routing Form (PRF) at least 7 days before the sponsor/funder submission deadline with the following proposal documentation:

• Proposal narrative draft with funder/sponsor formatting applied 
• ORSP Proposal budget spreadsheet 
• Proposal budget justification
• Project abstract, if required
• Subrecipient documentation (if applicable)

For all grant submissions, the PRF will be routed internally for approval with signatures required from the PI, their Dean, Co-PIs, ORSP leadership, and the AOR. Department Chairs and Deans of Administration and Finance are copied. 

Once the PRF (with all of the respective signatures) is completed, the proposal may be submitted. The signatures on this form constitute the institutional approval needed for all proposals. Be sure to send the final science and finalized versions of all required proposal materials to ORSP for submission at least 2 to 3 business days prior to the submission deadline, whenever possible.