The Office of Proposal Development’s mission is to increase UNL faculty and staff success in securing external funding for research, scholarship and creative activity. We collaborate with individual proposers, small teams and large teams on any externally sponsored UNL-led proposal. We encourage interested proposers to contact us as early as possible so we can tailor our services to best serve their needs.
Office of Proposal Development Services
| Tier I Quick turnaround, single line edit | Tier II Strategic guidance and detailed narrative feedback | Tier III Comprehensive proposal development assistance | Tier IV Comprehensive support for large multi-institutional and/or center-scale proposals | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Consultation Meet with proposers to discuss needs, define roles and responsibilities and establish expectations. | (Required) | (Required) | (Required) | |
| Proposal Outline and Checklist Create checklists of required components, narrative outlines and document templates (e.g., letters, biographical sketches). | ||||
| Proposal Development Timeline Work with proposers to set key strategic milestones for the proposal development process. | ||||
| Research Impacts Consultation Connect with experts to develop research impacts activities and bolster research impacts communication in proposal narratives. | ||||
| Program Officer Engagement Support proposers in maximizing meetings with funding agency representatives. | ||||
| Narrative Editing Review and edit grant proposals to meet sponsor guidelines and improve proposal narrative competitiveness. | (1 round) | (2 rounds) | (Up to 3 rounds) | (Up to 3 rounds) |
| Ancillary Document Review Edit ancillary documents (e.g., facilities documents, data management plans) to ensure they comply with sponsor guidelines. | ||||
| Expert External Review Arrange for subject matter feedback on a draft proposal prior to submission. Allow a minimum of six weeks for completion. | ||||
| Customized Proposal Management Provide proposal-related project management (e.g., personnel document collection and review, team coordination). | ||||
| Red Team Review Convene a group with relevant expertise to provide comprehensive, critical feedback on a draft proposal. |
How to Get Started
For proposal narrative assistance
Contact:
To maximize the availability of services associated with each tier, reach out as early as possible. We’re happy to have an initial consultation to explore how we can best collaborate, even if the solicitation has not yet been released.
For proposal budget, routing and submission assistance
Contact:
- Pre-award grant professionals in your department, college and/or center
- Your Office of Sponsored Programs pre-award coordinator
- Your IANR Business Center (for IANR faculty submitting USDA proposals)
Working with these pre-award grant coordinators is required for proposal submission.
Other Supports
The Office of Proposal Development can facilitate connections with other UNL proposal development and grants management services. Contacts are listed below, or let us know if you would like us to connect you.
| For assistance with | Contact |
|---|---|
| Data management plan | Data Services Librarian, UNL Libraries |
| Evaluation and assessment | Methodology and Evaluation Research Core Facility Contact Office of Proposal Development staff for referrals to evaluators external to UNL |
| Industry partners | Industry Relations, UNL R&I |
| IRB and IACUC approval | Research Responsibility, UNL R&I |
| Patent search and licensing | NUtech Ventures, UNL R&I |
| Research impact plans and partners | Jocelyn Bosley, research impact coordinator, UNL R&I |
