Proposal Support

The Engineering Research Office offers a range of free of cost proposal management, editing, and graphics design support services for faculty proposal submission.

In addition, we offer a project management service, which covers both pre-award and proposal execution phases. For more information on this service, visit our project management site.

Below are details on the pre-award proposal support services we offer. To see if your proposal qualifies and which service is best suited for your proposal development needs, please contact your Research Administrator (RA).

Proposal Management

For faculty pursuing strategic funding opportunities with a value greater than or equal to $1M: We offer a range of capabilities designed to lessen the burden of proposal development on the PI. Our Proposal Manager will work with the PI and the RA to develop and refine competitive submissions.

You can choose the level of proposal management that works best for your project and our services are free of cost. Here are some ways we can support your program:

  • Identify and assess proposal opportunities
  • Identify internal and external teaming partners
  • Develop a proposal schedule and manage task or writing assignments
  • Prepare a compliance matrix to track development of required sections
  • Draft proposal sections (e.g. Executive Summary, Management Plan, Data Management Plan, Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan, Biosketches, etc.)
  • Review, refine, and edit the technical proposal
  • Draft and coordinate letters (e.g., President’s Office, Directors, Dean, industry)
  • Coordinate graphics support
  • Conduct background research
  • Coordinate requests for ASU/FSE data points (e.g. numbers of students, diversity, graduation/retention rates, etc.)
  • Schedule content reviews and internal deadlines
  • Ensure the budget aligns with project goals/tasks
  • Review proposal against sponsor merit evaluation criteria
  • Interface with Research Advancement staff to ensure on-time review and submittal of proposal documents to ORSPA and sponsor
Editing

All grant proposals worth $1M or more and all Early Career/Young Investigator awards are eligible for editing support. You can request support by checking the relevant box in the Proposal Intake Form or by emailing Daniel Froid directly. This service includes editing for grammar, clarity, and logic; reviewing the document against solicitation guidelines; and editing letters of support and other supplementary documents (as time/availability permit). All submissions and edits are treated as confidential. 

Assistant professors also qualify for free editing of one journal publication per year. Contact Daniel Froid if interested.

Graphic Design Support

The following qualify for graphics support services:

  • All Early/Young Investigator solicitations 
  • Proposals for $1 million or more (for all faculty)

Check with a Research Advancement staff member to find out what levels of costs for graphics support services are covered.

Graphics support involves working with a graphic designer to create quality art and images of ideas and concepts to include in the proposal.

Please contact your Research Administrator (RA) to see if the grant you are applying for qualifies for these or other services. 

Letters of Support

Need a letter of support or commitment from Fulton Schools leadership? We can help. The VDRI office works with FSE leadership and Deans to secure letters of support and commitment for proposals to funding agencies.

Note: Requests must be received at least 10 days prior to the sponsor deadline.

Process

  1. Determine if a letter is required or recommended by the soliciting organization or funding agency.
  2. Identify who needs to sign your letter (e.g., Director, Vice Dean, Dean).
  3. Determine what the letter needs to illustrate (e.g., infrastructure support, cost sharing, goal alignment).
  4. Prepare a draft letter using this template.
  5. Send the draft letter (as a Word file), solicitation information (as a PDF), and any background documentation (e.g., cost-sharing approvals, facilities documents) to your Research Administrator (RA). Include a timeframe for when you need the letter returned.
  6. Your RA will contact the VDRI office. VDRI will review the letter and contact you with any clarifications or edits.
  7. Final drafts will be routed for signatures internally and returned upon completion.

To align with university procedure, Fulton Schools has modeled these processes on those put forth by Knowledge Enterprise’s Research Development team.