Proposal Writing Guidance

The resources below provide tips and recommendations on proposal writing and developing supplementary documents. For additional assistance with developing your proposal, please contact the Office of Research.

• NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures (PAPPG) Applies to all proposals submitted after October 4, 2021.
• NSF Grants.gov Application Guide
• NIH Grant Application Guide

• Foundation Center's Proposal Writing: The short Course
• SSRC Art of Proposal Writing
• Grantmaking at ED: Answers to Your Questions About the Discretionary Grants Process
• NSF Broader Impacts The Broader Impacts section must be specific to the proposed research effort. NSF has published a webpage and a “perspectives” document highlighting broader impacts. Remember to budget for any specific activities included in your broader impacts statement.

• Example Proposal Preparation Schedule
• Cleveland State University Overview
• Demographic Information - Cleveland State University Book of Trends
• SPRS Fact Sheet – University facts, fringe rates, and more
• Resources and Facilities
• Data Sharing and Management Plan Guidance, Templates, and Examples
• Data Security Plan Template
• NIH Biosketch Template, Instructions, and Samples
• NSF Biosketch Template (see new instructions). Additionally, NIH offers the ScienCV online tool to assist with creating a biographical sketch formatted for NIH or NSF.
• NSF Current and Pending Support (see new instructions)