Analyzing the RFP

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Analyzing the RFP Its Role in Proposal
Development

• By Mike Cronan Lucy Deckard
• Office of Proposal Development
• Office of Research Graduate Studies
• Texas AM University
• 305 J. K. Williams Administration Building
  (845-1811)
• http//opd.tamu.edu/

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OPD Presenters

• Mike Cronan, PE (inactive), Director, was named a
  Regents Fellow (2000-04) by the AM System Board
  of Regents for his leadership role in developing
  funded research and educational partnerships
  System-wide. He has 22 years of experience in the
  development and writing of successful research
  and educational proposals.
• B.S., Civil Engineering (Structures), University
  of Michigan, 1983
• B.A., Political Science, Michigan State
  University, 1968
• M.F.A., English, University of California,
  Irvine, 1972
• Registered Professional Engineer (Texas 063512,
  inactive)
• Lucy Deckard, Associate Director, leads OPD's new
  faculty and graduate fellowship initiative, and
  works on proposal development activities related
  to science and engineering. Ms. Deckard has 18
  years of experience working as a materials
  engineer, conducting applied research at both
  Lockheed Martin as well as at Hughes Research
  Labs.
• B.S., Materials Science, Rice University, 1981
• M.S., Materials Science and Engineering,
  Northwestern University, 1990

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Office of Proposal Development

• Supports faculty in the development and writing
  of research and educational proposals to federal
  agencies and foundations--
• Center-level initiatives,
• Interdisciplinary research teams,
• New junior faculty,
• Institutional diversity initiatives,
• Health Science Center collaborations,
• Multi-institutional research partnerships.
• Offers a full suite of grant writing training
  programs to help faculty develop and write more
  competitive proposals.

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OPD Member List

• Jean Ann Bowman, PhD (Physical Geography/Hydrology
  ), earth, ecological, environmental,
  jbowman_at_tamu.edu
• Libby Childress, Scheduling, workshop management,
  project coordination, libbyc_at_tamu.edu
• Mike Cronan, PE (inactive), BS (Civil/Structures),
  BA, MFA, Center-level proposals, research and
  educational partnerships, new proposal and
  training initiatives, mikecronan_at_tamu.edu
• Lucy Deckard, BS/MS (Materials Science
  Engineering), New faculty initiative,
  fellowships, engineering/ physical science
  proposals, equipment and instrumentation,
  centers, l-deckard_at_tamu.edu
• John Ivy, PhD (Molecular Biology), NIH biomedical
  and biological science initiatives,
  johnivy_at_tamu.edu
• Phyllis McBride, PhD (English), proposal writing
  training, biomedical, editing,
  p-mcbride_at_tamu.edu
• Robyn Pearson, BA, MA (Anthropology), social
  sciences and humanities proposals, editing and
  rewriting, centers, rlpearson_at_tamu.edu

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• There is no amount of grantsmanship that will
  turn a bad idea into a good one, but there are
  many ways to disguise a good one.
• William Raubformer Deputy Director, NIH

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Types of University Proposals

• Research (basic, applied, mission, applications,
  contract)
• Educational
• Hybrid research and education
• Small , few PIs
• Large , multiple PIs, centers
• Supplements to grants

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The Solicitation

• Known as a Request for Proposals (RFP), Program
  Announcement (PA), Request for Applications
  (RFA), or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA).
• One common starting point of the proposal writing
  process.
• Other starting points to the proposal process
  include investigator-initiated (unsolicited)
  proposals, or white (concept) papers common to
  the defense agencies.

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Unsolicited Proposals

• Program Description or Program Announcement
  instead of a solicitation
• More general statement of interests of funding
  agency or program
• Typically the main source of research funding for
  individual researchers funded by NSF (50), NIH
  (80), DoD
• Majority of external research funded by NSF and
  NIH result from unsolicited proposals
• Formatting guidelines often in a separate
  document
• NSF Grant Proposal Guide
• NIH SF424 Application Guide
• DoD long-term Broad Agency Announcements

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Unsolicited Proposals

• NSF
• Administered by disciplinary programs within
  directorate and division
• Typically due once or twice per year (sometimes
  due dates sometimes target dates or
  windows) 1 3 PIs
• Synopsis of research interests and abstracts of
  funded proposals on web site
• NIH
• Parent Announcements (for RO1, R03, etc.)
• Typically due twice per year
• DoD Agencies
• Long-term Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)
• Establish
• What entity (office, program, division) within
  the agency will fund research?
• What are their goals and interests?
• What have they funded in the past?

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What is a Solicitation?

• It is an invitation by a funding agency for
  applicants to submit requests for funding in
  research areas of interest to the agency.

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What is in the Solicitation?

• The key information you will need to develop and
  write a competitive proposal that is fully
  responsive to an agencys
• submission process,
• research objectives,
• review criteria, and
• budget requirements.

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What it is what it is not

• The RFP is a non-negotiable listing of
  performance expectations reflecting the goals and
  research objectives of the funding agency.
• The RFP is not a menu or smorgasbord offering the
  applicant a choice of addressing some topics but
  not others, depending on interest, or some review
  criteria but not others.

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No irrational exuberance!!

• Understand the RFP for what it isnot what you
  want it to be
• It is not a speculative investment
• Invest your time, resources, and energy wisely

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The RFP as Treasure Map

• Follow directions
• Review step by step
• Understand it
• Understood by all PIs
• Keep focused
• Dont wander off path
• Continuously calibrate ideas, objectives, and
  details to the RFP

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Map your expertise to the RFP

• Is it a fit?
• Is it really a fit?
• No partial fits allowed
• No wishful thinking
• Close doesnt count
• If you are not a fitdont submit!

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Relationship to Program Officer

• Never be hesitant about contacting a program
  officer for clarifications
• timidity is never rewarded in the competitive
  proposal process, but
• ambiguities are always punished!

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Reviewing the RFP

• Clarify ambiguities if unresolved--
• Get clarification from a program officer.
• Ambiguities need to be resolved prior to proposal
  writing so the proposal narrative maps to the
  guidelines with informed certainty.

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Never be Timid!
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The RFP as Reference Point

• It is used continuously throughout proposal
  development and writing as a reference point to
  ensure that an evolving proposal narrative fully
  addresses and accurately reflects the goals and
  objectives of the funding agency, including the
  review criteria.

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Role of RFP in Proposal Organization

• Use the RFP to develop the structure, order, and
  detail of the proposal narrative.
• Use the RFP as an organizational template during
  proposal development to help ensure every RFP
  requirement is addressed fully.

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Keep on Track

• Copy and paste the RFPs key sections, research
  objectives, and review criteria into the first
  draft of the proposal narrative
• The RFP then serves as an organizational template
  for the proposal and a reference point to ensure
  subsequent draft iterations of the narrative are
  continuously calibrated to the guidelines.

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RFP template ensures a proposal

• Fully responsive to all requested information,
• Written in the order requested,
• Provides the required detail,
• Integrates review criteria into the narrative,
  and
• Does not drift off topic or sequence.

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Address the Review Criteria in the RFP

• The description of review criteria is a key part
  of the RFP.
• A competitive proposal must clearly address each
  review criterion, and the proposal should be
  structured so that these discussions are easy for
  reviewers to find.
• Subject headings, graphics, bullets, and bolded
  statements using language similar to that used in
  the RFP can all be used to make the reviewers
  jobs easier.

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Read Material Referenced in RFP

• If the RFP refers or links to publications,
  reports, or workshops
• Read the referenced materials
• Understand how the references influenced the
  agencys vision of the program
• Cite those publications in the proposal as
  appropriate
• Demonstrate in the narrative you are fluent with
  the ideas underpinning the RFP.

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Well-Written Less Well-Written RFPs

• A well-written RFP states the funding agencys
  research objectives clearly.
• Not all RFPs are clearly written.
• Sometimes the funding agency may be unclear about
  specific research objectives, particularly in
  more exploratory research areas.
• Where there is ambiguity, keep asking questions
  of the program officer to clarify.

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Questions?