Professional Development Training

CSoI Proposal Writing Module

The theme of this module is how to formulate and write a research proposal. Whether it is to be submitted to a federal agency or a foundation, similar steps or guidelines should be followed. Specifically, you will want to address certain basic information. These basics include:

  • Why are you doing this research?
  • What will you be doing?
  • How will you be doing it?
  • Who will be directly involved with the research project?
  • Where will the research be done?
  • What is the timeline for completion?
  • How much will it cost?

The exact format you will use to answer the above questions will depend on the requirements listed in the "Request for Proposal (RFP)", but a basic research proposal outline usually includes the following:

  • Title Page
  • Abstract/Project Summary
  • Table of Contents
  • Project Description
    • Introduction - including literature review and previous research
    • Problem Statement - hypothesis
    • Objectives
    • Methodology - data needs, analytical techniques, etc.
    • Personnel
    • Facilities
    • Evaluation Plan
  • Budget
  • References
  • Appendices

Completion of this Module consists of 3 parts:

  1. Take a CSoI-approved proposal writing workshop (will be listed below).
  2. Afterwards prepare a proposal for submission. Proposals can be submitted to RFPs within CSoI or any funding agency (e.g., NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program). Be sure to send a copy of your submitted proposal to the CSoI Diversity Director, along with a short summary of how you applied the information you learned from this module to your proposal.
  3. Act as a reviewer for a draft version of one of your colleague's proposals.

Proposal writing workshops at/near CSoI institutions:

  • TBA

Resources for Proposal Writing