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Given ideal context and circumstances, it generally
takes about three months to move from an idea to a competitive proposal.
Then, depending on the agency, it could take from three to six months,
a year, or longer to when you receive funding, although notices of rejection
usually come much sooner. While it is difficult to bear, the longer you
do not hear about the outcome of a pending application, the more likely
it will be funded.
Providing sufficient time to consider all the
details and identify all the costs and potential outcomes of your project,
permits you to involve others in the project and to complete through literature
reviews and preliminary data collection to justify your methodology, and
enables you to seek advice and support in the preparation and refinement
of both the project and the proposal. The development steps leading to
a winning proposal can be summarized as:
Development of your basic idea and brief program
outline define key elements like goals/outcomes, methodologies, audience
and expense categories.
Identification and analysis of potential funding
opportunities.
Contacting a grant program officer to discuss
their program, your idea/program and to clarify issues relevant to your
project and their ultimate funding goals and review criteria.
Solidification of idea and program and collection
of supporting background data, literature citations and cost estimates.
Preparation of initial draft narrative and budget.
Reading of draft by friends and colleagues knowledgeable
in your field and by someone knowledgeable about the grant program or
funding agency, or who has been a successful grant writer.
Preparation of second draft narrative and budget
for use in obtaining endorsements from departments or outside agencies
involved in or affected by the project, from your Department Chair or
Director, Dean or Assistant Vice President, and from either the IRB or
IACUC committees.
Preparation of final draft, collection of support
or appendix materials, and preparation of all forms for delivery to the
WPUNJ Office of Sponsored Programs for final review by Business Services
and the Provost's Office and for obtaining authorizing signatures.
Preparation of proposal package for submission
to the funder in coordination with the Office of Sponsored Programs; the
OSP photocopies the proposal, prepares the package, and arranges for delivery.
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