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Proposal Development Assistance

Multi-Investigator Proposal Assistance

The Division of Research Program Development (DRPD) provides proposal development assistance primarily for multi-investigator proposals. There is no charge to departments or colleges for our services.

Services Include

  • Identifying appropriate collaborators: Recommending potential UF-based faculty who may bring needed complementary expertise to the proposal
  • Grant coordination: Setting team meeting schedules, both virtual and in person; scheduling or facilitating online meetings; collecting information from co-PIs and other senior personnel such as biosketches or current & pending support documents; setting a writing schedule/timeline
  • Assistance with preparation of administrative (non-technical) sections of the proposal: Gathering background information or data; gathering and/or editing boilerplate information; writing additional boilerplate sections based on the PI’s plans; aggregating information such as conflict of interest lists from investigators’ biosketches
  • Graphics assistance: Providing clean flow charts or organization charts based on a PI’s ideas and plans; with additional lead time, provide access to a graphic designer to assist with more complex figures
  • Review and editing: Providing editorial-level reviews focusing on flow and compliance with the RFP; coordinating a scientific review provided by faculty experts; formatting and stylistic editing when requested

Services Not Provided (departmental and college grants staff and/or UF Proposals should be consulted for these items)

  • Budget assistance
  • Uploading documents to electronic submission platforms
  • Final submission to sponsor
  • Access to staff outside of regular business hours cannot be guaranteed

What to Expect

  • Scheduling of DRPD staff time is handled primarily on a first-come, first-served basis. If the full suite of services listed above is desired, DRPD must be contacted early in the planning process (2-3 months ahead of the sponsor deadline).
  • After initial contact to discuss grant coordination needs, DRPD staff will meet with the PI(s) to establish a grant writing timeline for submission and to develop a contract for service. View a checklist of potential services with typical timelines.
  • PIs should involve their departmental and college grants staff as they usually would. Since policies, especially regarding budgeting, can vary from unit to unit within the university, their expertise is crucial to building a successful proposal. For smoothest submission, introduce departmental and college grants staff to DRPD staff involved in the project via email, with a short description of the services requested from DRPD.
  • DRPD staff will attend any team meetings deemed appropriate by the PI(s), if available – virtual meetings, retreats, workshops, etc. – for planning purposes.

For more information or to request our services, contact Dr. Sobha Jaishankar at (352) 392-8247 or sjaishan@ufl.edu.

Boilerplate Text for Proposals

Templates and resources for writing common proposal elements.

University and College Profiles

Looking for information about specific UF research facilities or boilerplate text?

The following UF Resources and Boilerplate Text may be used as a basis for a UF profile, diversity statement, or college profiles. Please note that some sections require inputting current facts. We suggest tailoring these statements for your specific proposal using the resources provided below each statement.

Learn more

Proposal Writing

Writing resources, tips and guides for specific agencies, UF institutional facts and more.

General

Department of Defense

Environmental Protection Agency

National Institute for Health

National Science Foundation

UF Research Services & Resources 

UF research units, core facilities, labs and other resources.

UF Research Units

Core Facilities

Labs

Additional Research Services