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MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
College of Natural Science

Proposals

Unlock funding opportunities and advance your research with our comprehensive grant writing support. From identifying potential funding sources to crafting compelling proposals, we're here to guide you through every stage of the grant application process.

The Basics

What every MSU faculty member needs to know when beginning a grant proposal.

Suggested Timeline for Proposal Development

10 - 12 weeks before deadline

  1. Contact the NatSci Office of Research Support
    • Complete the NatSci ORS New Proposal Request Form
    • Provide solicitation number or link (RFA, RFP, BAA, etc.)
    • Determine grant submission timeline
    • Identify potential internal reviewers
  2. Identify Potential Issues
    • Registration requirements for funding agency, on-line submission (see items below).
    • Financial Conflict of Interest Disclosure
    • Patent, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Publication Restrictions, Ownership of data, deliverables (Contact OSP or MSU Business Connect for these items).
    • Export Control Certifications
    • Regulatory Affairs: Human subjects, Vertebrate animal, Human Blood/ materials/fluids, Radioisotopes, Recombinant DNA, Pathogens/biohazards, Hazardous/regulated chemicals
    • Required Cost share, Match or other University Commitments (Work with your chair to initiate request to NatSci associate dean)
    • Space: On campus or off campus space, renovations or alterations
    • Indirect Cost (Overhead, F&A) limitations
    • Office of International Development
    • Limited Submission
    • Specific Data Requirements (Training grants)

6 - 10 weeks before deadline

  • Contact colleagues
  • Assign and draft various parts of proposal
  • Address potential issues

4 - 6 weeks before deadline

  • Seek input from internal reviewers
  • Follow up and resolve issues
  • Collect required documents and information
  • Begin drafting budget & justification

2 - 4 weeks before deadline

  • Time to finalize and assemble the proposal
  • Route Kuali Coeus Proposal Development Document

1 week before deadline

  • Proposal is submitted to NatSci Office of Research Support. We submit it to OSP for review and submission

Funding Agencies

  • Grants.gov - Registration is not required as it is completed at the university level. 
  • Research.gov/Fastlane/NSF – Registration is needed, contact ORS or NSF@osp.msu.edu
  • NIH – You must be set up with an eRA Commons account, user name and password. Contact ORS or nih@osp.msu.edu

College of Natural Science

Grant submission requirement for fixed-term specialists and postdoctoral research associates at the College of Natural Science

Grant and contracts are awarded to the university, not to the applicants who prepare these applications.

As such, the university has a responsibility to ensure that funds awarded are expended as required by the granting organization for the purposes outlined in the application in accordance with the provision of the application and funding organization and in abeyance of all federal and state regulations.

Therefore, before a fixed-term specialist or postdoctoral research associate can be allowed to submit a grant proposal as PI or CoPI, they will be required to submit a signed letter of support from their departmental chairman or program director that specifically guarantees that the applicant's unit will extend the applicant's appointment to correspond to the length of the granting period and guarantee the applicant access to the space, equipment, network and accounting resources needed to complete the proposed research projects.

The department and/or program must also guarantee that it will ensure that all obligations to the funding source, including budget and reporting are completed and returned in a timely manner.

Proposal Budgets

Elements of Direct Costs

Elements of Indirect Costs

(57% for start dates beginning 7/1/23)

  • Negotiated with the federal government
  • Supports the university infrastructure
  • Reduced rates must be justified (provide documentation from funding agency)
  • Total Direct Cost (TDC) vs Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC):
    MTDC = TDC less equipment, participant support, tuition and fees and subcontract over the first $25,000

Budget Justification

The amounts requested for each budget line item should be documented and justified in the Budget Justification.

Pre-Award Grant Policy for Applications Submitted through the College of Natural Science Office of Research Support

To enable the NatSci Office of Research Support (ORS) to successfully submit grant applications, the following requirements have been put in place for all applications.

Full final proposals must be submitted to the Nat Sci ORS by 8:00 AM three working days before the agency deadline.

  • For example, for an agency deadline of Wednesday, the final proposal would need to be submitted in full to the Nat Sci ORS by 8:00 AM Monday.
  • Working days are defined as days for which MSU is open for business, even if school in not in session.  An example of which is spring break. Working days do not include weekends or holidays when the university is closed.

Nat Sci will not approve the submission of any application not meeting the 3-day deadline and, thus, OSP will not sign or submit these applications, except as noted below:

  1. A written exception from the granting agency stating the application can be submitted at least 1 day after the agency due date.
  2. Requests for proposals that are released to the public less than 30 working days (6 weeks) or less before the agency due date, or proposals for which the applicant has received a written request from the granting agency to submit a proposal less than 30 working days before the agency due date (a dated RFP or written record of communication is required).

No NatSci approvals will be granted for an application submission unless the full, complete application is submitted to the Nat Sci grant office by 8:00 AM three working days before the agency deadline. A complete application has no components missing, including all sub-awards and documents from other institutions. Please alert your collaborators to this requirement so they can provide needed material before the deadline.

Contact the Nat Sci Office of Research Support several months before the agency due date to confirm the last day that complete applications will be accepted for submission to the granting agency. Please plan carefully and work well ahead of time. No exceptions will be made except those listed above.

NatSci Internal Proposal Deadlines Effective July 1, 2017

10 working days before application deadline

NatSci ORS will contact Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to alert them of upcoming grant submission.

6 working days before application deadline

NatSci ORS will finalize budget with the PI and submit it to OSP for approval.

5 working days before grant deadline

Deadline for contacting the NatSci Office of Research Support - NatSci ORS will not process any application for individuals who have not contacted this office at least 5 working days before application deadline. 

3 working days before deadline

NatSci ORS will forward final application to OSP for submission to funding agency.

Suggested Timeline for Proposal Development

10 - 12 weeks before deadline

  1. Contact the NatSci Office of Research Support by completing a New Proposal Request Form.
  2. Provide solicitation number or link (RFA, RFP, BAA, etc.)
  3. Determine grant submission timeline
  4. Identify potential internal reviewers
  5. Identify Potential Issues
    1. Registration requirements for funding agency, on-line submission (see items below).
    2. Financial Conflict of Interest Disclosure
    3. Patent, Copyright, Intellectual Property, Publication Restrictions, Ownership of data, deliverables (Contact OSP or MSU Business Connect for these items).
    4. Export Control Certifications
    5. Regulatory Affairs: Human subjects, Vertebrate animal, Human Blood/ materials/fluids, Radioisotopes, Recombinant DNA, Pathogens/biohazards, Hazardous/regulated chemicals
    6. Required Cost share, Match or other University Commitments (Work with your chair to initiate request to NatSci associate dean)
    7. Space: On campus or off campus space, renovations or alterations
    8. Indirect Cost (Overhead, F&A) limitations
    9. Office of International Development
    10. Limited Submission
    11. Specific Data Requirements (Training grants)

6 - 10 weeks before deadline

  1. Contact colleagues
  2. Assign and draft various parts of proposal
  3. Address potential issues

4 - 6 weeks before deadline

  1. Seek input from internal reviewers
  2. Follow up and resolve issues
  3. Collect required documents and information
  4. Begin drafting budget & justification

2 - 4 weeks before deadline

  1. Time to finalize and assemble the proposal
  2. Route KC Proposal Development Document

NatSci sponsors several workshops throughout the year for faculty. Contact us for details on the next workshop.

Office of the Vice-President for Research and Graduate Studies (VPRI)

Research-Related Events

VPRI Research-related Training and Resources

VPRI Proposal Services

To utilize the Grant Submission Assistance services offered by the Office of the VPRI, NatSci faculty must first complete the request form available here.  Once completed, the form should be emailed to the NatSci Associate Dean for Research, Dr. Eric Hegg (erichegg@msu.edu) and Dr. Cheryl Sisk, Associate Dean for Faculty Development (sisk@msu.edu).