Preparation of any contract or grant proposal can be a challenging undertaking and usually involves several individuals working closely together to meet the proposal deadlines. Becoming familiar with the proposal process will help ensure successful submission of a proposal. The information in this life cycle stage outlines recommended steps for the preparation and submission of a proposal at MSU. In addition, OSP has created a Proposal Checklist that provides guidance on the steps of proposal creation and submission. We encourage using this checklist when working through the proposal development and submission stage.
Proposals with direct funding from a for-profit entity (and no governmental prime funding) are administered by Business Connect. All other proposals are administered by the Office of Sponsored Programs.
For more information regarding MSU's business policies related to sponsored projects, fee-for-service and gifts, see §315 of the MSU Business Procedures at ctlr.msu.edu/combp/mbp315EBS.aspx
For additional information and resources for international sponsored projects, click here.
Proposals must meet both MSU and sponsor eligibility requirements in order to be approved for submission. The Eligibility webpage provides guidance on who is eligible to submit a proposal as a Principal Investigator at MSU, as well as sponsor eligibility limitations (e.g. institutionally limited proposals).
To help ensure timely review and equitable processing of sponsored projects proposals, visit the MSU Proposal Submission Deadline Policy webpage. The OSP Proposal Timeline graphic has been created to help visualize the step-by-step activities leading up to the submission.
Proposal Development documents are e-Docs that are part of the Kuali Research (KR) Proposal Development module and provide detailed technical and business information pertaining to a proposed project that is presented to potential outside sponsor organizations, either unsolicited or in response to a specific funding announcement. This page provides an overview of the Proposal Development document as well as specifics on how the form is completed.
Each proposal is unique with different requirements specific to the solicitation or sponsor, however some commonalities exist. Go to the Develop Your Proposal webpage for a general overview of how to develop components of a proposal.
A proposal budget reflects the Principal Investigator's best estimate of the costs for conducting the project within a defined time period. The Develop Budget page provides guidelines for developing a proposal budget.
The scope of work for your proposal may trigger regulatory requirements such as: human subjects, animal subjects, stem cells, export control, or Conflict of Interest. Find additional information related to regulatory requirements at the proposal stage on this page.
Who, how and when a proposal gets submitted depends on the sponsor and solicitation. Learn more about the proposal submission process at MSU.
