Research Development

The U-M Proposal Writing Guide is a step-by-step guide to writing each section of a proposal for a sponsored activity, such as a research project or a curriculum development program.

The Plain Language Medical Dictionary is a web-based tool developed by the Taubman Health Sciences Library containing over 1,000 medical terms. Search by typing in a specific medical term, browse all terms, or sort alphabetically.

The Research Development Team in the UMMS Grant Services & Analysis office are pleased to offer free grant editing support to medical school faculty who are submitting applications to federal and foundation funding agencies.

As a program with limited capacity, we concentrate on the following prioritized grant categories:

• NIH R01, R01-equivalent and large-scale proposals (e.g., P and U series, DP1, DP2, DP5, R37, R56, RF1, RL1 and R35 applications)

• Other NIH research grants (e.g., R03, R21)

• Junior faculty career awards (e.g., K grants)

• Grants in other categories (if possible)

What We Offer:

• Grant editing on near/final drafts including
• Correcting spelling, word usage, grammar, and punctuation
• Cross-checking text with tables and figures for correct association
• Suggesting textual changes for clarity and concision
• Ensuring style consistency
• Suggestions regarding organization and structure
• Feedback and identification of logic gaps

How are these services requested?

Please submit an intake form . We will follow up with availability and additional questions regarding your service request.

When do I need to submit my request?

For NIH R01, R01-equivalent and other proposals: We encourage you to submit your request for services at least 3 weeks in advance of your funding agency deadline.

For NIH Large-Scale Proposals: We encourage you to submit your request for services at least 8 weeks in advance of your funding agency deadline.

What we deliver:

• Within one week after submitting your proposal you will receive an edited Word document with tracked changes and comments.
• Please note: Larger grants (e.g., P and U grants) require additional time and will take longer than one week to return.

If you would like to request grant editing support, please fill out an intake form. Please note: In general, a request for grant proposal editing cannot be accommodated within 10 days of the agency deadline. Please direct any questions to [email protected]. Please refer to this link for more information on our expanded services and policies. Service policies

Provides no-cost services and consultation to assist investigators in designing, writing, and submitting external grant proposals. Visit the MICHR website to get started.

The Medical School Office of Research has developed lists of individuals available for freelance work who can assist with various types of writing, editing, graphics design and medical illustrations needed to advance grant proposals, manuscripts, IRB applications, dissertations, etc.  

Please refer to the individual's description for more information about their experience. If interested, please contact them directly to negotiate the work statement and payment arrangements.   

Note: If you hire a University of Michigan employee to do freelance work, please refer to: U-M Standard Practice Guide 201.85 – Non-Appointment Related University Compensation. In accordance with U-M Procurement Services, a University of Michigan P-Card should not be used for payments of this nature, and any agreement should be signed by Procurement Services, not the individual unit. Please refer to the U-M Procurement Services website for additional information.

Questions about this list can be directed to [email protected].

Freelance Editors

Freelance Graphics Specialists

The UMMS Large Team Grant Core has compiled a list of resources to assist Medical School faculty and support staff who are building interdisciplinary research teams and pursuing large team grant (LTG) proposals. If you have additional resources to help the Medical School research community navigate LTG proposal support at U-M, please email us at [email protected]. Click on the image below to navigate LTG resources at UMMS and beyond.

The UMMS Large Team Grant Core created a Medical School Large Team Grant Resources library to assist Medical School faculty and support staff who are developing and submitting large team grant (LTG) proposals. The resource library introduces what is required to lead and submit an LTG and provides tailored planning and writing resources, guidance, and templates.

The Large Team Grant (LTG) Core in UMMS Grant Services & Analysis provides proposal development assistance for Large-Scale Proposals (i.e., proposals with multiple projects and cores, typically with direct costs ≥ $1 million/year). We recognize that LTGs require additional support, so our LTG Core staff members can provide project management services and proposal expertise to enhance the competitiveness of complex proposals. LTG specialists coordinate large-scale proposal submissions in collaboration with the Principal Investigator (PI) and their Research Administrator(s). This free service is available to Medical School faculty serving as the lead PI on a complex, large-scale grant proposal on a first come, first served basis. Medical School PIs who are interested in this service must fill out and submit an intake form.

Details:

The sooner LTG teams contact us, the more effectively we can assist them. Ideally, we would like to start working with your team at least 6-9 months before the agency deadline. After filling out an intake form, we will follow up by scheduling a Zoom meeting to discuss availability and additional questions regarding your service request. Please refer to this link for a more detailed list of large-scale grant services. If only grant proposal editing services are desired, please request services at least eight weeks in advance of the agency deadline. 

Finally, if an LTG Research Team cannot meet the deadlines established in collaboration with the LTG Core, we reserve the right to reschedule or cancel support to assist other faculty.

Team Planning & Management 

• Interpret funding announcements 
• Develop a project plan including timelines and checklists
• Facilitate and coordinate project tasks and team communication
• Manage team meetings with the PI
• Establish and maintain a document storage system

Proposal Development

• Distribute LTG templates, samples, and boilerplates of proposal documents
• Develop tailored research plan templates
• Assist with developing and reviewing non-technical sections of proposals
• Review the grant for consistency, integration, and synergy across all components
• Grant proposal editing services are provided by the GS&A editor 

In addition to the services described above, we have created a Medical School Large Team Grant Resources library. The resource library introduces what is required to lead and submit a large team grant and provides tailored planning and writing resources, guidance, and templates. Questions? Contact us at [email protected]. 

During this time of restricted financial resources, describing the wide range of institutional resources available at the University of Michigan will help demonstrate to your sponsor the ready-for-success environment for your study.  Financial cost sharing is not typically an option, but conveying the depth of support already available to you can equally convince peer reviewers that your study has all the integral components to be a complete success.

When composing sections of your grant proposal, be sure to highlight the scientific environment and institutional investment at U-M that will contribute to the success of your research. Your sponsor will consider environment as part of their evaluation of your grant proposal, so be sure to give as much detail as possible about the available institutional resources that are relevant to your research. For example, at the NIH reviewers are asked to consider the following criteria:

1. Will the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success?
2. Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the project proposed?
3. Will the project benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, subject populations, or collaborative arrangements?

In each of the following sections of a proposal, you may wish to address the specific concepts below.

Consider adding comments on:

• The physical location of your co-investigators/collaborators. Describe...
  • The physical proximity to the study site
  • Videoconferencing capabilities that facilitate interaction among members of the research team
• The attendees of lab meetings if they are externally-funded investigators not formally named in your specific research study, but who complement your research or provide intellectual support.
• Any unique opportunities, programs or cores provided by your department or the university that may set you apart from other applicants.

For instance, the University of Michigan is a resource-rich scientific environment that has invested in research infrastructure and support to enhance your science and ensure your success. Below are some facilities and resources that may be relevant to highlight in your grant proposal:

• Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BCRF) is a collection of centralized facilities or labs which offer shared services, shared equipment, resources and expertise to biomedical researchers and investigators on a fee-for-service basis. The BCRF has 12 cores, including DNA Sequencing, Flow Cytometry, Epigenomics, Bioinformatics and more.
• Central Biorepository (CBR) facilitates discovery and improves healthcare outcomes by providing high-quality, highly annotated biospecimens donated for basic, clinical and translational research.
• Fast Forward Medical Innovation helps U-M Medical School’s biomedical researchers with innovation and commercialization of medical treatments. FFMI’s resources include commercialization education and training, funding and mentorship, investments in biomedical startup companies, and business development.
• MICHR, U-M’s NIH-funded CTSA program, is a central resource providing facilities and support for clinical and translational research including project management, regulatory assistance, data management, statistical support, participant recruitment and other study-related activities.
• There are several options for statistical resources to implement and execute your research proposal, including:
  • MICHR Biostatistics services
  • Consulting for Statistics, Computing & Analytics Research (CSCAR)
  • The Center for Cancer Biostatistics
  • Statistical Analysis of Biomedical and Educational Research (SABER)
     

It may make a difference to highlight the accessibility to equipment that is not common in most labs. Do you have a shared item that is essential to your project and is available to you on demand? Is there a piece of equipment that is important to your success and is already provided at no cost for its use, or do you get subsidized rates?

• Be sure to list major items of equipment already available for your project, including reference to non-standard equipment that is available at cores throughout the university. For a comprehensive directory of university-wide research core services including a catalog of equipment available, please visit the University of Michigan Research Cores website.
• Where appropriate, identify the equipment's location and pertinent capabilities.

Keep in mind that research investigators may need to report Other Support/Pending Support to funding agencies. This provides additional opportunities to highlight research environments that will help convey a culture of success. If Other Support is required in the submission, use it as another place to highlight access to support the research.

Some sponsors require details of all financial and non-financial resources to which a faculty member may have direct (or indirect) access.  This may include descriptions of access to resources through material transfer or data use agreements; research-related grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements (regardless of whether the award is at U-M); or affiliations to other institutions through other non-U-M appointments/positions.   All of these may open doors and opportunity to resources provided by non-U-M entities that are not freely available to other researchers (e.g., laboratory equipment, research materials, lab personnel, etc.)

The NIH requires extensive detail for Other Support.  The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) offers clarification and guidance. See Disclosure of Other Support below for additional information.

Consider including letters of support from the chair, a close mentor, colleagues or the Chief Scientific Officer (for large scale projects) that convey the structural support that U-M will provide for your study.  More importantly, obtaining enthusiastic letters of support from leadership in the organizations or communities necessary to conduct your study is a particularly strategic approach, especially if the groups provide assistance or access to something that you wouldn’t typically have for your research (e.g., laboratory equipment to run samples, availability of a specific patient population, etc.)  However, don’t overdo it– it is important to keep the letters focused on executing your research aims so that reviewers aren’t overwhelmed; use them to demonstrate you have leadership and collegial support in your unit as well as relevant organizations and communities within the envelope of support around you.

AI Letter of Support Writer

Additional Medical School Office of Research Units work to contribute resources to the success of your research. The Grant Services & Analysis unit provides materials for developing the Facilities and Other Resources element for your grant application, including information on requirements and resource profile templates.

Consult with the Cores to help establish the scope and budget of your project, coordinate funding applications, and for investigator-focused training opportunities.

Facility & Resource Profile Templates - These boilerplate descriptions are meant to be adapted by the user to fit his or her needs, e.g., writing grant proposal resource sections, marketing, recruiting.

Requesting Letters of Support/Commitment - Strengthen your proposal by requesting a letter of support or a letter of commitment for cost sharing from the leadership of Michigan Medicine or the Medical School.

Budgeting Research Proposals - A list of common components in proposal budgets, including information about Budgeting and Justifications, Full Cost Budgeting, and Facility & Administrative Costs (F&A or Indirect Costs).

Budget Templates - View a variety of budget templates, including embedded formulas in editable Excel spreadsheet(s).

NIH Requirements for My Bibliography and eRA Commons - A video and slide presentation created by the U-M Office of Research and Sponsored Projects related to the NIH Public Access Policy.

NIH Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources - An overview of NIH's required Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources proposal documentation.

• "Inserting Graphics into Grant Applications & Other Word Documents" (PDF) – This document offers instruction on the efficient and proper placement of images, charts, and graphics into grant proposal applications. Basic features in Microsoft Word such as image placement, captioning, and text wrapping are explained. Workshops on this topic are offered through the Taubman Health Sciences Library, and you can view a video of the workshop. Contact Merle Rosenzweig for information on upcoming workshops.
• NIH Public Access Policy and Uploading Articles to the Manuscript Submission System - This video focuses on learning how to use the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS) and My Bibliography for NIH Progress Reports.
• NIH Peer Review Revealed - This video from the NIH provides a front-row seat to a NIH peer review meeting. Real scientists from the scientific community review fictional but realistic grant applications for scientific merit.