Proposal Preparation Resources

Developing a grant proposal can be challenging, especially if lacking experience with the funding mechanism of interest. Below are proposal guidance documents for common funding mechanisms at federal agencies where MTSU has had grant success previously. These documents are meant to provide an overview of the purpose of the funding mechanism and brief descriptions of the documents required. For complete guidelines, faculty should always consult the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the desired funding mechanism.

Researchers within CBAS with questions about developing a grant proposal should reach out to the Associate Dean for Research, who can assist directly or connect faculty with colleagues who have been successful with the agency and funding mechanism of interest.

General Documents

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Guidance Documents

NIH R01: Large funding mechanism for independent health-related research projects that focus on the missions of individual institutes within the NIH.

NIH R03: Small Research Grant Program providing limited levels of funding for discrete, well-defined research plans including pilot/feasibility studies, small research projects, or the development of new research methods or technology.

NIH R15: Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) emphasizes providing biomedical research experiences for primarily undergraduate students and enhancing the research environment at institutions that do not receive substantial funding (less than $6 million/year) from the NIH. 

NIH R16 SuRE: The purpose of SuRE awards is to provide research grant support for faculty investigators at resource-limited institutions (less than $6 million/year) who are not currently funded by any NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) with the exception of SuRE or SuRE-First awards, to furnish students with high-quality undergraduate and/or graduate research experiences and to enhance the institutional scientific research culture. Faculty who do not currently have NIH funding may apply for SuRE. 

NIH R16 SuRE-First: The purpose of SuRE awards is to provide research grant support for faculty investigators at resource-limited institutions (less than $6 million/year) who are not currently funded by any NIH Research Project Grants (RPGs) with the exception of SuRE or SuRE-First awards, to furnish students with high-quality undergraduate and/or graduate research experiences and to enhance the institutional scientific research culture. Faculty who have never received an externally funded research grant may apply for SuRE-First.

NIH R21: Exploratory/Developmental Grant provides funding for high-risk, high-reward projects that may lead to breakthrough discoveries with major impact in areas of interest to the NIH. 

National Science Foundation (NSF) Guidance Documents

NSF CAREER: The CAREER grant supports early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. This is considered NSF’s most prestigious award and only tenure-track (untenured) assistant professors are eligible. 

NSF REU: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) awards support intensive research by undergraduate students in any NSF-funded area of research. REU sites engage a cohort of students in research projects related to a theme.

NSF MRI: The NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant mechanism funds the development or acquisition of multi-user research instruments that are critical to the advancement of science and engineering. 

NSF IUSE: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) awards support projects to improve STEM teaching and learning for undergraduate students, including studying what works and for whom and how to transform institutions to adopt successful practices in STEM education.

NSF LEAP-MPS: Launching of Early-Career Academic Pathways in the Mathematical and Physical Sciences (LEAPS-MPS) supports the launch of the careers of pre-tenure faculty whose research is in Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) fields at institutions that do not traditionally receive significant amounts of MPS funding. Principal Investigators must hold a doctorate in a discipline supported by the Directorate of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, have a tenure-track faculty appointment, and have not served as PI or Co-PI on an NSF research award previously.