Proposal Processes for
V. Process For
Limited Submission and Large Proposal Competition
Since
a. Early Letters of Intent
Researchers should submit a letter of intent to write an internal preproposal to their dean and their center director if applicable, and to the Vice President for Research (VPR). The VPR will provide the members of the internal review committee (Associate Deans for Research as well as Center Directors) with copies of the letters of intent. The purpose of such a letter is to avoid a situation in which two groups are preparing similar, yet competing proposals, as well as to assist in the inclusion of all components necessary for a competitive proposal. A suggestion to combine proposals may be the result of this step in the process. The intent at this stage will not be to choose between good proposals but to weed out those with fatal flaws, and to assist with the development of those with potential.
A deadline for letters of intent, as well as deadlines for submission of preproposals to the deans and to the VPR, will be established as soon as the Request for Proposals for a limited submission program becomes available. These letters will be required, although exceptions may occasionally, though rarely, be granted. All deadlines will be posted on the VPR website at http://dagon.admin.purdue.edu/cgi-bin/lsid.cgi. Deadlines also will be e-mailed to research deans, department heads, and center directors.
Letters of intent are to be no more than two pages in length, and should include the research topic, estimated total funding and cost sharing expected to be requested, partner institutions and organizations, the educational component and/or broader impact of the project, and how the researcher intends to address any other issues or requirements, beyond the technical content, that make for a successful proposal.
The Office of the VPR, or appropriate deans, will communicate with submitters of letters of intent, providing them with suggestions based on the criteria above, in time for the researchers to prepare competitive preproposals for submission to their deans.
b. Preproposals
Based on feedback from the letters of intent, researchers will submit preproposals to their deans for review and ranking. Preproposals are to be no more than four pages in length, and should include a summary project description, as well as the items included in the letter of intent. CVs for the principal investigator(s) also should be attached to the preproposal. The deans’ offices will forward the ranked proposals to the Office of the Vice President for Research. If more than one school or a center is involved, all deans with participating researchers will rank the proposal.
c. Review and Selection
The Center Directors (one director per center) and the Associate Deans for Research in the schools will meet with the Vice President for Research to discuss the relative merits of the proposals in their areas. This review will provide a university-wide response to the work being suggested, with the ultimate goal of finding the very best proposal(s) to send from the university to the funding agency. The criteria at this step are those defined by the agency.
d. Feedback
Internal Preproposals: Feedback for authors of successful and unsuccessful preproposals will be provided by a person assigned by the Review Committee. The feedback itself will be that of the committee, not of any particular individual or individuals. Additional resources, such as contact with key administrators, will be provided for those researchers whose proposals are chosen to go forward to the next step.
Proposals to Agencies: If a proposal is submitted to an agency, but not funded, the Review Committee or VPR may request feedback from the researcher (e.g., written reviews from the agency), to help in understanding how to better select and prepare proposals for the next round of that particular limited competition.