Proposal Steps

Writing Your Draft

How do you draft sections of a Project Description that require you to describe partner organizations and their roles in projects?

Information on partners can be included in different parts of the proposal. In the Project Description, the strategic partnerships must be described in your Project Overview, Rationale and Importance section (see section V. A. of the ITEST Solicitation for essential details), in the Expertise and Management section when describing organizational partners and expertise of key personnel, and in the Results from Prior NSF Support section if someone from a partner organization will be Co-PI and has had prior support from NSF. (See Module 3.)

Partner information can also be included in other parts of the proposal—for example, in the Facilities section (which will be discussed in Module 9) when they are contributing expertise or other resources not accounted for in the Proposal Description.

Tips

• Avoid taking responsibility for drafting sections of the proposal that describe a partner organization. Drafting a description of their organization and its role should be considered the basic "price of admission" for a partner to participate in the proposal.
• Provide each partner a template that offers guidance on crafting a capacity statement. For example, send each partner a message along these lines: “I need one paragraph that describes your organization, including (1) how long the organization has existed, (2) what is its primary purpose, (3) what have been its significant accomplishments, and (4) why it is the ideal choice to perform its intended role in the project.”
• Provide specific deadlines for when this information has to reach your office; follow up to ensure partners meet their deadlines.

Letters of Collaboration

How do you obtain letters of collaboration from partners?

NSF expects letters of collaboration that include very specific language written on the partner organization’s letterhead. 

If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator] entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by NSF, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description or the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal."

Documentation of collaborative arrangements

Planning for Partnerships

Use the template linked below to outline how you will complete the following key tasks and an estimated deadline for each task. Note that these tasks will occur over several weeks of your proposal preparation period. Make sure that your proposal development timeline includes each of these tasks, and that sufficient time has been allocated to them.

Activity 2.04 Template (download)