Tips & Guidelines for Preparing Proposals

A proposal budget is an estimate of all the “costs” necessary to implement the activities developed in the narrative section of an application to external sources. The budget flows from the design of the project and reflects a cost-effective plan for implementation. When properly developed, the budget summarizes the needs of the project and the institution’s fiscal policies.

Direct Costs

Salaries: Who will be involved, how much time (% of effort) will each person spend on the project, will summer effort be included, what is the role each person will perform.

Fringe: Fringe benefits for those employed to be included.

Supplies/Materials: Materials, books, journals, office supplies, film, tape (video or auditory recording), chemicals, etc.

Publication: Costs of printing, duplicating, publishing results, workbooks, manuals, etc.

Equipment: Including testing, laboratory, and teaching essential to implementation of the project. Will the sponsor support the purchase of these items?

Travel: Per diem, transportation, local expenses, use of rental or state vehicles.

Miscellaneous: Computer time, telephone, postage, consultants (fees per day plus travel and expenses), repair and maintenance of equipment, space, participant costs, chemical removal, advertising costs for recruitment for positions

Indirect Cost: Contact the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs for most current rate applicable to your project.

Equipment & Supplies

Equipment

Cost must be $5,000 or more per unit and the item must have a useful life of more than one year. Cost of an item includes the cost of any modifications, attachments, accessories or auxiliary apparatus necessary to make it useable for the purpose acquired.

Costs may include:

• charges for freight
• duty
• installation in-transit insurance
• refrigerators
• cameras
• office equipment
• reproduction
• automatic data processing
• motor vehicles

Supplies

Cost must be $4,999 or less per unit. Costs may include:

• materials
• books
• journals
• office supplies
• film
• tape (video or audio recording)
• chemicals

Sponsor Defined Equipment: $5,000 unit is the standard federal definition of equipment. Some sponsors have lower thresholds for what they consider equipment (e.g., state agencies, private foundations). Those requirements are typically spelled out in the RFP and/or terms and conditions of the award. PI's should work with OSRP to ensure proper classification of purchases in such instances.

Types of External Support

Grants

The sponsor identifies funding priorities generally under a broad definition of program goals and announces a "competition" for awards. Applicants develop a proposal to fit into one or two priority areas and submit the application for review. Most of the sponsored research and programs at Plattsburgh are awarded through the grant mechanism. Applications for grant programs usually occur on a yearly or semi-annual basis.

Contracts

The sponsor issues an RFP (Request for Proposals) in which the type of work - a study, services or resulting product - is specified.

Proposals are referred to as “bids” and the time between the announcement and the closing date is usually thirty days or less. Bidding competitions are not routinely scheduled and each awarded contract is a negotiated, binding agreement.

Fellowships

Also referred to as awards and/or stipends, this category of external support is for individual faculty/staff members generally to support a period of study, research and/or teaching while on a sabbatical or other leave.

Sources of External Support

Public Sector Funding

Includes federal, state, county and city agencies. All ongoing or new programs offered throughout the federal government are listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, with application deadlines published in the Federal Register (other resources are available in the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs and the reference section of Feinberg Library). Request for Proposals (contract bidding) are announced in the Commerce Business Daily (available in the Feinberg Library). The State of New York funds grant activities through various state agencies such as the State Education Department, Department of Environmental Conservation, Adirondack Park Agency, Department of Health, and so forth. County and city agencies sometimes have funds available to carry out a specific project. Usual funding from a county or city agency is done on a contract basis and no formalized or ongoing listing of available funds is maintained, but information is gained through individual personal contact.

Private Sector Funding

Foundations: Private foundations are non-profit organizations that usually have specific areas they are interest in funding. Most references that contain foundation listings do not indicate specifically the activities the foundation may support. For instance, a foundation might be listed as supporting education but really be interested in contributing only to endowment funds of private colleges. In order to obtain accurate guidelines and up-to-date information private foundations, the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs routinely requests the most recent annual report and grant application guidelines form these funding sources.

Corporate

Corporation giving has exceeded foundation grants for several years. Most corporations are now taking advantage of laws that allow tax credits on money and other support donated to non-profit organizations. Most seek proposals in the same manner as foundations. Reference materials on potential corporate sponsors are available in the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs and the reference section of Feinberg Library.

New York State & United University Professions Programs

Professional Development Individual Award Program (PDIAP)

The State of New York/United University Professions Professional Development & Quality of Work-life Committee’s Individual Development Awards Program is intended to assist eligible full-time and part-time employees in the Professional Services Negotiating Unit (08) in the development of their full professional potential in preparing for advancement. Up to a maximum of $1,000 per proposal may be awarded (average award is $200–$350).

NYS/UUP Campus Grants & Campus Grants on Technology

In the past, the State of New York and United University Professions mutually agree upon the following objectives for campus grants:

• Encourage cooperative problem solving;
• Strengthen professional development;
• Enhance the quality of working life and the creative use and understanding of technology;
• Foster safer working conditions, while expanding affirmative action programs;
• Provide professional enrichment opportunities;
• Increase communication.

Additional Joint Labor Management Programs

• Grants for Employees with Disabilities
• Special Project Funds
• Wright Memorial Safety and Health Training Program
• Enrollment Enhancement Program
• Employment Counseling & Placement Program
• Retraining Fellowship Program

For more information on joint labor management programs, call 518-564-2155.

Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Affirmative Action/Diversity Leave Program

This program is intended to enhance employment opportunities for minority group members, women, employees with a disability, or Vietnam-era veterans in the Professional Services Negotiating Unit (08) by assisting them to prepare for permanent or continuing appointment within SUNY. In the past, these leaves were for one full semester and covered both salary replacement and project-related expenses.

• Read the sponsor guidelines
• Do your homework
• Outline/draft your project concepts
• Reflect your enthusiasm and commitment
• Review your outline/draft with colleagues
• Revise the draft
• Cut the jargon
• Double check your language, grammar, style and logic
• Be clear, concise, consistent and readable
• Check for transition and continuity
• Define abbreviations and acronyms
• Include appendices for statistical detail, drawings, and charts as may be necessary
• Ensure good physical appearance on final copy-clean type, margins, etc.
• Do not rely on the sophistication of the reviewers to read into what is not in your proposal