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Process Steps

The Office of Grants and Proposal Development at Ohio Northern University is available to assist you in the process of getting your proposal out the door. It is important to contact the Office of Grants and Proposal Development early in the process of creating your proposal. The Coordinator is also the Authorized Organization Representative for federal grant opportunities through NIH and NSF and is responsible for submitting such proposals.

Steps To Take

  1. Talk with department chair and dean about the idea.
  2. If your proposal is of a technical nature, the principal investigator (PI) or program director (PD) is responsible for preparing the bulk of the entire proposal. However, the proposal development office can help with templates for letters of inquiry, cover sheets, time-lines and budgets. If the proposal is of a more general nature, the proposal development process can be a shared responsibility between the PI/PD and the proposal coordinator.
  3. The proposal development office can assist in interpreting guidelines, contacting potential funders with questions, and contacting previous grant recipients for additional information.
  4. The proposal development office can provide the necessary University documentation and budget information, solicit letters of support and prepare a cover letter for the president to sign.
  5. Your dean/department chair may be interested in reviewing/editing your proposal, so be sure to build in enough time for that to happen.
  6. Remember throughout the process it is good to stay in contact with the proposal development office, alert the office for delays and problems as soon as you become aware of them, and provide drafts of the proposal to the coordinator prior to seeking appropriate approval.
  7. Obtain and fill out the proposal approval form found on this site. The PI/PD and the coordinator of Porposal development will share the responsibilities for obtaining signatures.  The process should begin at least five working days prior to the submission deadline. 
  8. Be available to help the coordinator make any last-minute changes and corrections.
  9. The office of proposal development takes it from this point. Proposals will be given a final review. The coordinator will mail or submit the proposals if that is the preference of the PI/PD.
  10. The PI/PD will be informed when the final proposal has been submitted.