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Process Steps

The Office of Grants / 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 Proposal Development early in the process of creating your proposal.

Steps To Take

  1. Talk with department chairman and dean about the idea.
  2. If your proposal is of a technical nature, the Principal Investigator (PI)/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 will assist in interpreting guidelines, contacting potential funders with questions, and contacting previous grant recipients for additional information.
  4. The Grant 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. 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.
  6. Obtain and fill out the proposal approval form (link this) found here, the PI/PD is responsible for obtaining the first two signatures on the form (department chair and dean).
  7. Submit this form and a copy of the proposal including the budget to the coordinator. This must be submitted to the coordinator five days prior to the mailing deadline.
  8. Be available to the coordinator to make last minute changes and corrections.
  9. The office of proposal development takes it from this point. Proposals will be given a final review and remaining signatures will be obtained. The coordinator will mail/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