Developing Your Research Ideas

Your research question will form the heart of your proposal.  You want this question to be: This is the heart of your proposal. You can use the SMART goals framework, a best practice that will help you create a clear, focused, and fundable application. SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.  

Your question must be: 

• Specific: Clearly defined and focused. 

• Measurable: You must be able to quantify or observe the results.  

• Achievable: Feasible within the proposed timeframe and with the resources you're requesting. 

• Relevant: Aligned with your field and the funder's mission. 

• Time-bound: Has a clear start and end point. 

A weak or poorly defined question will undermine the entire proposal. Our external consultants can assist with your research questions and goals.

You must demonstrate mastery and knowledge of your field and discipline. The literature review will support your research plan and ensure that it: 

• Addresses a critical gap: Show what is known and, more importantly, what is not known. 

• Is innovative: Explain how your work is a logical next step and not just a minor variation of existing research. 

• Builds on existing knowledge: Situate your project within a broader scientific conversation. 

If you need support with finding literature or gaining access to publications, please consider connecting with our librarians. This is a great way to engage students in your research as well. And better still a good literature review can be the basis of a manuscript.

We recommend that you avoid writing a proposal and looking for a funder. Instead, find funders whose missions align with your research and write towards their needs and priorities. 

• There are Funding Databases you can use: 

• Grants.gov: The central database for all U.S. federal grants. 

• GrantForward: We have a subscription to this service that that aggregate public and private opportunities worldwide. 

• Agency-Specific Portals: Directly search the databases of major funders like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or the National Science Foundation (NSF). 

• It is a good idea to examine the Funder's Mission: Read the "Request for Proposals" (RFP) or "Funding Opportunity Announcement" (FOA) meticulously. Your proposal must explicitly address the funder's stated goals and priorities.  

• This is another area where we can assist you with consultation.  

• Contact a Program Officer: This is a critical, often-overlooked step. Email the program officer (PO) listed on the funding announcement with a one-paragraph summary of your project. Ask if your project is a good fit for their program. Their feedback is invaluable. 

• Our consultants can also assist you with framing your request to the PO if you are unsure.  

A generic proposal will fail. You must tailor your "story" to the funder's specific language and review criteria.

Example: NIH vs. NSF 

These two major U.S. agencies have very different missions and review criteria. 

TAMUSA has a subscription to Grant Forward. Email ORSP@TAMUSA for assistance 

Additional recourses for finding funding include 

• Grants.gov 

• learning.candid 

• grant gopher 

• grant watch 

• inside philanthropy 

• grant station 

• funding for good

1. Hanover 

Hanover has the following services which are offered in a queue, so each time block is signed up for and once the time is over, it moves to the next person in the queue.  

Consult Call (2 week turnaround) 

• Call with a Grants Consultant to discuss your project's alignment and competitiveness with a particular agency or program; and/or 

• Discuss upcoming Program Officer outreach and help prepare talking points or questions to guide the conversation. 

Prospecting Report (3–4-week turnaround): 

• Review the federal and foundation funding landscape to identify funders and mechanisms with an interest in research topics similar to yours 

• Prepare a report detailing our findings, with profiles of identified funding mechanism; analysis of previous funding; and guidance on next steps 

• Please note that prospecting reports have soft deadlines; proposal review/revision work will be prioritized to ensure applicants can meet their programmatic deadlines. 

Proposal Review (2-week turnaround): 

• Review the proposal narrative for alignment with funding opportunity announcement; 

• Make specific recommendations using margin comments and/or produce a memo outlining high-level recommendations; and 

• Optional conference call to debrief (scheduled upon your request). 

Proposal Revision (3-week turnaround): 

• Review the proposal narrative for alignment with funding opportunity announcement; 

• Make specific recommendations using margin comments and/or produce a memo outlining high-level recommendations; 

• Track changes to suggest revision to the proposal narrative; 

• Track changes to focus on achieving clarity and effective use of language, which include addressing punctuation and grammar; and 

• Optional conference call to debrief (scheduled upon your request). 

Here is a form to request services from Hanover Hanover Intake Form – Fill out form