Reading the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Overview of Federal, Non-Profit and Profit Foundation Funding Opportunity Announcements Jo Anne Hawthorne Research Funding Coordinator Research & Sponsored Programs

What is a Funding Opportunity Announcement? Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a publically available document by which a United States Federal Agency makes known it’s intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. FOA may also be known as Program Announcements (PA), Request for Applications (RFA), Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs), Notices of Funding Availability, Solicitations, or other names depending on the agency and type of program. Non-Profit and Private grant-making organizations use similar vocabulary to announce their grant programs.

Types of FOAs National Institutes of Health (NIH): Program Announcement/Program Announcements (PA) – Identifies areas of increased priority and/or emphasis on particular funding mechanisms for a specific area of science. Used for common grant mechanisms by applicants who wish to submit “unsolicited” or “investigator-initiated” applications. Usually accepted on standard receipt dates on an on-going basis. Request for Applications (RFA) – Identifies a more narrowly defined area for which one or more agencies have set aside funds for awarding grants. Usually has a single receipt date specified in the RFA. Request for Proposal (RFP) – Solicits contract proposals. An RFP usually has one receipt date, as specified in RFP solicitation.

Types of FOAs Cont. National Science Foundation (NSF): Program Description (PD) – PD is usually NSF specific and includes broad, general descriptions of programs and activities in NSF Directorates/Offices and Divisions. Program Solicitation (NSF) – Program Solicitations refer to formal NSF publications that encourage the submission of proposals in specific program areas of interest to NSF. They generally are more focused than program descriptions, and normally apply for a limited period of time.

Types of FOAs Cont. Department of Defense (DoD): Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) – A BAA announces an agency's research interests including criteria for selecting proposals and soliciting the participation of all offerors capable of satisfying the government's needs.

Types of FOAs Cont. Private and Non-Profit Agencies: Private and Non-Profit grant-making organizations do not usually have defined FOA Type as Federal Agencies do. The Type of FOA will often vary from one private agency to another

What Else is Needed Besides the FOA to Complete a Proposal Submission? Many Agencies, in addition to issuing a FOA, will also publish General Guidelines that must be used in conjunction with the FOA. Both, the FOA and General Guide must be read and instructions must be followed. If the instructions in the General Guide differ from those in the FOA, the FOA takes precedence. Below are examples of Agencies General Guides: National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Public Health Service (PHS) Agencies – SF424 (R&R) Application Guides National Science Foundation (NSF) – Grant Proposal Guide & Grants.gov Application Guide (A Guide for Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov) Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (DOD CDMRP)– General Application Instructions Private and Non-Profit Agencies will often publish on their website Established Policies and Procedures that apply to all the FOAs that they issue ***Note*** Each FOA will reference the Agency's General Guide if such is available. As a general rule, you always want to read any guidance the FOA references within the document.

Format of the FOAs? Many of the Federal Agencies issue their FOAs using a standard format. This allows for consistency within the Agency and also, standardizes the information that is required. Private and Non-Profit Agencies have a less defined process and the format will often vary from one FOA to another.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Format NIH issues all their FOAs (PAs, RFPs, RFAs) using the following format: Part 1. Overview Information – this part provides a quick snapshot of the FOA, summarizing some of the key elements in a table format. Part 2. Full Text of the announcement – this part describes the FOA in detail. Within this section there are the following subsections: Section I. Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV. Application And Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information

National Science Foundation (NSF) Format NSF issues their FOAs using either the Program Description format or Program Solicitations Program Description – are usually 1-2 pages in length and utilize the generic eligibility and proposal preparation instructions specified in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), as well as the National Science Board (NSB) approved merit review criteria. A PD is composed of the following sections: Contacts Program Guidelines Due Dates Synopsis Related URLs This Program is Part of …

National Science Foundation (NSF) Format cont. Program Solicitations - are issued when the funding opportunity has one or more of the following features: Provides supplemental proposal preparation guidance or deviates from the guidelines established in the Grant Proposal Guide; Contains additional specially crafted review criteria relevant to the program; Requires submission of a letter of intent or preliminary proposal; Deviates from (or restricts) the standard categories of proposers; Limits the number of proposals that may be submitted by any organization and/or researcher/educator; Specifies additional award conditions or reporting requirements; Anticipates use of a cooperative agreement; or Permits inclusion of the payment of fees to awardees, when appropriate.

Department of Defense (DoD) Format Department of Defense agencies (ARO, ONR, AFOSR, DARPA) issue their FOAs using Broad Agency Announcement mechanisms. Sample Format of the BAA: General Information/Overview Funding opportunity description Award Information Eligibility Information Application and Submission Information (often divided into Technical Proposal and Cost Proposal) Evaluation Information/Application Review Award Administration Information Agency Contacts Other Information

Private and Non-Profit FOA Format Private and Non-Profit grant-making organizations do not usually have defined FOA format as Federal Agencies do. The format and information requested will often vary from one FOA to another.

The Key… Is to read the FOA thoroughly no matter what type of FOA you are responding to! If you don’t understand something contact the ORSP office.

DISSECTING A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT

Identify the Key Information No matter what type of FOA you are applying for, you always want to make sure you located the following information within the announcement: Eligibility (Institutional and Individual) Due Date Is a Letter of Intent/Pre-Application Required? If so, what is the due date? Earliest/Anticipated Start Date Funding Instrument (Grant, Contract, Training Grant, etc.) Type of Program (R series, K series, Doctoral Dissertations, MURI, Etc.) Application Types Allowed (New, Resubmission, Revision, etc.) Project Period/Minimum and Maximum Number of Years for the Project Funds Available/Budget Restrictions/Cost Sharing Requirements Content and Form of Application Submission/Required Attachments (including Formatting and page limits) Special Requirements

What are the Institutional and Individual Eligibility Criteria? Since TWU is the Applicant Organization, it is essential that TWU meets the Institutional Eligibility Criteria (e.g. Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Nonprofits with 501c 3 IRS Status). If TWU is eligible to apply, then you want to ensure that the PI(s) meet the Eligibility Criteria (e.g. must hold a PhD degree). You can submit a proposal in response to FOA, only if both, the University and the PI meet the eligibility criteria. This information will often appear in the FOA under the Eligibility Information Section.

Research Fit Does your project fit the funding agency’s research objectives? For NIH your research has to fit within the mission of one of the participating organizations for your application to be assigned for funding consideration.

Timeline! Timeline When is the submission deadline? Does the due date allow sufficient time to develop a competitive application? What are the internal deadlines? Start internal approval process well in advance Is there an earlier deadline for a letter of intent (LOI) or pre-proposal?

Document Specifications What are the page limits? What sections of the proposal are included within the page limits? What sections are excluded? What are the allowable fonts and font sizes? Margin sizes? Spacing requirements? Are headers and footers allowed and/or required? What is the submission method (electronic or hard-copy?) If it’s a hard-copy submission, how many copies do you need to send and by what date/time must they be received?

Budget What is the budget cap? Can your research (or an aspect of your research) be completed with the funds available? How many awards does the funder expect to make (i.e. how competitive is this competition?

Budget (Cont’d) Is there a cost-sharing requirement? Is there a minimum time commitment (i.e., how many person-months)? NOTE: PIs cannot have zero time committed. What forms/format does your budget require?

Budget (Cont’d) Does the agency require inclusion of any specific costs (e.g., travel costs to attend a required meeting)? Are there any normally allowable costs that are not allowed under this RFA?

Budget (Cont’d) Is there a cap on the recovery of indirect costs (facilities and administrative (F&A) costs)? Are there caps or constraints on the allocation of specific funds or line items (e.g., line X must not exceed 10% of the total direct costs)? What requirements are in place for sub-awards?

Budget (Cont’d) What are the requirements for the budget justification? Is there a salary cap?

Narrative Structure Are there required sections of the proposal narrative that are standard to this funding agency/mechanism? If so, refer to the agency’s proposal guidelines document for more information (NIH SF424 R&R, NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)). It is important to familiarize yourself with these instructions, and to use them as a reference for each proposal. They are also a place to find rules regarding any significant changes to proposal format. Are there required or suggested subheadings? Funding opportunity announcements often provide information regarding the structure of your proposal.

Narrative Structure (Cont’d) If there are not required subheadings, are there easily identifiable headings that can be gleaned from the review criteria (e.g., Significance, Goals, Broader Impacts, Evaluation)? NOTE: Required or suggested subheadings are sometimes found in agency instruction documents, i.e., NIH SF424 R&R, NSF GPG. Organize your proposal in the same format described or implied in the RFA.

Narrative Structure (Cont’d) Reflect the language the funding agency uses to describe the program and its mission (check the agency’s website). Use these key words in your proposal. Subject headings, graphics, bullets, and bolded statements using language similar to that used in the FOA can all be used to make the reviewers’ jobs easier as they assess how well the proposal meets review criteria.

Review Criteria What are the review criteria? Are there any special/unusual review criteria? It is particularly important to read the review criteria carefully when you respond to an RFA or Program Announcement (PA). Review criteria for “parent” or investigator-initiated announcements are typically found in agency submission regulations.

Special Sections Required What sections other than the main narrative are required? Examples include “Management Plan,” “Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan,” “Multi-PI Leadership Plan,” “Protection of Human Subjects.” Are there required letters of support/collaboration? Start the process of acquiring these letters early! Are appendix materials or supplementary documents allowed? If so, become familiar with what materials will/will not be accepted.

Reviews NIH – R01 and Guidelines NSF program solicitation and Guidelines DoD RFA and Instructions Robert Wood Johnson RFA

Its’ Done!