1. Proposal Development Services
Proposal Development Services is an OVPR unit that has for the past four years helped, many, many of you and dozens more of your colleagues to with proposals that have successfully been submitted to both private and federal funding agencies. My colleagues Eva Allen and Deborah Rocha are passing out cards with contact information and information about our services.

2. The 3 P’s of Proposal Assistance
Plan
Prepare
Perfect
The Proposal Development Team is comprised of subject area experts. While we are not necessarily experts in every PI’s disciplinary subject area, we are knowledgeable and experienced in our subject -the nuances of competing for funding. We work on and think about proposals – and about making proposals better – everyday in much the same way as you and your faculty think about their research and creative activities.
We bring to our job a deep understanding of proposal development and funding agency goals, missions, and priorities. We use our expertise to help faculty plan, prepare and perfect their applications for funding.
While we are not technical experts – that’s the job of the PI -- we know how to help PI’s effectively communicate their ideas to funders. In the case of the Grand Challenge Initiative the university will be the funder and its priorities, goals, and missions will guide funding decisions and we can use our knowledge of the research enterprise at IUB to help proposers develop their concept papers.

3. PDS and the 3 Phases of the GCI
Concept Paper
Implementation
Execution
We have identified 3 phases in the GC (concept paper, implementation proposal, and execution) and PDS is prepared to work with PI’s and their teams as they prepare their concept papers, develop implementation proposals, and, if funding is awarded, to join the team to aid in identifying external sources of funding and developing proposals to leverage funds to grow and sustain the project beyond GC funding.

4. Concept Paper Read Provide Feedback Identify strengths and gaps
Suggest strategies
Remember that the GC proposals are likely going to be reviewed by multidisciplinary committees and that decisions could depend on how well a tem communicates its ideas to a diverse audience – not a disciplinary expert in the field. So at the concept paper stage we could, for example: read the concept paper, provide feed-back on things such as organization, level of detail, underlying logic and the effectiveness of the argument for why what is being proposed is a grand challenge. We will try to help you to identify strengths and gaps in the paper and suggest ways to address them using our knowledge of the IU community and the tools we have to connect teams to a broader community of researchers at IU and at other universities.

5. Implementation Grant Proposals
Apply Principles of Team Science
Project Management
Identify Resources
Suggest External Funding Sources
PDS specialists have extensive experience putting together large interdisciplinary collaborative research projects that involve large teams of faculty that often integrate research or creative activity with broader goals, including education, technology transfer, outreach, and diversity enhancement. We have worked with faculty to submit large program projects, training grants, challenge grants, and center proposals. We will use this experience in working with teams that are developing these implementation grant proposals. Our knowledge of the IU research community and institutional resources might help teams fill in gaps and develop partnerships with industry and the broader community.

6. Project Execution Team building activities
Tracking Federal Policy and Funding Opportunities
Planning, Preparing, Perfecting Proposals
Research Development
Once teams are selected, a PDS specialist will be assigned to work with that team to be the team’s dedicated research development specialist. Because they would be part of the team from the beginning they will develop a detailed understanding of the team’s goals for the project over time and will work with the team to plan, prepare, and perfect proposals that are responsive to funders’ priorities, missions, and goals.

7. Questions