The Proposal Handbook provides an overview of the policies and procedures that apply to research at the University of Maryland. This handbook is available at:

• ORAA Sponsored Research Handbook

NIH also has available several useful links to help prepare a proposal

• NIH Grant Writing Tips Sheets

The University's Office of Research Advancement and Administration (ORAA) has an extensive set of FAQs that you may find helpful:

• ORAA FAQs

NIH has a biosketch format required for all submissions.

Click here for a copy of the instructions and a sample NIH Biosketch.  

As part of our support to MPRC Faculty, we keep a copy of all faculty’s NIH biosketch on file. When preparing a new proposal, we send these documents to the investigator(s) for updating. We will continue to follow this procedure, using the newly formatted document and instructions. 

Prepare your work in separate word documents using given formatting guidelines. We will compile the final proposal and inform you of missing sections

Designed to maximize system-conducted validations, multiple separate attachments are required for a complete application. When the application is received by the agency, all submitted forms and all separate attachments are concatenated into a single document that is used by peer reviewers and agency staff. NIH and other PHS agencies require all text attachments to the Adobe application forms to be submitted as PDFs and that all text attachments conform to the agency-specific formatting requirements noted below.

Note to Investigators: Please do not send MPRC PDF files! Prepare your work in separate word files, following  the formatting requirement below; MPRC may need to edit your documents to ensure that all formatting guidelines are followed and cannot do so if sent to us in PDF form.

Font

Use an Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 11 points or larger. (A Symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; the font size requirement still applies.) Type density, including characters and spaces, must be no more than 15 characters per inch. Type may be no more than six lines per inch (MPRC WILL CHECK TYPE DEnSITY).

Note: For windows users: Please be aware that Microsoft word generally defaults to times new roman, which is not an approved font.

Page Margins

Use standard paper size (8 1/2" x 11). Use at least one-half inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages. No information should appear in the margins, including the PI’s name and page numbers.

Page Formatting

Since a number of reviewers will be reviewing applications as an electronic document and not a paper version, applicants are strongly encouraged to use only a standard, single-column format for the text. Avoid using a two-column format since it can cause difficulties when reviewing the document electronically. Do not include any information in a header or footer of the attachments. A header will be system-generated that references the name of the PD/PI. Page numbers for the footer will be system-generated in the complete application, with all pages sequentially numbered.

If you prefer to keep number pages for page-length verification, MPRC will remove these prior to submission.

Figures, Graphs, Diagrams, Charts, Tables, Figure Legends, and Footnotes

You may use a smaller type size but it must be in a black font color, readily legible, and follow the font typeface requirement. Color can be used in figures; however, all text must be in a black font color, clear and legible.

Grantsmanship

Use English and avoid jargon. If terms are not universally known, spell out the term the first time it is used and note the appropriate abbreviation in parentheses. The abbreviation may be used thereafter.

MPRC staff know population research

One of the primary goals of the MPRC is to promote investigator-initiated research in population science. The Center’s administrative staff is trained to handle the requisite paper work, budget preparation, and shepherding of the proposal through the various administrative levels so that researchers can devote the bulk of their time to writing the science.

It depends -

Not necessarily. At the proposal preparation stage, the PI will work with the MPRC staff to decide if they would prefer to have their research project, if funded, managed by MPRC or by their departmental unit.

Submissions need to be routed through the Office of Research Administration and Advancement (ORAA) which requires time. Well enforced deadlines also aid the researcher -

Gone are the days when we could put a proposal in Fed Ex the day before a deadline ! Almost all federal research proposals are now submitted electronically. These e-systems get clogged down and our Office of Research Administration and Advancement (ORAA) asks for 6 business days to receive, review and upload your grant proposal. Although they will do their best, they can not guarantee successful submission with proposals that are submitted with less lead time. Moreover, all faculty, department Chair, and Dean signatures must be collected before the routing goes to ORAA, and this can add an additional 3 business days. MPRC advises all faculty to add 2 working weeks to the sponsor’s posted deadline.

Beat the system, avoid last-minute stress -

A proposal to conduct a research, training, or service project with support from an external agency represents a formal  offer by the University of Maryland at College Park acting as an agency of the State of Maryland. It is necessary, therefore, that any such proposal have the endorsement of those responsible for carrying out the project, as well as those authorized to commit the University and the Campus to a legal offer. For proposals, the President has delegated the authority to officially commit the campus to ORAA. A review and routing procedure has been established in order to ensure that each proposal or application for sponsored programs has been reviewed and endorsed by the various responsible persons and that compliance exists between sponsor, University, and State policies. All proposals for external support of training, research, or service projects must be submitted to ORAA.

INTERNAL ROUTING AND REVIEW

The people or offices involved in the internal review and processing are as follows:

• Principal Investigator is responsible for the budget, technical content, quality, and preparation of the proposal in accordance with sponsor guidelines.
• Department Chair is responsible for certifying to the academic soundness of the project, the compatibility of the project with the Principal Investigator's other commitments, the availability of space and facilities, any cost-sharing commitments, while assuring that the project is in keeping with department and University objectives, and concurring that the proposal should be submitted to the agency named.
• Dean of the College is responsible for determining the appropriateness of the project within College and University programs, and that resources will be available.
• ORAA is responsible for ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations and with University administrative rules. Concurrently, problems of institutional financing, cost sharing, acceptance of contractual terms, and budget matters will be resolved. ORAA works with the Division of Research to review matters involving human subjects, DNA research, hazardous substances, and the experimental use of animals.

Routing a proposal through the researcher’s Department and Dean can take several days, especially if the project involves more than one researcher and crosses departments and/or Colleges.  Once it reaches ORAA, 6 business days are needed to review and ensure compliance with all sponsor policies.  This advance receipt is especially important now that most proposals are submitted electronically.

Historically, the ease of submitting electronic proposals is directly related to the amount of time prior to the deadline date that ORAA has to submit the proposal, as system failures due to overload may result on the actual deadline date.

There are a number of policies that can impact your research.  If you have questions about specific policies, contact your Contract Administrator.

Research related policies can be found through ORAA.

IRB application can be submitted post proposal submission. MPRC also helps with IRB application preparation -

No you do not need to have IRB approval prior when you submit a research proposal. The fact that you plan to use human subject data must be included on both the internal routing form and the sponsor’s form pages. If the IRB application still needs to be submitted and approved, it is noted that approval is “pending.”  The IRB application can be prepared following the submission of the proposal.  Note: the IRB approval process can take several months. The university can not accept an award until this process has been completed. MPRC staff can assist with your IRB application and submission.

IRB Website: https://research.umd.edu/resources/irb

MPRC's credit and DRIF policy may be found here.