If there were two fundamental rules of proposal writing, they would be 1) “Follow your solicitation closely” and 2) “Make it simple for the reviewer to navigate your proposal and easily find all required proposal elements.” To accomplish each of these key concepts, you should be knowledgeable of your solicitation. Here are a few critical details to watch for in your solicitation.
- The submission time zone. MSU is in the Eastern Time Zone and this applies to submission deadlines regardless if the project PI is currently located inside or outside of Michigan.
- The words “must” or “required” or “mandatory”. This means the element, wording, or document must appear in your proposal and should be very clear.
- Specific wording. Sometimes not all documents/sections are applicable to your proposal.
- Solicitation outline of required documents and entry points. Documents, sections, headers, etc. should be submitted in the required order, if possible, to prevent compliance issues.
- Always make things as reader-friendly for the sponsor’s reviewer(s). Be sure to follow solicitation instructions closely and make your proposal easy to navigate.
A solicitation is your best, and sometimes the only, guide to submitting that great proposal. Following guidelines exactly make for a better proposal and a happy reviewer.
If you have additional questions regarding specific notes/requirements from your solicitation, please send an email to proposals@egr.msu.edu.
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