Before investing the substantial effort required to prepare a grant application, discuss your idea with a program officer. Most program officers will provide valuable guidance. For restricted competitions, this interaction also provides an opportunity to confirm your eligibility as a Principal Investigator/Program Director. Before making contact, review the sponsor’s mission and priorities. When possible, also review the titles, award amounts, and abstracts of recently-funded projects.
- To start a conversation, email the program officer your concept paper. For help writing one, look here.
- To find abstracts of National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Agency for Healthcare & Research Quality (AHRQ)-funded projects, search the NIH Research Projects Online Reporting Tools (RePORTER).
- Before requesting sponsor approvals for budget, personnel, or other changes to an existing award, coordinate with Jennifer Kore.