Sponsor-Specific Resources

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research provides Federal Research Policy Changes on a regular basis. Please refer to this site for the most recent developments. The FORA Listserv and OSP Blog will also make regular federal announcements.

FORA’s Research Development Team manages a Sample Proposal Library. This library containing recently successful grant proposals from FAS and SEAS applicants is available by request from FAS and SEAS faculty and principal investigators. Contact Research Development to request access. 

We strongly suggest OSP’s guidance for Preparing a Proposal and FORA’s Onboarding and Overview. Early planning is encouraged.

For federal applications, use Harvard’s current F&A Rates to calculate indirect costs. See OSP’s website for current F&A Rate Agreements.

Search for NIH Funding Opportunities on the following sites:  

• NIH Funding Overview
• NIH Interactive Funding Opportunity Tool
• Parent Announcements for Unsolicited or Investigator-Initiated Applications
• FORA Research Development Funding Opportunities  

Proposals are submitted through either of the portals below. 

• Workspace is used to apply via grants.gov. 
• ASSIST is used to apply via eRA Commons. 

To register for eRA Commons, contact OSPProposalAssistance@harvard.edu with name, email, and role (PD/PI, Trainee, Sponsor, Assistant). If you already have an eRA Commons ID, email OSPProposalAssistance@harvard.edu  with your username so they can give you Harvard access.  

Both Grants.gov and ASSIST have validation systems. Before submitting your application, validate and review errors and warnings: 

• Errors: Errors prevent your application from being routed to eRA Commons for review. Correct errors before the deadline.  
• Warnings: An application with warnings will still be routed to eRA Commons, but may still prevent the application from being reviewed. Review warnings and correct if needed.   

The NIH has created Annotated Form Sets, visual resources created to assist in completing their application forms. Although you MUST follow the requirements listed in NIH's Application Form Instructions and the funding opportunity announcement, we highly recommend these quick reference guides: 

• Do I Have the Right Forms?
• Annotated Form Set for NIH Grant Applications: FORMS-I Series 

• High-Level Grant Application Form Change Summary: FORMS-I 

   

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has a very helpful site providing additional NIH Guidance. 

NIH has both standard and non-standard Due Dates.  Review the NOFO for more information. 

Search for NSF Funding Opportunities on the following sites: 

• NSF Funding Overview
• FORA Research Development Funding Opportunities 

Proposals are submitted through either of the portals below. 

• Research.gov is the primary, preferred platform for NSF 
• Workspace is used to apply via grants.gov 

In order to apply for NSF funding, a user must have a Resarch.gov profile.  The NSF ID is a unique numerical identifier assigned to users by the NSF through a registration process. Users need an NSF ID to work on a proposal and award-related activities.  

To register, contact OSPProposalAssistance@harvard.edu with name, email, and role (PD/PI or Postdoc).  

Due dates for NSF proposals vary. Check the announcement to confirm when the proposal is due. A number of programs have removed the hard deadlines and accept proposals on a rolling basis. 

FORA has compiled some useful tools to help guide proposal preparation. 

Checklists: 

• Standard NSF Grant Checklist       
  • A sample planning checklist for the preparation of a NSF research grant.
• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Checklist.     
  • A sample planning checklist for the preparation of a NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (DDRIG). 

Broader Impacts: 

• Broader Impacts Resources.      
  • This resource provides information on programs and resources in and around Harvard that FAS and SEAS faculty can leverage to demonstrate the potential for a project to benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes. 

Senior/Key Personnel Documents:  

• Documents Required of Senior Personnel.      
  • NSF instructions on Biographical Sketch, Current & Pending Support, and Collaborators and Other Affiliations template
• • FORA guidance on current and pending support document, last updated May 2024.
• Using SciENcv for NSF Biosketches and Current and Pending Support - Frequently Asked Questions.      
  • A guidance and resource document that outlines how to access SciENcv, create and manage documents, and delegate access to someone assisting a PI with a proposal.  

Other Proposal Documents: 

• Facilities and Resources - Sample Language for Describing Core Facilities       
  • Provides information on core facilities in Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences Science Division to help researchers complete the Facilities and Resources section of NSF and NIH grant applications.
• NSF Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources Template.      
  • Proposers must include a description of the internal and external resources (both physical and personnel) that the organization and its collaborators will provide to the project, should it be funded.
• NSF Mentoring Plan Template.      
  • Each NSF proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers and/or graduate students must include, as a supplementary document, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals.
• Safe and Inclusive Working Environment Plan.
  • Information, policies, and procedures for compliance with both University and NSF requirements applied and detailed by the PI in the project-specific plan.

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research has a very helpful site providing additional NSF Guidance.