The federal government is the largest source of extramural support
to universities. Lead agencies include the National
Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense,
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,
the Department of Energy, the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Education and
the Department of Agriculture.
Funding practices vary widely among agencies. Some agencies issue
Broad Agency Announcements with no specific deadlines. Others announce
specific programs with deadlines or target dates for the receipt
of proposals. Unsolicited proposals are sometimes accepted, but
usually will be noted in the announcement.
Areas of interest for a particular agency may be broad or narrow.
Sometimes long lead times are provided for the preparation of a
proposal, while some programs require a quick response. The key
in responding to proposals is to become familiar with the agency
mission and its standard practices. Each agency's web site is a
good place to begin exploring. If you wish more information or
clarity about an agency, please contact
our office.
The desired type of initial contact with an agency also varies.
An agency may require one or all of the following: letter of inquiry,
letter of intent, pre-proposal or white paper, full proposal. Some
competitions have two or more stages.
In short, practices of funding agencies vary greatly. Care should
be taken to adhere to the sponsor's guidelines. These guidelines
are often provided on agency web sites, which may include links
to application guidelines or downloadable applications.
Federal and State Agencies on the WWW
Federal Register
The Federal Register is
the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices
of federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders
and other Presidential documents. A searchable database is available
on the World Wide Web containing the publication from 1995 through
the present.
Last Edited: 2010-02-25 ac
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