Proposals (funding requests) come in several forms:
Solicited Proposal: A solicited proposal is submitted in response to a request by a funding agency for research or training in a specific subject. The proposal may be in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Application (RFA). RFPs for federal contracts appear in the FedBizOpps, and usually the project must be in a specified area of interest and respond to specific research requirements. An RFA is a solicitation from a funding agency inviting applications from investigators who are interested in working with the funding agency in designing and carrying out a specific project. Please note that Grants.gov can be used to find ALL federal funding opportunities; please see here.
Unsolicited Proposal: An unsolicited proposal is a proposal on a subject of interest to the faculty member who makes it, which the targeted funding agency may find of interest as well because it is in an area it is exploring, needs more information on, fits with other areas of its interest, or has suddenly deemed a priority. Many organizations and foundations consider unsolicited proposals, as do some federal agencies.
Renewal: A competing renewal is a request for additional funding for a project that is currently funded but the period of performance is ending. Competing renewals generally include new work based on the results of the existing grant and are subject to peer review.
Resubmission: A resubmission is an effort to secure funding for a proposal which has been revised in response to critical comments from reviewers when it was previously submitted. Unless otherwise stated specifically in the funding opportunity announcement or RFA, just one resubmission is permitted. If you have any question about the number of resubmissions allowed, please contact your ORA associate director.
Revision: A revision is a request to an agency for additional support for an existing project to expand the project's scope or to meet unforeseen expenses. (In the case of NIH, the former "competing supplemental application" is now known as a "revision.") A revision may be submitted to request support for a significant expansion of a project's scope or research protocol. An administrative revision, also known as a "supplement," requests additional funding to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved application, but these new costs were not foreseen when the new or competing renewal application was submitted.
Continuation: A continuation is a non-competing request for additional funding. The application is not subject to peer review.
If a proposal is accepted, funding may be awarded in one of the following forms, sometimes called “sponsored research vehicles”:
Contract or Grant:
Contract: The instrument for supporting an activity that is initiated by the federal government through its agencies, and that performs a specified service or will yield a particular end or product for the government. The funding agency exercises considerable direction and control over the performance and timing of the work. Please note: contractual agreements with other entities, such as corporations and foundations, use terms somewhat differently than the federal government. As always, researchers should consult with ORA about any proposal for any type of funding with any sponsor.
Grant: The instrument for providing support for an activity initiated by the applicant, that falls within the guidelines and priorities of the funding agency.
Although contracts and grants are both legal agreements, a contract differs from a grant in the following ways:
Contracts:
- Government agencies use contracts to procure specific services or products from which they will derive some benefit.
- The agency, not the investigator, establishes the project specifications and therefore exercises more direction over the work.
- Contracts are more likely to include "strings" that benefit the agency - for example, some tangible economic return or some degree of control over patent rights, confidentiality, or publication.
Grants:
- Grants support research, with the goal of increasing knowledge and understanding in a given subject.
For contracts and subcontracts, negotiations are done by the Office of Research Administration which is the signing authority. Principal investigators do not have the authority to sign for Tufts.
Cooperative agreement: A cooperative agreement is an undertaking in which the research or training project is jointly administered by the funding agency and the recipient institution.
Sponsored Research Agreements: Industry-sponsored research benefits the University by allowing investigators and their students to collaborate with industry partners to further develop basic research discoveries. The Office of Research Administration (ORA) or the Office of Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration (OTLIC) are responsible for negotiating research agreements which protect the university’s interests, particularly rights of publication and intellectual property ownership. These terms are incorporated into a legal contract called a Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA). Before negotiating these agreements, ORA or OTLIC will ordinarily discuss the goals of the research with the Principal Investigator (PI) to ensure that the contract will properly reflect the aims of the research and the policies of the university.