Proposal Development Support Program

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An Overview

The WKU Proposal Development Support Program is designed to support collaborative activities that lead to the development and submission of competitive external funding proposals. This program provides small grants to facilitate workshops, writing groups, working sessions, and other structured efforts that focus on proposal planning and development. Staff from the Office of Sponsored Programs are available to assist with and support events funded by the Proposal Development Support Program.

Program Goals

The goal of the Proposal Development Support Program is to foster a supportive and productive environment for faculty pursuing external funding for research, creative activities, or other scholarly endeavors, particularly for interdisciplinary teams or emerging research areas. Activities funded through this program should culminate in the submission of funding proposals to external sponsors within 12 months of the award.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• Faculty writing groups focused on specific funding opportunities
• Proposal development retreats or bootcamps
• Planning meetings or workshops to shape collaborative grant submissions
• Sessions with external consultants or mentors to strengthen proposal strategies
• Peer-review sessions or mock panel reviews of draft proposals.

Application Requirements

Proposals should be submitted on the Proposal Development Support application form and should include the following: 

• Applicants: List of the project team members (faculty and college administrators are eligible to apply)
• Participants: Number of intended event participants and list of potential participants
• Targeted funding opportunities: Description of the targeted funding opportunities, including upcoming proposal deadlines
• Budget: Awards typically range from $1,000 to $3,000 and may be used for expenses such as meeting facilitation, consultant fees, and materials, and refreshments (as allowed by university policy). Aramark must be used unless a waiver is requested and granted by Aramark 
• Participation Plan: Plan for encouraging broad participation
• Event Description: Brief description of proposed activities
• Timeline: Timeline of specific outcomes associated with applying for external funding with 12 months of the Proposal Development Support award date
• OSP Support (optional): A description of the type of support requested from the Office of Sponsored Programs during the event (e.g., reviewing proposal materials, answering technical questions about proposal requirements, feedback on project fundability). Please discuss requested support with OSP staff prior to including it in your proposal by reaching out to proposal.development@wku.edu.

Award Details

• Awards typically range from $1,000 to $3,000 and may be used for expenses such as meeting facilitation, consultant fees, materials, and refreshments (as allowed by university policy).
• This program is administered by the Office of Research & Creative Activity. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until May 1 of each academic year unless all funds are expended earlier. Priority will be given to projects with a high potential for external funding success and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Activities where space is limited may be structured as invitation-only or have qualification requirements, if necessary, but should not limit participation by department or college. Cross-college proposals are encouraged. Awardees will submit a final report that includes a brief summay of the outcomes of their activities, including a list of event participants and participants' timelines for submitting external funding proposals.

   

Submission Instructions

Proposals should be submitted via email to the Office of Research & Creative Activity at internal.grants@wku.edu with the subject line “Proposal Development Support Program Application.”

Application Form

Please complete application in Adobe by downloading and saving to your computer.