College of Arts & Sciences

Proposal Submission Resources

High-quality creative activities and research in the College of Arts & Sciences boosts educational quality and experience. Funding enables creative activities and research, allowing students and faculty to reach their full potential. Funding also increases effective student participation and thus provides excellent experiences, essential for future careers.

The steps in proposal submission are:

  1. Submit the A&S Research Proposal Pre-Submission Form. Submit this form as soon as the faculty member starts considering the proposal, and at least two weeks before the submission deadline. Timely submission avoids potential challenges with submission and enables the faculty to request appropriate support. Even if all information is not yet available, please fill out the form as much as possible prior to submitting the proposal in Novelution OR for applications to an internal award where assistance is needed with the process/budget. For any questions, please email A&S Grants & Contracts Specialist storey.gillen@und.edu.
  2. The Grant specialist connects with the PI to provide requested support.
  3. Faculty develop budget with or without the help of the Grants & Contracts Specialist. The budget is requested in the form of an Excel file (Excel is the preferred format as it allows for easy revisions), DATE_Name CAS-award-budget-setup.xlsx.  
    • Budget excel templates can be found here.
    • Additional resources for budget preparation can be found here.
  4. Faculty develops a narrative of the proposal and other required documents necessary for submission.
  5. Faculty or Grants & Contracts Specialist (upon request) uploads the proposal and budget with the budget justification on Novelution (ERAC). This must be done a minimum of five days prior to the deadline. Novelution automatically routes the proposal through department chairs and dean's office approvals of all lead personnel when submitted to ensure the proposal approval process. To ensure effective routing, faculty are advised to let Co-PIs in other colleges know at the time of ERAC submission and any grant support personnel.
  6. Following the Novelution submission and approvals, the proposal is submitted by faculty or UND Grants & Contracts Specialist (depending on solicitation).

There is a broad range of sites to search for solicitations. Visit the Hanover resources tab for help with streamlining the process. Hanover searches include both federal and foundation funding, while additional searches can be done utilizing:

UND Resources

Federal Resources

Other Resources & Opportunities

Local and state opportunities:

The College of Arts & Sciences has contracted Hanover Resources to provide a wide range of proposal development support. Hanover supports proposals of all sizes, from standard proposals to large, complex submissions. The primary goal of this partnership is to increase the success rate of extramural funding.

Description of Available Hanover Services

By Request:
  • Proposal Review* (~two to three weeks): Critique of a proposal draft focused on alignment with the targeted funder and improving grant writing craft aspects of the proposal.
  • Proposal Revision* (~three to eight weeks): Editing and revision of a proposal draft with an eye toward funder compliance and alignment, grant writing craft, style/presentation, and overall competitiveness.
  • Consultation Call* (~one week) : One-on-one consultation with a Hanover Grants consultant on research/program design, addressing reviewer feedback on an unfunded proposal, and/or obtaining feedback from a PO.
  • Prospecting Report*: Research into suitable funding prospects based on information provided by the PI and research team.

Review, Revision, and Prospecting all include scoping calls between Hanover and the faculty to determine the needs for proposal submission or prospecting.

* The scope and extent of specific services varies. Please contact Associate Dean for Creative Activities & Research Alena Kubatova (Alena.Kubatova@UND.edu) for an initial conversation.

On-Demand:
  • Grants Newsletters and Webinars: Sign up to receive Hanover's monthly grants webinars, grants calendars, and weekly grant alerts through email. Faculty and staff can sign up for these updates here.
  • Grants Learning Center**: Offers on-demand grants training including essential sessions covering grantsmanship skill building, including prospecting, resubmissions, concept development, program office outreach, and funder-specific modules (NSF CAREER, NIH grants, and non-federal funding resources).
  • Hanover Digital**: Hanover's on-demand resource portal. This resource is not only suitable for research, but also provides insights for the educational mission of UND and our programs. Access allows for specific funder searches as well as various reports addressing common topics within Higher Education. Example non-research topics include: Academic Program Demand, Student Support and Success, Enrollment Management, Marketing, Finance and Operations, Artificial Intelligence, and more.

These resources are provided on a first-time basis. UND's annual agreement allows the College of Arts & Sciences to assign up to two projects at a time to Hanover.

**Please contact the Associate Dean for Creative Activities & Research for information on how to access the Grants Learning Center and Hanover Digital.

In addition to Hanover training resources and webinars, other resources include:

Excel template provided in the presentation: award-budget-setup-form-remediated.xlsx

Additional UND Resources:

Frequently Asked Questions

Submit the online form whenever any external funding is requested by a College of Arts & Sciences faculty member, including when the primary PI is in another college/institution. Fill out as much information possible so the college office can coordinate with other college grant departments before receiving a notification from Novelution. This greatly speeds up the approval process and allow proposals to be processed correctly and on time.

Yes, this is recommended. The form has an option for internal awards, which allows the applicant to bypass questions for external funding. By completing the form, this allows the college office to assist with any questions, including those pertaining to creating a budget.

If a grant solicitation has a limited number of submissions, reach out to the College of Arts & Sciences Associate Dean for Creative Activities & Research to confirm the process. When there is a limited number of submissions per institution, an approval email from UND’s Associate Vice President for Research and Discovery Development must be attached to the proposal.

When filling out the form, there is an option to provide a budget for review or request assistance in creating a required budget for the funding opportunity. By sharing the Funding Opportunity Announcement through the link or as an attachment, college office staff can review the sponsor needs and help adapt the UND budget model to the sponsor needs.

A budget tool on Excel and additional resources for budget preparation can be found on UND’s central Research and Sponsored Programs website: RSPD Budget Preparation. Please reach out to the Arts & Sciences Grants & Contracts Specialist with any questions and fill out the A&S Research Proposal Pre-Submission Form.

Please reach out to the Arts & Sciences Grants & Contracts Specialist with any questions and fill out the A&S Research Proposal Pre-Submission Form.

While including the tuition is preferred, the tuition should be negotiated with the chair. The typical rate for tuition is 15 credits (six each for fall and spring semester and three credits in summer). An agreement must also be made on whether the residential or international rate should be used. Please check with the department's chair if tuition is allowed.

Most on-campus research projects rate of 41% of the Modified Total Direct Costs. MTDC are the Total Direct Costs of the project minus individual items of equipment $5,000 or greater, tuition remission, participant support costs, and subcontracts in excess of the first $25,000 for each award. Indirect cost are typically requests for equipment +$10,000, tuition, and participant support.

All proposals are required to include Indirect Costs, unless the Indirect Costs are not allowed by the sponsor or only allowed at a specific rate. Faculty must provide evidence of this and upload it to Novelution. Any projects over $100,000 must seek Vice Provost for Research approval by submitting an Indirect Cost Waiver/Reduction Form.

Creative Activities & Research Contacts

Monthly updates are shared in an Arts & Sciences Creative Activities & Research brief. Join the A&S Creative Activities & Research listserve or unsubscribe.

Contact us to get started on proposal consideration or for an initial submission conversation:

Placeholder for Storey Gillen
Storey Gillen
Grant & Contract Specialist
  • 701.777.2749
  • Twamley Hall Room 115
    264 Centennial Drive Stop 8038
    Grand Forks, ND 58202-8038
Headshot of Alena Kubatova
Alena Kubatova
Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor
Specialty: Characterization of complex mixtures, Chromatography, Mass Spectrometry, Atmospheric Chemistry and Particulate Matter, Renewable Materials
Headshot of Robert Tollefson
Robert Tollefson
Chief Business Officer

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