Here you can find a collection of resources and data that may be useful in the writing and development of your proposal.

Connect with the Team

Strategic Research Initiatives provides resources and information to assist faculty with developing quality, competitive proposals. We are available to consult on agency fit, proposal narrative elements, give proposal reviews, and answer other program-related questions. Please contact a member of our team for additional support.

To request a review of your proposal draft, contact:

Quick Links

Proposal Writing
Sample Proposals
Facilities
Data and Computing
Broader Impacts
Serving as a Reviewer
UCSB Data
NSF’s Safe and Inclusive Plan for Off-Site Research
Writing a One-Pager for your NSF Program Officer

Proposal Writing 

Strategic Research Initiatives Proposal Writing Programs (C2S, PROWESS)
Strategic Research Initiatives offers annual proposal writing workshop series for STEM and Social Science, Humanities, and Education faculty.
 

Recommended Articles & Books

  • Crafting a Sales Pitch for your Grant Proposal
  • National Organization of Research Development Professionals: Writing a Grant Proposal 101
  • The Science of Scientific Writing
  • What do Grant Reviewers Really Want
  • How Do I Review Thee? A Comparison of Research Grant Proposal Review Criteria

  • Belcher, W. L. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. University of Chicago Press.

  • Bennett, L. M., Gadlin, H., & Khuri, S. (2025). How to Succeed at Collaborative Research: A Practical Guide for Teams. In How to Succeed at Collaborative Research. Bristol University Press

  • Booth, W. C., Colomb, G. G., & Williams, J. M. (2024). The craft of research. University of Chicago press.

  • Gerin, W., Kapelewski, C., Itinger, J. B., & Spruill, T. (2017). Writing the NIH grant proposal: A step-by-step guide. Sage Publications.

  • Licklider, M. M. (2012). Grant seeking in higher education: Strategies and tools for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons.

  • Schimel, J. (2012). Writing science: how to write papers that get cited and proposals that get funded. OUP USA.

  • Silvia, P. J. (2018). How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. American Psychological Association.

  • Sword, H. (2017). Air & light & time & space: How successful academics write. Harvard University Press.

  • Unruh, H., Haeger, H., Banks, J., & Dong, W. (2024). Designing and Implementing a Successful Undergraduate Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Program. Routledge.

  • Walker, B. & Unruh, H. (2017). Funding your research in the humanities and social sciences: A practical guide to grant and fellowship proposals. Routledge.

  • Knox, K. E., & Van Deventer, A. (2023). The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook: Exercises for Developing and Revising Your Book Manuscript. In The Dissertation-to-Book Workbook. University of Chicago Press.

  • Portwood-Stacer, L. (2021). The book proposal book: A guide for scholarly authors. Princeton University Press.

 

Sample Proposals & Templates 

Sample proposals may be requested from Strategic Research Initiatives. Contact anyone on the team or email funding@research.ucsb.edu to make your request.

Click here for a crowd-sourced database of successful proposals.

Writing a One-Pager for your NSF Program Officer

If you're planning to submit a proposal to NSF, it is often recommended that you contact the NSF Program Officer with any questions about fit to program, etc. As a part of that initial contact you should provide a short description of your project. Here we provide guidance from NSF for developing a one-page project summary to share with Program Officers.

Writing a Specific Aims Page for your NIH Program Officer

When initiating a conversation with an NIH program director about your potential project, a Specific Aims page should be used to help you concisely conceptualize your project and familiarize them with your ideas. This document should follow the elements in the NIH Specific Aims page which is a key component of a complete NIH proposal. Tips for writing this can be found here:

 

Facilities

 

Facilities Handout

Strategic Research Initiatives has compiled descriptions of shared facilities and resources on campus for use in Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources documents.

Shared Instrumentation 

The Shared Instrumentation website is a resource for UCSB researchers and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration across our many departments, institutes and centers.

Data and Computing

Federal Resources

Federal Dataset and Website Preservation

Community efforts to make available federal datasets and websites.

Campus Resources

Research Computing & Data

The RCD website offers a virtual gateway connecting affiliates to a wealth of computational and data-related resources to support academic research. It provides seamless access to a myriad of tools, support services, and expertise available to our campus community.

Library Research Data Services

The Research Data Services department helps UCSB researchers manage and preserve their research data through consultations, long-term engagements, and instructional workshops. They offer support across the research data lifecycle, from pre-project planning to post-project archival, connecting researchers with both locally- and externally-provided curation services. 

DMP Tool

DMPTool is a free, open-source, online application that helps researchers create data management plans that meet the requirements of major U.S. funding agencies. For further information about this tool and local assistance with Data Management and Sharing Plans, please contact UCSB Library's Research Data Services Department (rds@library.ucsb.edu)

Agency Guidance & Resources

Other agencies often include their data management requirements in the funding opportunity announcement. 

Broader Impacts

NSF CAREER Education Plan

Strategic Research Initiatives prepared some guidance on creating the Education Plan for your NSF CAREER proposal.

NSF Mentoring and Individual Development Plan Guidance

Guidance if your NSF proposal will support graduate students or postdoctoral researchers.

Outreach and Broader Impacts Partnership Resources

UC Santa Barbara is home to over 40 STEM Education and Outreach Programs serving K-14, parents, and teachers with many different types of experience.

Advancing Research Impact in Society

A compilation of newly developed tools, scholarly works, and informational links that support the various aspects of broader impacts support.

Serving as a Reviewer 

Serving as a reviewer is an excellent way to gain insight into the inner workings of funding agencies, their priorities, and the peer review process, as well as build your professional network.

National Science Foundation

NSF encourages early career faculty to serve as reviewers, and gives detailed instructions on how to become a reviewer on their Why You Should Volunteer to Serve As An NSF Reviewer page.

National Institutes of Health

NIH invites faculty to serve in standing Study Sections via a selection process. NIH also hosts an Early Career Reviewer (ECR) program to specifically recruit early career faculty to serve as reviewers.

UCSB Data and Other Statistics

Institutional Information

Common institutional data required by sponsors for proposals.

Campus Profile

The Campus Profile, created by Institutional Research, Planning & Assessment, contains a variety of campus statistics, including student enrollment, student demographics, and personnel and financial information.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES)

A principal statistical agency located within the National Science Foundation (NSF), committed to advancing the methods for collection and accessibility of objective statistical information in the United States.

 

NSF’s Safe and Inclusive Plan for Off-Site Research

Any research proposed to NSF that includes off-campus or off-site research requires a document describing the research, outlining plans to assure a safe and inclusive setting for all participants, and describing how inappropriate behaviors would be addressed should they occur. For most programs, a Safe and Inclusive Working Environments (SAIWE) Plan is the required document. As part of a pilot program in BIO and GEO directorates NSF is requiring, instead, a Safe and Inclusive Fieldwork (SAIF) Plan. Below we provide a guidance document describing these plans and indicating which NSF programs are participating in the SAIF plan pilot, as well as a fillable SAIWE form and SAIF guide.

(must be logged into your UCSB Google account to view)