Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) staff are available to assist with proposal development in whatever manner is appropriate to the proposal: helping with guideline interpretation and proposal organization; assisting with budget development; creating “boilerplate” or standard institutional wording related to campus resources and facilities that might be useful or required in the proposal; identifying appropriate personnel at the potential sponsoring agency; coordinating multi-institutional project development (see Section 5.3); convening a multi-disciplinary or inter-departmental group; and reviewing proposals for readability and compliance with guidelines. Faculty members are encouraged to contact ORSP staff, in particular the ORSP Program Development Specialist assigned to their area, during the early stages of proposal development. ORSP staff members welcome the opportunity to review rough drafts of proposals and budgets and to provide guidance on proposal and budget development. In addition, the following materials relevant to the proposal development and submission process are among those available from the ORSP staff and on the ORSP website:

• informational aids for proposal and budget development (including books, external web links, workshop materials, etc.);
• UM Transmittal Sheet for Sponsored Projects;
• Guide to the UM Transmittal Sheet;
• Proposal Budget Checklist;
• Institutional Information for Proposal Preparation, including current rates and codes;
• UM Proposal Cover Sheet;
• UM Indirect Cost Rate Agreement;
• Proposal and Award Processing Path;
• UM policies and procedures governing proposals, grants, contracts, and research conduct;
• Research Highlights, the ORSP newsletter.

This Manual for Research and Sponsored Programs is also available on the ORSP Manuals & Guides page.