Key Components of a Proposal
Please refer to specific sponsor guidelines; however most proposals are comprised of the following key components:
Face Page or cover page:
The cover page captures items such as:
- Principal Investigator's name, address, phone number
- Title of proposal
- Sponsor name and address
- Period of performance with start and end dates
- Amount requested
- Institutional information
- Signature of Institution's Authorizing Official
Abstract
The abstract outlines the proposed research, including objectives, methodology, and significance of the research.
Table of Contents
Statement of Work or Research Plan
The Statement of Work provides a full and detailed explanation of the proposed research, typically including a project timetable. It should include general background information regarding how the project relates to previous and current research.
Budget and Budget Justification
The budget includes a reasonable estimate of the financial support required to conduct the project, including justification of budget expenses.
Typical budget categories include:
- Direct Costs
- Salaries
For University professional and research staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and casual or part-time workers, salary figures should be based on the percentage of effort by each individual on the project applied to his/her annual salary.
- Fringe Benefits
The fringe rate is expressed as a percentage of salary. The rate may vary depending on personnel classification and/or tub.
- Equipment
Under Harvard financial policy, an item is considered capital equipment when it has a unit cost of $5,000 or more, and has a useful life of at least two years. Equipment Policy.
- Materials and Supplies
Itemize supplies in separate categories, such as glassware, chemicals, radioisotopes, etc. Categories in amounts less than $1,000 do not have to be itemized. If animals are to be purchased, state the species and the number to be used.
- Travel
Domestic and foreign travel should be shown separately. List the name, destination, and purpose of trip. Include transportation costs (coach airfare), registration fees, accommodation fees, and other related expenses. Travel Policy.
- Publication Costs
Estimate the number of pages, page charges, and names of journals if possible.
- Consultants
List each consultant, their specialty or service to the project, and their daily, weekly or monthly rate of reimbursement, and show the consultant's total projected cost on the project. Include in the proposal a letter of collaboration and the consultant's curriculum vitae or biographical sketch.
- Subcontracts
A subcontract is a contracting to other organization(s) of some scientific or programmatic aspect of the grant or contract made originally to Harvard. Include in the main proposal the subcontractor's authorized proposal, letter of intent, statement of work, and budget with justification.
- Other
Other costs typically include items such as long distance telephone charges, research publications, fees, animal per diem costs, or other project related costs.
- Indirect Costs
- Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A Costs)
F&A rates are negotiated with Harvard's cognizant federal agency, the Department of Health and Human Services.
Use current negotiated rates in proposals for the type of project being proposed (organized research, other sponsored activity, sponsored training). If a sponsor has policies regarding F&A rates, budget rates should reflect those policies.
Federal F&A rates
Non federal F&A rates
- Cost Sharing
Cost sharing is any cost to the project not borne by the sponsor.
Cost Sharing Guidelines.
Additional Information
Additional information may consist of the following:
- Current and pending support. Sponsor may require a listing of the PI and Key Personnel on current awards and pending proposals.
- Letters of support from non-university investigators may also be required.
CV or Biographical Sketch
The CV or Biographical Sketch is required for all key project personnel.
Other Support
Other support is a compilation of the current funding and time commitments for the Principal Investigator and any other key project personnel.
References
A list of all references needs to be cited in the proposal.
Checklist (NIH only)
The checklist shows the break down of the indirect cost rate calculations.
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Sponsor Specific Information
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Institutional Information Fact Sheet
This data is often requested by the sponsor to be inserted somewhere within the proposal.
|
Corporate/Legal Name |
President and Fellows of Harvard College |
Address and Phone |
Harvard University
Office for Sponsored Programs
Holyoke Center, Suite 600
1350 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: (617) 495-5501
Fax: (617) 496-2524
Harvard School of Public Health
Office of Financial Services
Kresge Building, Room 1001
677 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 432 1015
FAX: (617) 432 2840 |
Type of Organization - Corporate Status |
Private non-profit educational institution incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts. |
Tax Status |
Tax exempt under Section 501c (3) of the Internal Revenue Code; letter dated August 13, 1979. |
I.R.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN) |
This is a multipurpose tax identification number assigned to all entities which employ people, pay pensions, or open business bank accounts. This number is usually requested from Federal sponsors on their application cover page or their Representation and Certification pages.
04-2103580N
NIH only:
University Area only: 1042103580 B1
Harvard School of Public Health only: 1042103580A6
Harvard Medical School only: 1042103580C5 |
Cognizant Federal Government Audit Agency |
The federal agency with which Harvard University negotiates its indirect cost rates.
Department of Health and Human Services
26 Federal Plaza, Suite 4114
New York, NY 10278.
Contact: Michael Leonard, 212-264-2069. |
Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) Number |
Data Universal Numbering System – this is the number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, which provides Harvard’s credit rating to inquirers.
University Area: 08-235-9691
SPH: 14-961-7367
HMS: 04-700-6379 |
Contractor Establishment Code (CEC) |
62 362 480G |
Congressional district |
Providing a district allows the government to see how federal dollars impact districts.
Cambridge Campus - 8th
Longwood Medical Area (Boston) - 8th
Allston/Brighton (Boston) - 8th |
County |
Cambridge - Middlesex
Boston - Suffolk |
Nuclear Regulatory Commission License No. |
This license number from the NRC provides evidence that Harvard is licensed to use and handle nuclear materials.
20-00297-53 |
CAGE Number: Commercial and Government Entity Code |
This number identifies companies doing or wishing to do business with the federal government. This number is assigned by the Defense Logistics Information Service.
University Area: 1NQH4
SPH: 3KFQ9
HMS: 3Q2L2 |
Federal Interagency Committee on Education (FICE) Number |
This identifier indicates that we are an educational institution and is requested by some of the federal agencies on their application cover page or their Representation & Certification page.
002155 |
Standard Industry Code (SIC) |
This number is assigned to any entity (industry, educational...) to classify the type of industry it is. The SIC number is being phased out and replaced with the North American Industry Classifications System.
8221
611310 (North American Industry Classification Number) |
NSF Institutional Code |
This code is to be used on the National Science Foundation application page.
University Area:0021550000
Harvard School of Public Health:0021550080
Harvard Medical School:0021550030 |
IRB Multiple Project Assurance Code for University Area and Harvard School of Public Health (MPA) |
This code identifies that Harvard University has an IRB in place that meets federal standards and that the University is approved to conduct research involving human subjects.
University Area
FWA 00004837
University area contact: Jane Calhoun 495-5459
Harvard School of Public Health
FWA 00002642
SPH contact: Delia Wolf, M.D., J.D. 384-5486
Harvard Medical School/Harvard School of Dental Medicine
FWA 00007071
Contact: www.hms.harvard.edu/orsp |
Internal Animal Care and Usage Committee (IACUC) |
This number is assigned to Harvard University and identifies that the University is approved to use animals in our research and that we have facilities that meet federal standards for the care of animals.
University Area
A3593-1
Contact: Ellyn Lane 432-1288
Harvard Medical School / Harvard School of Public Health
A3431-01
Contact: Carolyn Connolly 432-0651 |
Wire Transfer:
Non-federal Awards |
Contact: Marc Todesco
Office for Sponsored Programs
Holyoke Center – 6th floor
(617) 495-3925 |
OSP University Area Award Notice Email Addresses |
NSF - award_mgt@harvard.edu
NIH - awardsmgmt2@harvard.edu
Other - awardsmgmt3@harvard.edu |
|
For HMS/HSDM institutional information, please click here.
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Deans Approval/Internal Approval Form
Internal Approval
- A completed Dean's Approval/Internal Tub Approval form is required for all proposal submissions.
School Forms
The approval forms may be obtained at the individual schools. Some of the approval forms can be accessed online.
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