Writing Special Sections

Many multi-investigator and/or multidisciplinary proposals have requirements that are substantially different from individual research proposals. For example, NIH program projects generally require Administrative Cores. We can provide advice, outlines, and writing assistance to help you develop these required sections of the proposal for your grant application.

Evaluation

Some funding opportunities require plans for evaluation of the proposed project. These evaluations affect proposal budgets, and they require careful explanation that takes into consideration benchmarks, outcomes, and the ways in which you will adjust your program based on data gathered. Based on the requirements of the proposal, these evaluations can be conducted internally or by an external evaluator. As you plan the evaluation of your proposed program, please remember to build the cost of these services into your project budget, and contact the Proposal Development division well in advance of your deadline. We can help you develop measurable aims or goals that allow for meaningful evaluations, thereby demonstrating your program's success to both you and your funding agency.

For additional assistance with writing the evaluation section of your proposals, the UNLV Center for Research, Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) is available to assist you.

NSF Broader Impacts

The National Science Foundation uses two merit review criterion for evaluating research proposals for funding: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge. The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes. Learn more about addressing the Broader Impacts Requirement.

Data Management Plans

The NSF requires that all requests for funding contain a data management plan (DMP) of no more than two pages addressing how the proposed project will comply with the agency's data sharing policy. This document must either outline the plan for data management, or a justification as to why there is no need for such a plan.

• UNLV Example with Sample Language

NSF DMP Templates

Use these templates to help create DMPs for your NSF proposals. The templates contain suggested items to consider; not all questions will be relevant to all projects. Most templates have five or six main sections (indicated by bold headings). We suggest that you try to address the topic of each section. Remember – NSF limits the plan to two pages.

1. Start by answering the questions within each section.
2. After answering all the relevant questions, remove the questions, leaving just your answers.
3. Modify the answers into prose that makes sense as a paragraph below each Roman numeral header (include the bold text as the header to each of your sections in your Data Management Plan).

*A template is not provided. Link takes you directly to the Interdisciplinary Earth Data Alliance's Data Management Plan Tool.

Other helpful tools can be found at the UNLV Library's Data Management site. You can also create a DMP using the University of California's DMP Tool.

DMP Plans for Other Agencies

The NIH requires only a paragraph following the Research Plan Section to describe your data sharing plan. See the Office of Extramural Research's guide on this topic.

The NEH Office of Digital Humanities requires a DMP for some of their grants. Here is a template to meet their requirements.