Proposal Review

Sponsor Review of Grant Proposals

National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants process and review:

National Science Foundation (NSF) merit review process:

Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) review process

General Tips

Review sponsor's instructions and website to learn about the review, evaluation, and funding process for proposals. Time frames and processes vary widely.

Reviewers have limited time and energy to devote to your proposal. If you make them work too hard to understand what you are trying to say, they will have little energy left to assess your ideas. Good ideas can be overlooked if the reviewer becomes distracted by typos, poor grammar, or other errors in construction. Clear, concise language is key to a good proposal.

Reviewer comments can be used to strengthen the application for the next round of funding. If the sponsor does not routinely return comments to the investigator as part of its process, consider requesting them.

What to do when your grant is rejected - Nature 578, 477-479 (2020)