Proposal writing and submission
We support you in the formulation as well as the timely submission of a complete application to US federal agencies.
We offer two different support packages: The BASIC service involves less work and is also possible with a tight deadline, the EXTENDED service requires more advance notice. Please note the respective deadlines. Our services are free of charge.
Deadlines:
If you intend to submit an application to a US federal agency, you must notify the Grants Office in good time. The deadlines for the BASIC or EXTENDED service will then be arranged individually.
Forms & registration
To help you efficiently submit a complete application that meets the formal requirements of the funding agency, we:
- supply you with instructions
- review the content of the forms you have filled in and check for completeness
- manage the necessary accounts in the portal of the funding agency
- manage your official roles in the portal of the funding agency
Budget check
BASIC service
To ensure that you submit a formally correct budget that complies with all the requirements of the funding agency as well as the rules of the University of Bern, we:
- provide you with instructions and budget tools
- check your budget for completeness
- verify that any upper limits are adhered to
- ensure that the budget categories you have defined are allowed and appropriate for your project
- check your budget with regard to obligatory costs
EXTENDED service
To ensure that your budget is not only formally correct (BASIC service), but also convincing in terms of content, so that it will not be reduced, we:
- carry out the BASIC service
- give you qualified feedback on your budget
- review the reasonableness of the costs in your budget
- ensure that the salary costs are comprehensible
- verify that the depreciation rules for equipment are respected
- check whether the participation of third parties is correctly specified
Proposal review
BASIC service
To ensure that you submit a formally correct and complete application, we
- verify if your application complies with the requirements of the funding agency
- check your application with regard to the completeness of the documents, the maximum number of pages and any required section headings
- provide qualified feedback on legal feasibility, the positioning of the University of Bern and the composition of the consortium
EXTENDED service
To ensure that you submit an application that not only meets the formal criteria (BASIC service), but also convinces the evaluators and thus has the best possible chance of success, we:
- carry out the BASIC service
- give you qualified feedback on the content and structure of your proposal
- offer suggestions to improve the readability and persuasiveness of your proposal
- comment on the structure and formatting of your application, the essential key questions and your positioning as a researcher
- review the feasibility of the deliverables and, for collaborative projects, the management structure
Support letter
To ensure that the required support letter is ready in time, we:
- prepare the commitment letter for you with the necessary administrative information
- obtain the necessary signature of the Head of Grants Office or Vice-Rector for Research for you