About OSRI
The Office of Strategic Research Initiatives (OSRI) supports faculty researchers and interdisciplinary teams to develop and propose large-scale projects that capitalize on our University’s diverse strengths. We provide strategic insights on funding opportunities, offer expert in-depth feedback on proposals, connect researchers with partners across – and beyond – our campus, among other services. We also work with faculty on non-technical aspects of proposals, such as broader impacts, outreach and education, broadening participation, center organization, and data management. We offer workshops and training events to help researchers develop strategic expertise in areas like proposal writing, funding mechanisms, societal impacts, and more. We also provide informational briefs to support proposal development, assist with design and conceptualization of proposed programs, facilitate project teams, and assist in proposal writing, editing and review. In concert with proposal development, OSRI provides advice and support to the Vice President for Research to enable the successful implementation and execution of the campus research strategy and initiatives as developed by the faculty and senior administration, and in line with the campus road map. We provide oversight for the Organized Research Centers and Institutes for Advanced Study, support the development of transdisciplinary research teams, and manage internal review and nomination processes for limited submission funding opportunities.
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Services We Provide
Build Research Teams
- Connect with faculty across other departments, schools, and colleges
- Build collaborations with researchers in the region, state, and beyond
- Identify and facilitate potential partnerships with community organizations, institutions, and industry
- Connect to university offices and services to support your project
Develop Impactful Projects
- Organize meetings, workshops, or discussions to initiate projects
- Create strategic plan
- Provide background on specific funding programs and grant mechanisms
- Brainstorm meaningful societal impacts that advance your research agenda
- Hone messaging to funders about the strength of the project and team
Write Competitive Proposals
- Analyze solicitations and create a detailed work plan for submission
- Provide samples, templates, and other documents to help write proposals
- Assist in collecting university data
- Give detailed feedback on structure and persuasiveness of narratives
- Revise final documents for consistency, accuracy, and clarity
- Help draft non-technical aspects of proposals
Faculty Development
- We offer workshops, webinars, and other events on a range of topics, including: External funding 101, Federal funding mechanisms, Proposal writing strategies, Broader impacts & engaged research, Developing “fundable” projects, and other topics (may available upon request)
- Grant writing groups
- Programming, information and support for both first-time and experienced proposers.
- NSF CAREER Commit-to-Submit program
Due to the large number of requests we receive, we can provide the following services based on the time to submission:
| OSRI Services | 3+ months | 2 months | 1 month | 5-10 days |
| Provide high-level review and copy edits on proposal drafts | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Provide in-depth review and edit of proposal drafts | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Provide support for supplementary materials (e.g., data management plan, postdoc mentoring plan) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Coordinate meetings with project team members | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Help draft non-technical sections of the proposal | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Provide project management services, including developing task lists and timelines | ✔ | |||
| Strategize project goals in alignment with the solicitation | ✔ | |||
| Identify potential collaborators for research and outreach/engagement activities | ✔ | |||
| Coordinate meeting(s) with program officers | ✔ | |||
| Arrange for external reviews of draft proposals | ✔ |
