Getting Started with Proposals

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Proposal Submission Procedures

The general procedures for submitting proposals are listed below. Each college/unit may have additional procedures for proposal development and submission.

Contact ORA for assistance in identifying funding sources and acquiring guidelines on specific programs and development of a preliminary and/or full proposal.
After completing a rough draft of the proposal, contact ORA to set up an appointment to discuss and develop the budget, receive guidance on completing required forms, and get answers to any remaining questions before submitting the formal proposal.
All proposals the University submits on behalf of faculty/staff must receive internal approval by completing the Proposal Information Form in conjunction with the electronic routing provided through . For assistance, please contact the ORA Coordinator or Administrator assigned to your department; or call 601-266-4119 or email ora-pamFREEMississippi.
To serve you most effectively, we ask that you deliver the completed proposal to ORA 5-10 working days prior to the submission deadline. Most proposals are submitted to the sponsor electronically, but when necessary ORA will copy and mail proposals. The project director should verify with ORA staff whether they have all the necessary information for processing the proposal.
Award notification or declination generally takes several months. If the project director receives agency correspondence about the proposal, please check to ensure that a copy was forwarded to ORA.
Should you receive a declination, we highly encourage you to obtain the "reviewers' comments" on your proposal. Some agencies will send them automatically, but some sponsors require you to request them in writing to receive them from the funding source. Foundations may be reluctant to share this information, but you should always ask. In addition, if you are notified personally concerning the status of your proposal, please forward this information to ORA in order to insure proper continuation or closure of the account.

Additional information is available on our FAQs page.

For information on ORA workshops, webinars and other events, contact our Information Specialist at USM-ORAFREEMississippi or (601) 266-5054.

Proposal-related Resources

You will find more resources on our Forms and Budget page, on our home page under "Frequently Needed Information", and on the pages linked in the left-hand menu. Our Assistance Navigator is designed to help you locate the items you need on our website.

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