ENGR 100W

Proposal Basics

Sample Language – NSF Guidelines2. Proposal Margin and Spacing Requirements The proposal must be clear, readily legible, and conform to the

following requirements: a. Use one of the following typefaces identified below:

Arial10, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger

Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or

largerA font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical

formulas or equations, figure, table or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. PIs are cautioned, however, that the text must still be readable;

b. No more than 6 lines of text within a vertical space of 1 inch; and

c. Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.

NSF GuidelinesSections of the Proposal The sections described below represent the body of a proposal submitted to NSF. a. Cover Sheetb. Project SummaryThe proposal must contain a summary of the proposed activity suitable for publication,

not more than one page in length. c. Table of Contents d. Project Description (including Results from Prior NSF Support) Therefore, the Project Description (including Results from Prior NSF Support, which is

limited to five pages) may not exceed 15 pages. Visual materials, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other pictorial presentations are included in the 15-page limitation.

e. References Citedf. Biographical Sketch(es)g. Budgeth. Current and Pending Supporti. Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources j. Special Information and Supplementary Documentation NSF may return without review proposals that are not consistent with these instructions. k. AppendicesAll information necessary for the review of a proposal must be contained in Sections A

through I of the proposal. Appendices may not be included unless a deviation has been authorized

Suggested Elements and Sectionsfor Your Proposal (at minimum)

Letter of Transmittal Title Page Executive Summary (this goes before Table of Contents) Table of Contents IntroductionDescribe the problem and your proposed solution, or describe the proposed

opportunity and why your client should take advantage of it. Present relevant background information, sources of information, and scope of proposal. Describe advantages AND disadvantages of the proposed solution. Convince the client that this proposal should be implemented.

Possible subheadings in the Introduction section:BackgroundEnvironmental AspectsTechnical AspectsAlternatives (or Possible Solutions)AdvantagesDisadvantages 

Suggested Elements and Sections (cont.)

Proposed Procedure Describe the steps you would take to implement the proposal. Task ScheduleGive the timeline for implementation of the proposal. Present your timeline either as

a table or as a Gantt chart or a milestone chart The steps included in the table/chart should follow the steps outlined in the proposed procedure section.

Personnel/CredentialsIndicate who will be implementing this proposal. What is the size of the team? Give

their general qualifications (e.g. geologist, lawyer, electrical engineer, etc.), qualifications to implement this proposal (degrees, years of experience you have etc.).

BudgetCost breakdown and the total cost for implementing the proposal. You should

consider all relevant costs such as salaries, fringe benefits, materials, equipment, travel, initial costs, on-going costs, indirect costs. For some proposals, a cost/benefit analysis may be appropriate.

References List references cited in the proposal. Use correct APA documentation format for the

citations in the paper and for the reference list.

Typical Budget CategoriesDirect Costs Salaries Typically based on the percentage of effort by each individual on the project applied to

his/her annual salary. Fringe Benefits (health, dental, vision, retirement, disabilty. Life insurance, etc.)Expressed as a percentage of salary. Equipment Typically capital expenditures more than some minimum amount, (say $5k) Materials and Supplies Consumables such as chemicals, paper, lumber, or batteries. Often small equipment (<

$500) such as glassware, small electronics, or software. Travel List the name, destination, and purpose of trip. Include transportation costs, registration

fees, accommodation fees, and other related expenses. Publication Costs Consultants List each consultant, their specialty or service to the project, and their daily, weekly or

monthly rate of reimbursement, and show the consultant's total projected cost on the project.

Indirect Costs Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A Costs or overhead) Cover the costs of office space, energy costs, administrative support, sometimes lab

technicians (though those could be itemized above), maintenance, phones and email, business taxes, insurance, annual licenses, etc. Anything that would be a fixed costs to run a business. F&A can range from 20% to 100%.

PersonnelCo-PI- Lena Garcia

Release Time, 20% Spring 2010 9,153$ 2 weeks summer 2011 5,919$

Co-PI - Jun Kim -$ Release Time, 20% Fall 2010 10,072$ 2 weeks summer 2011 6,514$

PI - John Smith -$ Release Time, 20% Fall 2010 8,704$ 2 weeks summer 2011 4,176$

Co-PI - Gabriela Van Hoff -$ 2 weeks Summer 2010, 2011 15,702$

Student Assistants @$13/hr/100hrs total 9,100$ Total Personnel 70,040$

Fringe Benefits Student Assistant Benefits@ 7.5 to 6/30/10, 9.7%@ 7/1/10 854$

Faculty Release Time Rate 36% 9,946$ Faculty Overload/Summer Rate 9.7% 743$ Faculty Overload/Summer Rate 9.8% @ 7/1/11 2,514$

Total Fringe 14,057$ Total Personnel and Fringe 84,097$

Travel 4,000$

Community College Seminar (Food, Books) 2,000$

Other Direct CostsMaterials and Supplies -$ Equipment under $5K each 11,500$ Publication Costs, Duplicating 1,000$ Software 6,000$

Total Other Direct Costs 18,500$

Total Direct Costs 108,597$ Modified Total Direct Costs 108,597$

Facility and Administration Rate 26% 28,235$ Total Funding Requested 136,832$

NSF Budget Justification A. Senior Personnel: $55,499 1. Principal Investigator Smith($12,870): The grant will support the PI for 20% release in Fall 2010 and 2 weeks in summer 2011 to

develop the water an energy module, analyze assessment data, and plan and participate in summer workshop for community college faculty.

2. Co-PI Garcia ($13,732) The grant will support the co-PI for 20% release in Spring 2010 and 2 weeks in summer 2011 to develop the energy introduction module, analyze assessment data, and plan and participate in summer workshop for community college faculty.

3. Co-PI Kim ($15,830) The grant will support the co-PI for 20% release in Fall 2010 and 2 weeks in summer 2011 to develop the sustainable product development module, analyze assessment data, and plan and participate in summer workshop for community college faculty.

4. Co-PI Van Hoff ($13,067) The grant will support the co-PI for 2 weeks in summer 2010 and 2 weeks in summer 2011 to develop a comprehensive assessment plan, analyze assessment data, and plan and participate in summer workshop for community college faculty.

B. Other Personnel: $9,035 1. Undergraduate or Graduate Students ($9,035); Student assistants will be hired at a rate of $13 to support development and

testing of modules. Students will help assemble laboratory experiments and test them for reliability. The first time the modules are run in class, student assistants will provide in-class support. Each student will work no more than 20 hours per week during the Academic Year and 40 hours per week during summer.

C. Fringe Benefits: $13,339Faculty Release Time fringe rate is 36% Faculty Summer and Intersession fringe rate is 9.7% until of 6/30/11 and 9.8% after 7/1/11.Part-time, Hourly, and Students fringe rate is 7.5% through 6/30/09 and 9.7% thereafter.D. Equipment: $6000

$6000 is allocated to purchase pumps and turbines for water and energy module.E. Travel: $4000 $4000 is allocated for travel to two conferences to present research findings.F. Participant Support Costs: $1,500 1. Travel ($500): $500 is allocated for food for workshop participants 2. Materials ($1000): $1000 is allocated for a book and CD for each workshop participant.G. Other Direct Costs: $12,300 1. Materials and Supplies ($5,500); $5500 is budgeted to experimental set ups for the energy introduction module.2. Software ($6000); $6,000 is allocated to buy 100 seats of the CES EduPack 2009 software3. Publication costs and duplicating ($800); $400 is allocated for page charges for publishing articles about the project and $400 is

for duplicating materials for students and community college faculty.I. Indirect Costs: $48,284The federally-agreed Facilities and Administrative Rate for On Campus Research is 48.2% for the SJSU Research Foundation, fiscal

sponsor.

From student projectBudget As shown in Table 2, the project budget is estimated to be $37.5 million. This includes the overhead percentage of 50%.

Table 2. Budget summary for TechnoSync Project Component Estimated Cost ($) Salaries $2.5 million Fringe Benefits $500,000 Equipment $6 million Materials $15 million Travel $500,000 Consultations $500,000 Total (not including overhead) $25 million Overhead (50%) $12.5 million

Total $37.5 million

“Green” materials are more expensive than their “non-green” alternatives, therefore most of our budget is consumed by the materials. Equipment for this project will have to meet the LEED building specifications and instructions, which causes the equipment to be higher than typical for such a project. The entire project team needs to travel to the site location and stay for 6 months; that is why it is expected to cost $500,000. The salary category refers to the salaries of the engineers, construction workers, and managers involved with this project. A representative for TechnoSync has already stated to our clients, “TechnoSync is not worried about the cost of the building process. As a company, we need the building to be safe, well structured, and environmentally correct. TechnoSync is striving to be on the forefront of the commercial ‘green’ building development.”

Project Schedule

The duration of the demonstration project is 18 months, with a starting date of 1 June 2003. Each of the research tasks described in the proposal is shown in Fig. 3. The majority of the experimental tests will be completed within the first 12 months of the project, and the initial design period is sufficiently long to encourage input from the research and professional communities within earthquake engineering.

Figure 3. Schedule for NEES Demonstration Project

Centrifuge TestsDesign of ExperimentsConstruction of SpecimensTesting Evaluation of Data

Field TestsCharacterize Soil at SiteDesign of ExperimentsConstruction of SpecimensTestingEvaluation of Data

Shaking Table TestsDesign of ExperimentsConstruction of SpecimensTestingEvaluation of Data

Structural TestsDesign of ExperimentsConstruction of SpecimensTestingEvaluation of Data

Data ManagementData StructureData DictionaryPopulate DatabasesEvaluation

Computational SimulationModel DevelopmentExperimental DesignImprovement of ModelsSimulation in NEES System

OutreachExchange InformationEncourage Comp. Proposals

J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N2003 2004

Educational Case StudiesPrediction Challenges

Conference Presentations