Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding: A College of Education Initiative to Support the Writing and Submission of a Large Foundation/Federal Grant

Merriam-Webster defines bespoke as “custom-made”, which reflects the core of this strategic funding initiative: an application process in which you propose a custom set of proposal development supports that you would need to take your external funding profile to the next level.

Description: This is a College of Education initiative designed to support a College of Education PI's specific grant proposal writing needs for a large foundation/federal funding opportunity. We named this initiative “Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding” because we are asking you, as a grant-seeking faculty member, to tell us what specific support you would need to construct a competitive application for a large/federal/foundation grant that you are targeting. 

Introducing the Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative:

• The College of Education faculty member who will be the PI for a planned grant submission with a COE academic department or COE organizational unit as the lead unit may apply for the Bespoke Proposal Development initiative from the CoE to support their planned writing and submission efforts for a large foundation/federal funding opportunity that they are targeting by identifying support needed for a specific proposal submission. 
• The target grant(s) should be large (>$1M) and ideally be from a federal agency (e.g., IES, NSF, NIH, DoE, etc.) or foundation. 
• The target grant(s) must have Texas State as the primary institution (not as a subawardee).
• The Bespoke Proposal Development application includes a plan for how applicants would accomplish their targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal and what specific itemized supports they need to be successful. 
• This is a one-time proposal development support for a specific target grant or set of target grants (not a proposal for ongoing support, such as a new staff position, for example; and not “seed” funding to collect preliminary data, etc.).
• The deliverable for all Bespoke Proposal Development awards will include the submission of the targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal/proposals included in the Bespoke Proposal Development application plan. Under extenuating circumstances, extensions to the deliverable timeline may be allowable, but if the Bespoke Proposal Development award is accepted, there must be a proposal submitted per the application plan.

Terminology:

• Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative: this is the COE's initiative described on this page that you, a COE PI, would apply to in order to fund specific support you would need to develop a proposal to a target grant opportunity.
• Target/targeted grant: this is the large foundation/federal funding opportunity that you are interested in submitting a competitive application for. 

Deadline:

• Rolling application deadlines during the initiative period, which is defined as: until funds are exhausted or through August, 2027, whichever comes first.

Timeline:

• All Bespoke Proposal Development funds by awarded applicants must be expended no later than Jan. 1, 2028.

Funding Source:

• Funds for the Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative come from the College of Education portion of returned IDC from COE funded awards; IDC is designed to be used to enhance the research enterprise.  

Support for completing the Bespoke Proposal Development application:

• Please work with Duncan Selby, Pre-Award Coordinator, on your Bespoke Proposal Development application.

Application Process 

• The application for the Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative  is below.

Eligibility Requirements for Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding Applicants Includes:

1. Tenured/tenure-track COE faculty member
2. Should already have a successful external funding track record
3. Intent to apply to a grant fitting the description above as a PI. This can be a collaborative award (including other faculty as Co-PIs) but only the faculty member planning to be the PI in the target large foundation/federal grant opportunity may submit an application for the Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative. 

Targeted Large/Federal Grant Proposal Summary

1. Provide a summary of your plans for your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal, which this Bespoke Proposal Development initiative will support
   1. Working title of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal
   2. Team composition (if applicable) of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal
   3. Short abstract of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal
   4. Overall budget of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal (can be approximate) 

Funder Description of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal

1. Provide information about the funder of your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal
   1. Attach the RFP (or RFP from a previous year if the current RFP has not been announced yet) OR provide the link to the RFP in the textbox below
   2. Provide a short description in the textbox of how your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal aligns with the funding opportunity - contacting the program officer of the funding opportunity and discussing your target grant proposal project is highly recommended.
   3. Provide a short description about how winning this target large foundation/federal grant could take your external funding profile to another level (e.g., how it would be different than previous external funding awards you have won, etc.)
   4. Provide the deadline for submission in the textbox
   5. Provide other information if applicable

Statement of Need for your Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding support

1. Make a compelling case for why the Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding initiative is needed to be successful as you work to write and submit your large foundation/federal grant proposal  
2. Specific challenges you face in the proposal process that would indicate the need for the Bespoke Proposal Development funding.
3. How Bespoke Proposal Development resources would transform your chances of success.

Proposal Development Plan

1. Outline your plan for developing the targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal: 
   1. Key steps and milestones you will need to achieve en route to completing your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal 
   2. Timeline and benchmarks leading to your targeted large foundation/federal grant proposal submission
   3. Other, as applicable

Bespoke Proposal Development Strategic Funding Initiative Support Requested

1. Include an itemized budget with rationale where you specify the type of support needed from the Bespoke Proposal Development initiative. Some possible examples could include: 
   1. Mentorship or coaching
   2. Editing or proposal review
   3. Grant writing support
   4. Specific training you need for some aspect of the target large foundation/federal grant project
   5. Notes: 
      1. As an example, if a team is writing for an NIH opportunity, they could apply for an external consultant who has expertise in NIH funding to review their proposal, and this could be done for several aspects of a proposal (for example, the Bespoke Proposal Development application could include consultancies to review a CV to see how it would score in a federal grant evaluation). There could be a course release for one person on the team during the AY (there would be no incentive funds or teaching overload in that case) or a stipend during the summer  
      2. Typically awards would not include travel
   6. There is no predetermined cap for the Bespoke Proposal Development initiative but we anticipate most awards will be between $500 - $5,000. (Note that support such as a course release, if requested, must also have a dollar amount included in the budget.)
   7. Note that we encourage you to ask for resources you need to prepare a high-quality proposal, while not asking for wish list items that are not necessary. This will help us support you while extending limited funds to support the highest number of COE faculty researchers possible.
2. To submit the itemized budget information, please upload an Excel file in the portal below. 

Self-Evaluation Criteria

1. Provide a self-assessment in which you reflect on how your proposal aligns with Bespoke goals: 
   1. Potential for transformational impact on proposal writing
   2. Likelihood of proposal success with the requested support
   3. How would the Bespoke Proposal Development award elevate your large foundation/federal grant proposal writing to the next level? 

Curriculum Vitae

Attach your current CV in TXST format. Note: the CV should indicate the potential for a competitive review by the funding agency 

Notes about the Application Review Process

1. Bespoke Proposal Development applications will be reviewed by the ADR and the appropriate Department Chair, who will make recommendations to the Dean.
2. Evaluation factors include the project's feasibility, significance, and alignment with Bespoke Proposal Development goals. CVs will be part of the evaluation
3. Note that there may be revisions requested by the review team. 

Post-Acceptance Expectations