Proposal Development Prompts

Answers to the following questions will help you know whether potential funders are a good fit for your project, and they will form the foundation of your proposal.

• What is the central idea, purpose, or research question of your project? What problem or need are you addressing?
• Do you have departmental or institutional approval, support, and/or funding?
• Do you have access to additional funds (from Emory or other funders) to contribute to the effort?
• What are your research methods? What activities will aid you in reaching this goal? Why did you choose these methods?
• Who will direct it? Qualifications? What are other staffing needs? Who will make reports? Who will be served by this program?
• What is the time frame for the program/project from start to finish?
• Are there other potential collaborators for the program/project—that is, other scholars at Emory, community agencies, or other academic institutions?
• Will the program continue after external funding ceases, or will it sunset once its goals have been realized? Or operate at a reduced level with internal funds?
• How much money is needed to implement your program/project? How will the money be spent—what are the line items? Find out more about preparing a budget here.
• What is the project’s potential for a broader impact? Is the project scalable? Is it replicable? Find out more about "broader impacts" here.
• How will you assess and evaluate the project? How will you know if you are successful? How will you gather data and analyze it?