the mini-playbook

the mini-playbook

A resource guide for the successful submission of high-quality, competitive grant proposals in the UNC School of Nursing.

View full the PEG Playbook

Grant (n): a gift (especially of money) for a particular purpose.

Schedule a project meeting

Project Ideation

Prospect for funding

Submit an Intent to Apply

Submit files for editing

Search for funding that aligns with your project's goals and aims.

Determine your project goals, potential team, and whether the project aligns with your career goals.

Once you have a solid project plan and division chair approval, sumit an intent to apply.

Submit files for editing and review here.

Schedule a meeting with the ORS team to timeline your project.

Download the ORS Standard Operating Procedures, detailing PI/PD responsibilities in the grants process.

The Timeline

A sample timeline of the important events in the grant submission process for Carolina Nursing Practice & Education grants.

all final documents to ORS

editor read

21 days ahead of deadline

division chair approval

10 days ahead of deadline

prepare extra documents

revise + edit

grant deadline

kick off meeting

OSP review

draft(s) due for developmental read

initial budget meeting

final budget meeting

all documents except narrative to ORS

intent to apply

5 days ahead of deadline

ideally submitted 3+ months ahead of deadline

14 days ahead of deadline

Prospect for funding

Aligning your project with a funder is the key to submitting high-quality, competitive, and successful proposals.

Check the Practice & Education Grants Annual Calendar to see if there is an upcoming deadline you can plan for now.

NLN Nursing Education Research Grants Program

UNC Research: Find Funding

AACN Faculty Scholars Grants

UNC SON Funding Database

UNC Foundation Relations Funding Resources Guide

Sigma Nursing Research Grants

Federal grant opportunities

UNC Provost's Office Internal Funding

Timelining is a critical part of the grants process. After submitting the intent to apply form, you will be invited to a kick-off meeting. Please come to the meeting with:

1. Understanding of the grant requirements and your eligibility.2. Clear set of aims and project goals. 3. Names of team members, especially those who will play a crucial role in the project. You are more than welcome to invite key project members to the timelining meeting. 4. A brief idea of budget, including the answer to the question "do you need money to do this project?"

You will leave this meeting with:

1. Understanding the level of support from the SON for this pre-award process.2. A clear timeline of events, including what is expected from you when. 3. Several calendar invites for subsequent meetings relating to budget, project progress, and personnel. Please ensure your calendar is up-to-date!

PEG projects will each receive their own Loop page, which includes links to the proposal call, deadline calendar, project tracker, and other important details. See a sample by clicking on the computer icon.

Have a project idea?

Ask yourself the following:

• What is the problem I want to solve?
• Do I need funding to complete the project?
• Does my project align with the UNC mission, SON mission, and SON strategic plan?

UNC Mission

Chancellor Roberts's Four Areas of Focus

SON Mission

SON Strategic Plan

The extra documents

There are many extra, supporting documents that go along with a grant application. These are due with the grant, and often take time to gather signatures and support letters. Examples of extra documents may include:

• Letters of support from your supervisor (Division Chair), the Dean, and any partnering organizations
• Memorandums of Understanding from Clinical Sites
• Non-profit documentation
• Accreditation letters
• Syllabus
• Sustainability plan (i.e., how does the project keep going after funding ends?)

PSA: There is no grant without a budget!

Note that you will have assistance from the ORS with your budget & budget justification, but these resources are helpful for educating yourself!

The budget meeting:

While your narrative does the arguing for why you need the money, the budget is it's main support. For most grants, the budget will be drafted by the Senior Grants Manager in the Office of Research and Scholarship. This and the final budget meeting will be scheduled based on your outlook calendar - please have it up to date! Please come to the meeting with solid plans for your project including:

• Effort for you and other project members
• Other personnel you want to hire
• Equipment needs
• Travel costs
• Dissemination costs

Grant budgets from instrumentl

The Intent to Apply form is the kick-off to a grant project in the SON. The form:

• Collects important information about the proposal like the funder, due date, budget, and most importantly, a project summary.
• Ensures that you have spoken to your Division Chair about your intentions.
• Lets the ORS team know you plan to submit, so we can kick-start the applications process.
• Allows the ORS team to track applications and their progress.

LIMITED SUBMISSIONS are grants where either the SON or UNC can only submit one application.

1. If UNC is limited to one submission, we will work with the UNC Office of Research Development. 2. If the SON can only support one submission, faculty will receive an email via the SON Faculty listserv with the RFP and internal limited submission date. We will ask you to complete an intent to apply form. Please be as detailed as possible, as the PEG committee will gather to select the SON's representative applicant.

PSA: There is no grant without a budget!

The final budget meeting:

After the initial budget meeting, the Senior Grants Manager in ORS will send you a draft budget. She'll also send you a budget justification to fill out. There will be several email communications to ensure costs are right and nothing is missed. During the final budget meeting, you will go over these two documents and ensure they are ready for submission.

A sample budget justification from Cornell University.

Several documents are needed for successful grant applications which include:

• Abstract
• Project overview and aims
• Project narrative
• Biosketches or CVs

• Budget and budget justification
• Letters of support from your supervisor (e.g., Division Chair), the Dean, and any partners
• Appendices

Sample budget justification*

NIH Biosketch Guide

Letter of Support Template

The ORS team will craft and assist with budget documents, including drafting the internal and external budget.

Kick-Off Meeting

After your intent to apply is submitted, you'll hear from the ORS team with next steps, which will involve scheduling a kick-off meeting. Please come to this meeting with:

• Solid project goals and aims. In other words, why this grant and what do you want to accomplish with it?
• A list of project team members
• A rough idea of budget - what are the main costs?
• Your calendar for future planning meetings
• Any questions or concerns you have about the process

Some resources...

Learn Grant Writing's guide to a kick-off meeting

The Grant Professional Association's guide to the kick-start meeting.