Proposal Writing and Project Management Guidelines for NSF Engineering Education Grant Proposals DRAFT

Summary
This EEES Proposal Writing and Management Guidelines manual is intended to be a resource for scholars who are writing National Science Foundation (NSF) grants focused on engineering education.  The Guide explains basic requirements, offers tips, and provides references to help build and effectively communicate a great project idea in the area of engineering education.  It also offers advice on project management for funded proposals.

The goal of this Guide is to condense the voluminous amount of NSF proposal writing and project management literature into one succinct, easy to navigate, advice document geared at assisting applicants through the engineering education grant writing process and beyond.  In addition to synthesizing existing literature, this guide also draws on conversations with NSF program directors that have provided invaluable information including tips germane to producing a proposal that is strong yet easy to read and understand. This resource also provides references to more detailed guidance from the literature.

Once you have a funded project, the Guide can help you to effectively manage it.  Basic management advice is provided on budgeting, staffing, recruitment of students, and the importance of diversifying the field of engineering, is provided to help assure long and short term success of the project. 

Turning a great idea into a competitive proposal takes a clear vision and a lot of research, resources, and collaboration.  The review process can appear nebulous and be difficult to navigate without a clear sense of who reads the proposals, what they consider important, and how they decide if your idea is worth funding.   These guidelines provide a useful map through the process of engineering education proposal writing and project management.