Types of Sponsored Research Proposals

Proposals may be either solicited or unsolicited.

Solicted

Requests for Applications (RFAs) are stand-alone requests for applications. The RFAs provide sufficient information to allow prospective applicants to determine whether the solicitation is relevant to their funding needs and/or field of research. The RFA may include the amount of funding available, the number of awards anticipated, the application deadline and other information that describes the nature of the effort desired and the obligations of recipients.

Occasionally, RFAs limit the number of proposals that an institution may submit. Learn more about UCSF Limited Submissions. 

Solicitations or Requests for Proposals (RFPs), are issued by agencies or private funding sources to make requests for a specific project. The RFPs may also be listed as Program Announcements (PAs). PAs are used to describe new, continuing or expanded program interests of the sponsor or to announce the availability of a new mechanism of support. The resulting agreement usually takes the form of a contract between the funding agency and the institution.

 

Unsolicited

Unsolicited proposals are submitted to a potential sponsor in accordance with general guidelines and statements of interest rather than as the result of a specific solicitation. For example, most National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant support is the result of unsolicited proposals.

If the sponsor decides to fund the proposed plan of work, the funding may take the form of a grant, contract or cooperative agreement. Most large sponsors have set deadlines for the submission of unsolicited proposals, as well as published schedules for the review and notification process.