A well-written and skillfully prepared proposal is vital to the success of an application for research funding. This page provides information and resources on how to develop a proposal, prepare your budget, research data management planning, knowledge mobilization, and the MRA system for proposal submission.
Develop Proposal
To be successful, a funding proposal must address an important and timely problem, and explain how it will do so, fill a knowledge gap, and include a timeline of activities.
The OVPRI assists faculty in developing proposals by providing the following services:
- Help researchers identify relevant funding opportunities.
- Review services, including the budget, all required internal forms, documents and forms required by sponsor, compliance with all sponsor and institutional guidelines.
- Vetting and editing all sections of the proposal.
For partnership information, please consult:
- Discover Research to find a U of T researcher for collaboration.
- Community Partnerships & Engagement Office at UTSC early on in your research for collaboration with Community-based Organizations.
- Partnership page of U of T for more information on establishing Partnership with Industry, Community Group and Network of Partners and Memberships.
- Indigenous Research Initiatives Office for collaboration with Indigenous Communities.
- Innovations, Partnership & Entrepreneurship Office for Institutional Partnerships, Industry Research Partnerships and commercialization.
- International Office for International Partnerships and Collaboration.
- Black Research Network for information on black research excellence and collaboration.
- Safeguarding Your Research: Principles for Engaging International Partners
Please contact the OVPRI Research Administration & Partnership Officers for assistance and more information.
Other resources available to researchers in developing and reviewing proposals:
- Proposal writing resources
- CRIS Resources
- UTSC Resource Wiki for Research Grants, Awards and Innovation
Develop a Budget
Plan your budget carefully, keeping in mind the financial needs of your proposed research project, eligibility of research expenses as defined by the sponsor and U of T. Contact your departmental business officer for the university’s current pay rate for human personnel. Please consult the following to understand the different associated costs and category of cost to consider an expense:
- Develop a Budget for more information on common costs including compensation for different groups such as students and postdoctoral fellows, non-student personnel, specialized expenses and budget justification.
- Direct Costs considerations including salaries & wages, materials & supplies, equipment, travel, services and others.
- Indirect Costs considerations including infrastructure, insurance environmental & safety monitoring, ongoing regulatory & certification requirements and others.
- Considerations for Budget Preparation in Foreign Currency
- Publication Discounts including discounts offered by the University of Toronto libraries for article processing charges to make your research openly available.
Other resources:
- UTSC Resource Wiki for Research Grants, Awards and Innovation
- Procurement Services for procurement policies, approved suppliers, contracts & agreements and other procurement related information.
Research Data Management
There are several stages to managing your data effectively, including managing data consent forms, how to keep your data secure, building a data management plan, how to encrypt data, how to handle sensitive data, publishing, and preserving data.
Different funders have different policies on how long to keep data and how long it must be available to other researchers. Please see the Library's Research Data Management website and CRIS Digital Research Infrastructure portal for more information.
Knowledge Mobilization
A Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) Strategy is often required by major funders. KMb consists of all activities and outputs that makes research accessible to a wider audience.
Please consult the following for more information:
- CIHR guide on Knowledge Mobilization
- SSHRC Guidelines for Effective Knowledge Mobilization
- Information & Instructional Technology Services at UTSC for website development services support.
- Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act(AODA) Office website for accessibility considerations for your website design.
- UTSC Library Digital Scholarship website for support in the areas of data, digital humanities, digital collections building, digital preservation, and scholarly communications.
- Faculty Liaison Librarian can also provide some specialized support.
EDI in Research & Innovation
Please visit the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Research & Innovation page for more information.
Submit Proposal
MY RESEARCH APPLICATIONS (MRA)
My Research Applications (MRA) is an automated system for internal review and endorsement of research applications. The application will flow through a defined electronic review and approval process and includes the submission of request for non-funded agreements, such as Material Transfer Agreements, Non-Disclosure Agreements, etc. Faculty members will be asked to submit their proposal and budget on the MRA in advance of the sponsor deadline and will also need to submit their applications on the external sponsor site.
Please note that there is an earlier submission deadline on MRA for faculty at UTSC.
Please consult the following for more information:
