Division of Research and Economic Development FY 17 Q2 Research News FY 17 Q 2 newsletter | Page 18

Grants Lifecycle from Applicants Perspective
(information provided by Gregg Ukaegbu, US Health and Human Services, Maryland Governors Grant Conference, 11/2016)
Grants Cycle or process is a series of sequential steps involved in the pre-award and post-award phases of grants
administration or management. Familiarity with the various steps is definitely helpful for application in:
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Knowing what to expect
Writing competitive applications/proposals
Implementing a grants program in accordance with all terms and conditions
Steps in Grants cycle:
Planning
Announcement
Application Evaluation
Negotiation
Award
Post Award Management
Closeout
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Planning
1. Keeping your organization’s mission and goal in mind, identify the federal agencies that align with the goals and
mission o f your project.
2. Search Grants.gov/CFDA for current opportunities.
A. Take stock of your organizations strengths and challenges towards a successful application
3. Conduct an internal needs assessment
A. What staff do you need? Proposal committee? Project director? Writers?
4. Map our assignments for completing your application. Set completion date. TIMELINE!!!!
5. OBTAIN and REVIEW past successful GRANT APPLICATION PACKAGES!
6. Register on Grants.gov
Announcement
Grant opportunity announcements are sometimes called funding opportunity announcement (FOA), request for
proposals (RFP) and/or request for application (RFA).
Application
Once you find a funding opportunity of interest:
1. Read it thoroughly
2. Discuss it as a team
3. Map out a strategy for tackling the application and writing the proposal
A typical grant application has multiple sections:
1. Abstract/summary
2. Organization background
3. Problem description
4. Goals and objectives
5. Project design/Methodology
6. Evaluation
Follow the instructions for each section in the announcement; pay close attention to technical requirements.
Make sure that your proposal is vividly descriptive; you will not be there to explain your ideas that do not come
across in your application, therefore, be very specific.
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