Funding opportunities arise through many formal and informal means. See Finding Funding.
Generally, sponsored applications or proposals are:
Solicited
- Program Announcements (PAs) – No specific resources are set aside at the agency for the PA, but an area of research interest in a general discipline or subdiscipline is described
- Request for Applications/Proposals (RFAs/RFPs) – Specific resources have been allocated at the agency or sponsor for a given objective, and a public request has been issued with directions for proposers
- Request for Quote (RFQ) – A standard request for price quotations from competing procurement sources
- Informal Requests – non-federal sponsors and non-competing projects - the sponsor's representative and MIT's investigator together develop the proposal and agree to a budget
Unsolicited – An open request for applications with general submission guidelines
- Examples – Investigator-initiated proposals to the NSF; R01 applications to the NIH
Limited Applications – Some requests for proposals limit the number of applications that may be submitted from the Institute. These cases are coordinated through the Vice President for Research.