September 2, 2018

Help Prevent Submission Headaches- Proposal Format Reminders

Incorrect formatting can prevent proposal submission to Grants.gov and other sponsor systems.

Thankfully, these errors are relatively easy to fix if you know what to look for.

For example, some versions of Word, auto-correct quotation marks from “straight” to “curly”. If these curly quotes are routed in an application to Grants.gov, an error results which prevents submission until corrected.

We highly recommend all proposal preparers adjust auto-correct settings in Word to prevent this from occurring.

That’s not the only potential formatting headache.

We recommend even seasoned proposal preparers review sponsor guidance like:

Grants.gov:

Submitting Special Characters

NIH:

• Font & Margin Guidelines
• Format Attachments
• Appendix Policy FAQ

 

NSF:

• Format the Proposal
• Research.gov – Proposal Preparation Site Document Upload FAQ