The UW Tacoma Office of Research is committed to assisting faculty in leveraging the rich resources available through the UW Seattle Office of Research and Office of Sponsored Programs, as well as to providing support tailored to the particular context of our campus. Our office specifically supports UW Tacoma faculty in developing sponsored grant and contract proposals through the following services:
- Identifying possible funding opportunities
- Support in reviewing grant submission guidelines and understanding university policies and practices and how they will impact your proposal and submission
- Consultations on project development and conceptualization, in advance of proposal writing, and on research design, methods, and approaches to structuring proposal elements
- Assistance in creating a budget, budget justification, and other supporting documents
- Proposal-writing workshops (offered as part of our Faculty Development Series) and peer mentoring groups
- Assistance with submitting proposals for internal review and submission by OSP through SAGE system
To learn more about these services or schedule an appointment to work with our office, contact Lisa Isozaki.

Quick tips for developing successful research proposals
- Start early! Particularly if you will be submitting your proposal through grants.gov, you need to allow UW OSP enough time to submit during time when the site is very busy. UW OSP uses the following rules per the GIM 19:
- Complete proposals (including all final elements) must be received (or be viewable, if using a Sponsor’s online system) by OSP at least seven (7) business days prior to the Sponsor deadline.
- Proposals received by 5:00pm three (3) business days prior to the Sponsor deadline and that include all completed elements will be reviewed by OSP staff to the extent necessary to assure the proposal is successfully submitted to the sponsor, and will be reviewed for accuracy, completion and compliance with Sponsor, University, and Federal and State requirements.
- Proposals submitted to OSP after 5:00 pm three (3) business days prior to the Sponsor deadline require the approval of the Assistant Vice Provost for Research in Seattle or his/her delegate. This waiver is only granted in extraordinary circumstances.
- Contact the Office of Research as soon as you decide to pursue funding to learn how our office can support you in developing your project and proposal and to understand the UW OSP deadlines and submission requirements: Lisa Isozaki
- Take advantage of the proposal-writing resources available to you at the UW Tacoma Office of Research. Visit our Faculty Development page to learn more about proposal-writing workshops offered through the office.
- Discuss your project with your unit Director/Dean prior to submitting the proposal, and ideally, before beginning work on it. Because this person is responsible for approving your proposal, it is important that he/she knows what you are proposing before the proposal routes for approval. If your proposal involves developing new courses, using additional University space, using departmental resources, or ordering large equipment, your director needs to ensure your activities are compatible with the program.
- Have your budget reviewed by Lisa Isozaki and also make sure to discuss your budget with the program administrator who handles budgets (and HR issues) in your unit.
- Plan to be available during the week before the due date to make any last minute changes.