At MSOE, the Office of Applied Research and Grants partners with faculty and staff to ensure competitive and compliant grant submissions. The following steps outline the typical process for preparing and submitting an external grant proposal. 

1. Identify a Funding Opportunity
   Explore funding opportunities through federal agencies, foundations, or corporate sponsors. The Office of Applied Research and Grants is available to assist in identifying funders aligned with your research interests.
   
   
2. Consult Your Department Chair or Supervisor
   Before moving forward, discuss your project with your department chair or supervisor to:
   • Confirm support for your proposal
   • Verify how the project aligns with department goals and your current workload
   • Ensure feasibility of personnel, time commitments, space, and other resources
   
   This conversation also helps coordinate efforts across departments and identify opportunities for collaboration with colleagues pursuing similar initiatives or working with the same funding agency.
   
   
3. Submit a Grant Notification Form via ONE Aegis
   To formally initiate the pre-award process, complete the Grant Notification Form in OneAegis, MSOE’s internal proposal routing system.
   
   This step alerts the Office of Applied Research and Grants and the Grant Accountant to begin coordinating:
   
   • Budget development
   • CITI training verification for responsible conduct of research and human subjects research (as applicable)
   • Institutional Review Board (IRB) oversight (if needed)
   • Compliance and institutional approvals
   
   Submit via OneAegis (MSOE login required)
   
   Once a grant is submitted in OneAegis, it enters MSOE’s internal routing system for review and approval. After institutional approvals are secured, the Principal Investigator (PI) may proceed with submission to the external sponsor.
   
   
4. Develop Your Proposal
   Faculty who would like assistance preparing their proposal - such as help with proposal and budget development, narrative review, formatting, or completing sponsor-specific forms - must reach out to the Office of Applied Research and Grants.
   
   Our office is available to support you by:
   
   • Assisting with budget development and justification
   • Providing templates and guidance for required documents
   • Reviewing and editing the project narrative for competitiveness and compliance
   • Coordinating with the Grant Accountant if needed to ensure budget accuracy
   • Answering questions about sponsor guidelines, portals, and submission procedures
   
   If no outreach is made, it is assumed that the PI is independently preparing the proposal. We strongly encourage early communication with our office to ensure your proposal meets all internal and sponsor requirements and is as competitive as possible
   
   
5. Submit to the Sponsor
   All federal grant proposals must be submitted by the institution’s designated Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR). The Office of Applied Research and Grants is MSOE’s designated AOR. This designation means that AOR has the authority to submit proposals and accept awards on behalf of the institution for specific federal opportunities. 
   

   To ensure compliance with federal guidelines and institutional policies, faculty and staff must coordinate with the Office of Applied Research well in advance of the submission deadline when planning to apply for these types of federal grants.

   If you are unsure whether your proposal requires AOR submission, please contact the Office of Applied Research and Grants.