Who We Are
The Office of Proposal Development (OPD) is a department-level shared-service that grew out of the Geophysical Institute (GI) proposal office. When the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences lost their pre-award support team in 2014, the GI Proposal Office agreed to step in and help. The collaboration served both departments well, and the news spread. Since then, the GI Proposal Office has grown from a staff of three to a staff of 12, offering proposal development support to more than 70% of the UAF campus. A list of the departments that OPD serves can be found in the section below. If you are unsure whether OPD serves your department, please email us at uaf-opd@alaska.edu!
A note on acronyms: while our acronyms are very similar, OPD is a separate office from OGCA. OPD was created by the departments, for the departments. If you are looking for the central Office of Grants and Contracts Administration (OGCA), whose Director serves as the UAF Authorized Organizational Representative, please visit the OGCA website.
Serving the Following Departments
Scientists at the Geophysical Institute have studied geophysical processes from the center of the Earth to the surface of the sun and beyond, turning data and observations into information useful for state, Arctic and national priorities.
- Alaska Space Grant Program (ASGP)
- Poker Flat Research Range (PFRR)
- High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP)
- Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI)
- Alaska Earthquake Center (AEC)
- Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF)
- Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO)
- Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA)
- Wilson Alaska Technical Center (WATC); also UAF’s University Affiliated Research Center (UARC); one of only 16 UARC’s in the US.
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (CNSM) Division of Research (CDR) includes BLaST, and Vet Med.
- CNSM Division of Research (CDR)
- Biomedical Learning and Student Training (BLaST)
- Veterinary Medicine (Vet Med)
- Natural Resources and Environment (previously a component under SNRE)
The College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is a world-class research and teaching organization focusing on marine and freshwater fisheries, oceanography, marine biology, and community outreach.
- Coastal Marine Institute (CMI)
- Fisheries Division (FISH)
- Institute of Marine Science (IMS)
- Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center (KSMSC)
- Marine Advisory Program (MAP)
- Ocean Acidification Research Center (OARC)
- Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center (PCCRC)
- Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center (RFRC)
- R/V Sikuliaq (SHIP)
- Seward Marine Center (SMC)
Alaska Sea Grant is enhancing the sustainable use and conservation of Alaska’s marine and freshwater resources through research, outreach, and education.
- Marine Advisory Program (MAP)
At the Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, we work to make Alaskan’s lives better.
- Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (AFES)
- Cooperative Extension Service (CES)
- NSF EPSCoR
- Office of Intellectual Property and Commercialization (OIPC)
- General Studies
- Chancellor’s Office
International Arctic Research Center (IARC)‘s purpose is to understand the Arctic to make a difference.
- Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy (ACCAP)
- Alaska Fire Science Consortium (AFSC)
- Alaska Climate Science Center (AKCSC)
- Center for Global Change and Arctic System Research (CGC)
- Cooperative Institute for Alaska Research (CIFAR)
- Scenarios Network for Alaska & Arctic Planning (SNAP)
Core Values
OPD Proposal Submission Process
The Office of Proposal Development (OPD) strives to provide the best service possible. Time is a critical component in attaining professional and compliant proposals. Please ensure the proposal submission process is initiated no less than two weeks before the due date. Email uaf-opd@alaska.edu if you have any questions.
By filling out the Proposal Assistance Request Form, you are requesting a Proposal Coordinator to be assigned to your project. Your Proposal Coordinator will serve as your primary research administrator, assisting with non-scientific documents, budget and justification preparation, internal forms, and routing to ensure a fully compliant proposal submission.
I have an idea!
- Develop your idea utilizing advisors/mentors, peers, and colleagues as appropriate
- Envision what your project will look like in terms of time, people, tasks, and budget items
Find money
- Consider reaching out to others. Proposal-writing activities that may be rare and tricky for one unit may be very common for another. This is an important component of UAF’s “shared services” initiative.
- Read the solicitation: What is the purpose of the available funding? What projects have been funded previously?
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to agency program managers to see if your idea is a good fit!
Activate OPD
- Reach out to OPD as soon as you have determined the opportunity you’d like to apply to by utilizing the Proposal Assistance Request Form.
- A proposal tracking number and Coordinator will be assigned to your project for assistance throughout the process (budget development, personnel documents, internal forms, agency portals, etc.).
Department Review
- OGCA requires FIVE BUSINESS DAYS for their review process, so keep this in mind!
- After the respective departments’ approvals have been received by OPD, your coordinator will submit the proposal file to OGCA for final review and approval.
- The minimum required for review is a final budget, budget justification, and a decent draft of the proposal text.
OGCA Review
- After the department has approved the proposal for submission, OPD will provide your proposal to OGCA for final review and approval. Depending on time, this may happen simultaneously with departmental review.
- OGCA requests FIVE DAYS for their review process, so keep this in mind!
Submit!
- OPD will work with OGCA to submit proposals through agency portals that require AOR approval.
- Emailed submissions are generally completed by the coordinator.
- If the sponsor requires additional information or a revision is required, the same proposal coordinator will assist with these tasks if available.
OPD Services
The needs of the PI and department are OPD’s top priority. OPD acts as an extension of each department they serve by providing assistance with all non-scientific aspects of proposal preparation and submission to alleviate the administrative burden for faculty, staff, and students. We help coordinate with other UA Departments, non-UA entities, and serve as liaison between the departments and OGCA to ensure proposals are submitted correctly and on time.
While we hope to eventually expand upon our services, typical pieces of proposal development that OPD currently assists with include: drafting of budget and budget justification documents, internal and sponsor-required forms, agency-specific web portal entry, personnel documents, formatting of all documents as needed, ensuring that all components of a submission meet sponsor/UA/Federal requirements, UAF routing and approvals, etc.