There are many names for the document that informs applicants how to apply for specific funding opportunities: Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Applications (RFA), Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), and Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), are just a few. Regardless of what the agency calls it, this document will be critical to your grant writing process. 

What’s in an RFP? 

An RFP is where a funding agency lays out their goals and expectations for what they plan to fund, who is eligible, what materials are required, and how proposals will be evaluated. You can think of it as a kind of contract where the agency will consider your application as long as it fulfills the guidelines. 

What to look for? 

RFPs are very long documents. You should absolutely read them in their entirety as you prepare a proposal, but if you’re not yet sure if the funding opportunity is right for you, then start with these key areas: 

1. Eligibility: Make sure that you and your institution fit the eligibility criteria. It won’t matter if everything else is a good fit if you’re not eligible, so make sure you will be considered before anything else. 
2. Due date: Look at the date and time that proposals are due. If it’s a week from when you read it, then maybe wait until the next cycle. If it’s a few months away, then that is much more feasible. 
3. Funding amount: Check that the funding amount is reasonable and appropriate for your project and that the money can be used for what you need to fund.
4. Re-visit the agency and program goals: Something about the program goals must have attracted your attention at the outset, but take time to revisit the mission and goals to make sure that your research is a good fit for the agency and funding program. 
5. Read the review criteria: The review criteria provided in the RFP will become the rubric for reviewers of your proposal, so read this section carefully—and repeatedly. Make notes of key components and keep them in mind for your headers when you develop your full proposal.

Next Steps 

If you’ve found a funding opportunity that is a good fit for you and your research, the next step is to start developing your one-pager to use when you reach out to a program officer and to build your full proposal. To help with all of these steps, we have resources available for UC Davis investigators.

Grantsmanship Learning Lab modules on Reading an RFP and Developing Your Pitch (for developing your one-pager). In our Research Development Toolbox, we also have a variety of one-pager templates for different situations depending on your needs. Lastly, our team is happy to help UC Davis faculty and researchers develop their one-pagers and proposals, so feel free to reach out to us at pds@ucdavis.edu.