CFAES Give Today
Office for Research and Graduate Education

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Grants

The creation of the Grant Development Support Unit (GDSU) stemmed from the strategic plan of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University. This plan emphasized the desire to support faculty with grant preparation, proposal submissions, and team building. The plan also aimed to increase the competitiveness of CFAES proposals and to increase the number of proposals submitted to federal sponsors.

The GDSU has been successful in obtaining more than $174 million in new extramural funding since its inception in 2010.

GDSU proposal development services help faculty find and secure funding for their research. The staff offers guidance to researchers in planning and conceptualizing externally funded research projects, finding funding opportunities and submitting well-crafted and responsive applications.

CFAES GDSU exists to assist researchers as they conceptualize, develop, write and submit their proposals to federal agencies and other entities to seek funding. We work across all disciplines with the overarching goal of making the proposal development process as straightforward and streamlined as possible.

We have Grant Development Specialists on both the Columbus and Wooster campuses available to help you with a variety of services, which include the following:

  • Identifying appropriate funding opportunities
  • Announcing grant opportunities and coordinating internal competitions
  • Planning the proposal
  • Identifying the optimal proposal strategy
  • Managing and coordinating the preparation of the proposal
  • Drafting non-technical sections of the proposal
  • Providing proposal review and editorial services
  • Connecting researchers to appropriate staff and other resources throughout the university
  • Offering proposal development training
  • Handling other tasks related to the development of the proposal on an ad hoc basis

To see the roles of the Primary Investigator, Grant Development Support Unit and the Office of Sponsored Programs, click here. If you would like assistance with your proposal, please fill out our Request Services form. We look forward to hearing from and working with you!