Grant Development & Strategy
Grant Anatomy: A Crash Course in Proposal Timelines
Do your faculty scramble to meet a grant deadline like Meredith Grey? Kimberly Pratt and James Taylor share how proposal timelines can transform chaos into clarity. Learn practical strategies to streamline submissions, avoid last-minute drama, and support your research team without the tears.
We — Kimberly and James — first met through SRAI’s Odyssey mentoring program, and we quickly found out we’re both fans of Grey’s Anatomy. That shared interest helped build a connection, making our mentoring relationship feel more like a partnership.
And while the show isn’t exactly known for medical accuracy, as pre-award administrators, we were astonished during Season 10, Episode 6, “Map of You”, when Dr. Meredith Grey scrambles to write a grant at the last minute. “Tonight is the deadline to submit for the NIH research grant I want, and I’m having trouble deciding [on a research topic],” she reveals to Dr. Bailey. Miraculously, her grant was funded, but most of us would agree that proposals tend to fare better in review when they’re not fueled solely by drama, adrenaline, and caffeine.
In the real world of research administration, proposal timelines are essential tools for organizing the submission process and avoiding last-minute scrambles like the one Mer experienced. A well-constructed timeline details the key tasks and milestones that must be completed before submission, identifies the team members responsible for each task, and clarifies the resources needed. It also maps the interdependence between tasks, helping surface potential conflicts or bottlenecks early. Most importantly, timelines communicate expectations — who is doing what and by when — to ensure a smooth, successful submission.
For example, imagine you're supporting a multi-institutional NIH center grant submission. By creating a detailed timeline six or more months in advance, you can map out internal deadlines for budget drafts, biosketch collection, subaward documentation, and scientific review. If one of your collaborators experiences a delay — say, a lab hits a snag in data collection — you’ll be able to adjust your internal review schedule without putting the entire submission at risk. Without a clear timeline, though, you might find yourself in a situation like Meredith’s: scrambling to finalize documents, likely dealing with errors, and narrowly avoiding a missed submission.
To create a proposal timeline, consider these key questions:
- Who is on the proposal team, and what are their roles? What other commitments might affect their availability?
- Who else needs to know about the proposal, and by when? Does your organization require an intent-to-submit form or enforce a deadline?
- What are the guidelines in the notice of funding opportunity? What components are needed, and in what order should tasks be completed? For instance, personnel and other ancillary documents can often be requested early, but subrecipient documents and approvals may take longer to receive and often require follow-up.
- What information do you need from others, and how long will it take to receive it? Consider potentially competing deadlines, proposal volume, and external events and commitments that might impact their timeliness.
- What internal approvals are required, and who coordinates them? How long do they take, and what triggers the process? If cost-sharing or space is involved, how far in advance must those be approved?
- What submission system is being used, and who manages data entry and uploads? If one person handles everything, be mindful of their workload and potential bottlenecks during busy submission times.
- What does submission timing look like at your institution? Are there internal deadlines? Is the submission order based on receipt or the sponsor deadline? Are there priority rules that govern submissions?
Building a timeline can be challenging in the beginning. You’ll need to estimate task durations, understand institutional processes, and account for competing priorities across teams. Internal deadlines, approval workflows, and sponsor requirements all shape the timeline’s structure. With experience, a research administrator can learn to anticipate potential challenges.
These three different types of timelines are most-commonly used to support planning:
- A chronological or sequential timeline shows tasks in order.
- A Gantt chart maps overlapping activities and durations graphically.
- A work breakdown structure (WBS) organizes deliverables or phases by milestone and responsibility.
No matter which tool you use, the most important function of a timeline is to communicate what needs to be done, by whom, and by when. But it’s also essential to recognize that life and unexpected delays happen. A well-developed timeline builds in flexibility and grace for investigators and research administrators alike Because, let’s be honest: as much as we enjoy the show in our free time, we’d all prefer fewer “Meredith moments” in our day-to-day work.