Reaching Out: Best Practices for Contacting Program Officers

Funding agency program staff, through the projects they select for funding, are also influencing the direction of research in the disciplinary area for which they are responsible. They have a vested interest in promoting the submission of high-quality proposals that fit well with the goals and priorities of the programs they manage. Nevertheless, many investigators - including seasoned researchers with multiple awards - are reluctant to reach out to program staff for clarification about the fit of their ideas with the program’s goals, to resolve ambiguities in a funder’s guidelines and policies, or to get feedback on a declined proposal, even when doing so would have a significant positive impact on their chances of success. This resource will help both investigators and the research development and research administration professionals they work with to understand when it is - and is not - appropriate to contact program staff, etiquette and best practices for doing so, and how to prepare preliminary documents when  needed to help a program officer understand the investigator’s research.
This resource serves investigators and the research development and research administration professionals. The goal is to understand:

• When it is - and is not - appropriate to contact program staff

• The etiquette and best practices for contacting program staff

• How to prepare explanatory documents (concept outlines, letters of intent/interest (LOIs), preliminary proposals)