GRANT SUBMISSION PROCESS
TYPES OF PROPOSALS

A proposal is a request for support of sponsored research, training, or extension projects, and generally consists of a cover page, brief project summary, technical or narrative section, biographical sketches of the key personnel, and a detailed budget. Proposals may be required in a particular format. Common proposal types include:

Solicited Proposals
Submitted in response to a specific solicitation issued by a sponsor. Such solicitations, typically called Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Application (RFA) or Request for Quotations (RFQ), are usually specific in their requirements regarding format and technical content, and may stipulate certain award terms and conditions. Broad Agency Announcements are not considered formal solicitations. These are new or revised proposals as defined below.

Unsolicited Proposals
Submitted to a sponsor for which no specific solicitation has been issued, but where an investigator believes that the sponsor has an interest in the subject. These are new or revised proposals as defined below.

Pre-proposals
Requested when a sponsor wishes to minimize an applicant's effort in preparing a full proposal. Pre-proposals are usually in the form of a letter of intent or brief abstract. After the pre-proposal is reviewed, the sponsor notifies the investigator if a full proposal is warranted.

New Proposal (for the NIH, Type 1)
A request for financial assistance for a project or activity that is not currently receiving support and must compete for that support.

Continuation or Non-Competing Continuation (for the NIH, Type 5)
These proposals confirm the original proposal and funding requirements of a multi-year project for which the sponsor has already provided funding for an initial period (normally one-year). Continued support is usually contingent on satisfactory work progress and the availability of funds.

Renewal, Competing, or Competitive Continuation (for the NIH, Type 2)
These proposals are requests for continued support for an existing project that is about to terminate, and, from the sponsor's viewpoint, generally have the same status as an unsolicited proposal.

Competing Supplemental (for the NIH, Type 3)
A request for an increase in support in a current budget period for expansion of the project's approved scope or research protocol.

Revised or Amended Proposal
An unfunded application that the applicant has modified following initial review and resubmitted for consideration. The NIH allows a maximum of two revised applications in the 2-year period dating from the submission of the original, unamended application.

(NIH Receipt, Review, & Award Cycles )
(NIH Types of Grants (source: NCI Grants Process Book: Funding Allocation and Mechanisms )