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Plan & Propose

MUSC has a proven track record of helping researchers build strong proposals that secure the funding they need for their project. When you’re ready to get started, we’ll be here to help and guide you through the entire process.

We are here to help your project succeed.

The planning stage of a research project involves meticulous preparation to define research objectives, identify necessary resources and collaborators, and establish a detailed methodology. This stage is crucial for setting the direction of the project. The proposal stage involves the formalization of these plans into a comprehensive document that outlines the project’s goals, methods, and anticipated outcomes. The proposal serves as a roadmap for the research and is essential for securing compliance approvals and funding for the project.

 

How to Find Funding

Locating funding is critical in research planning and development and sources may include internal and external opportunities. Subscribe to ORD’s Funding Focus newsletter for timely information about upcoming funding opportunities.

Presented by the Office of the Vice President for Research, in partnership with the College of Graduate Studies, the Emerging Scholars Travel Award offers students and postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to become engaged in their research communities by offsetting the costs of participation in professional conferences and meetings. This award is open to all levels of trainees including MSBS, P.hD., MSTP, postdoctoral fellows, as well as clinical fellows and students enrolled in an MUSC postbac program.

This award provides $1,000 to defray the costs of domestic travel and $1,500 for international travel through a competitive application process. While the Emerging Scholars Travel Award is open to all trainees, its main purpose is to help those individuals who do not have sufficient funds to cover travel expenses through existing training grants or other sources of funds. The selection of individuals to support through this program is based on both merit and financial need. Applications are currently being accepted for 2025 conference travel.

Award Information: Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis for the current calendar year. Conferences eligible for this program include those occurring between January 1st and December 31st of the application calendar year. Applications may be submitted for applicable travel that has already occurred. Any awarded travel funds remaining at the end of the application year will be forfeited, unless special arrangements are made with the Office of the VPR.

Eligible expenses for reimbursement include:
Travel – flights, taxis, public transportation, etc.
Event fees – attendance or submission fees for conference/meeting
Hotel – room costs and fees
Meals – amount allotted per department

All expenses are subject to University guidelines. Additional travel expenses may be covered based on department qualifications.

Eligibility: Must be currently enrolled as an MSBS, PhD, MSTP, postdoctoral fellow, or postbac student at the Medical University of South Carolina attending a research conference or meeting in the current calendar year. Applicants must be in good standing at the time of travel.

To be eligible, the applicant's department chair or mentor/advisor must agree to provide $500 towards travel expenses on behalf of the applicant, in addition to the award amount. Applicants will be asked to provide their department chair or mentor/advisor's contact information. It is highly recommended that applicants discuss the application with their department chair and/or mentor/advisor before applying.

Priority will be given to those who have not previously received funding through ESTA. Applicants are only eligible to receive one ESTA per calendar year.

Application Process: Applicants must apply electronically through REDCap.

Contact: For any questions related to the Emerging Scholars Travel Award, please contact Allison Olawsky.

The MUSC Funding Portal supported by the Office of Research Development (ORD) provides links to a wide variety of external funding sources for research, including federal (e.g., NIH, NSF, DOD, CDMRP, PCORI), foundation (Foundation Center), organizations, and industry. Use the portal to search for funding opportunities, and view opportunities for limited submissions and early career funding.

The MUSC Funding Portal has links to several databases that support customizable searches and alerts for federal and foundation funding opportunities. These databases include Grant Forward, grants.gov, and Philanthropy News Digest.

Research Opportunities & Collaborations (ROC) is part of MUSC’s Office of Clinical Research (OCR). ROC has relationships with over 200 industry sponsors, contract research organizations (CROs), government agencies, health care institutions, and other potential research partners and can help pair investigators with clinical research trial opportunities according to investigators’ research priorities and areas of interests. MUSC study teams and staff may log on to ROC’s internal website to learn more.

At MUSC internal grants are sponsored by the MUSC Office of the Vice President for Research, South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR), Hollings Cancer Center (HCC), Office of Innovation, as well as through college and departmental level initiatives.
 
  • Office of Research Development (ORD)

Visit the MUSC Funding Portal to search for internal funding opportunities supported by MUSC research centers and programs, including Hollings Cancer Center, the Office of Innovation, and various pilot programs, travel grants, and training and career development grants.

  • SCTR Pilot Program

The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research (SCTR) Institute Pilot Program offers several mechanisms to support research innovation and foster the development of new research collaborations, including pilot grant opportunities, research vouchers, statewide scientific retreats, and scientific grant reviews.  

  • SCTR Voucher Program

The South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research  (SCTR) Institute Voucher Program is open to MUSC Principal Investigators with a faculty appointment. Voucher funds enable investigators to gather preliminary data for inclusion in a grant proposal, improve the science or safety of their research projects, or develop a translational focus to their research.

Limited submissions are funding opportunities in which the sponsor restricts the number of applications, proposals, or nominations that can be submitted on behalf of a single institution. ORD manages the Limited Submissions for MUSC and if you are interested in applying, please review the calendar for deadline dates, eligibility, and the internal submission process.

MUSC selects the most competitive proposals to move forward for funding consideration. By submitting a pre-application, you agree to submit a full application if selected as a winner of the internal competition. Those interested in applying to a limited submission FOA that is not posted on the InfoReady webpage should contact ORD immediately (research@musc.edu).

Limited Submission Pre-Application Process

  1. Alert the ORD. Please complete a Notice of Intent to submit a pre-application and submit to research@musc.edu. This helps our office better prepare based upon the level of interest from the faculty research community.
  2. Submission. Interested investigators should submit their pre-applications via the MUSCInfoReady Review system. This site facilitates management of pre-applications/nominations, internal review processes, and sharing of outcomes. To access the InfoReady Review system, click the provided link, enter your MUSC netID, and fill out the requested information. Your proposal will be accessible only to ORD staff and faculty reviewers.
  3. Review. An ad hoc peer review panel made up of MUSC faculty members will be assembled. This panel evaluates the merit of submitted pre-proposals according to the program guidelines and makes recommendations. The MUSC Vice President for Research approves the final selection.
  4. Notification. All applicants will be notified of internal review decision by email. If chosen to submit a full application on behalf of MUSC, this acceptance will be sent the PI’s Department Chair and their respective grants coordinator in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

 

Identify collaborators to take your research further.

Palmetto Profiles is a research networking and expertise mining software tool. It shows traditional directory information and illustrates how each person is connected to others in the broad research community in South Carolina.

South Carolina Clinical & Translational Research Institute (SCTR) Scientific Retreats stimulate collaboration across traditional disciplinary and institutional lines. Attendees include basic, clinical, and population scientists, and community practitioners at all levels of career development.

Advance Discoveries, hosted by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), are special informal opportunities to connect with fellow researchers, share your current research interests, and foster collaboration with the goal of advancing research discoveries at MUSC and beyond. Subscribe to the OVPR newsletter to learn about upcoming dates and times.

Propose & Submit

Multiple research offices and centers provide resources to support proposal development and have institutional authority to oversee the submission of proposals for funding. 

Cayuse is a web application used by MUSC to submit grant proposals to grants.gov. Cayuse can be accessed directly from a PC or a Mac desktop. Visit ORSP’s Grant Proposal and Preparation page to request access to Cayuse and for links to Cayuse guides and training resources.

NIH ERA Commons is a web-based system that supports the full life cycle of grants administration functions for the NIH as well as other federal entities.

Are you an MUSC researcher or staff member and need a Commons account? Email ORSP@musc.edu and include NIH Commons Account in the subject line.

Visit the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) to find quick links to commonly used funding application systems. 

The OCR Research Opportunities and Collaboration (ROC) and Finance Team are available to support investigators with determining study feasibility, developing clinical trial budgets, ClinicalTRials.gov compliance, and negotiating contracts with industry sponsors. OCR assists with federal research billing compliance regulations with comprehensive protocol reviews and Coverage Analysis (CA) development.

Find these resources and more on OCR's intranet pages (MUSC login required)

Open Researcher and Contributor ID is a free, unique, persistent identifier (PID) for individuals to use as they engage in research, scholarship, and innovation activities. NIH requires an ORCID for individuals supported by research training, fellowship, research education, and career development awards.

Update: Beginning May 25, 2025 NIH requires Senior/Key Personnel to use their ORCID on all applications and Research Performance Progress Report(s) (RPPRs). Also, NIH will require all Senior/Key Personnel to link their ORCID ID to their eRA Commons Personal Profile. See NOT-OD-24-163 for details. https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-24-163.html

See the MUSC Library guide to set up your ORCID

In addition to funding opportunities ORD offers proposal writing support including a proposal library, best practice guidelines, and consultations service to assist in writing grant proposals. The office also supports professional development opportunities to assist the MUSC investigators in developing and diversifying their funding portfolios. Visit the ORD to find out more.

ORD maintains descriptive information about the MUSC scientific environment to assist in preparing the "Resources" section for proposals. Additional information can also be found in MUSC Fact Books.

ORSP reviews and approves grant and contract proposal submissions; reviews, negotiates, and officially accepts all sponsored program agreements/awards; and provides post-award support services and guidance with the goal of maintaining regulatory, institutional, and sponsor compliance. ORSP is the official point of contact for sponsored programs and the authorized signatory for all sponsored project activities at MUSC.

Explore ORSP’s webpage to locate Policies and Procedures related to funding proposals, Department and College specific ORSP contacts, Forms and Guidelines, and upcoming trainings.

Important institutional information needed in the preparation of proposals and budgets can be found on ORSPs Proposal Preparation page. This information includes assurance numbers as well as current rates for fringe benefits and facilities & administrative (F&A) costs.

New to MUSC? The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) has prepared a detailed checklist to assist incoming principal investigators (PIs) with transferring NIH awards.

Support with Your Proposal

Not finding what you’re looking for? Reach out to the SCTR SUCCESS Center Success@MUSC.edu and a Research Navigator can help point you to the resource or office that can help.

Have a recommendation for content to include? Send us a message at ovprcomms@musc.edu

See the Office of Research Development’s Grant Writing Toolkit for tips on building your biosketch and other proposal components.

The SCTR SUCCESS Center offers free grant and budget development consultations. Visit their page to view the full portfolio of consultations available.

Log in to the ORSP Research Forms and Guidelines page for information and templates related to the CDA.

The Office of Clinical Research has experienced staff to assist with corporate trial budget development and contract negotiation.

MUSC has a process for setting up limited access for collaborators at other institutions/organizations. External Affiliates who are non-MUSC employees, (community partners, off-campus collaborators) who, for study purposes require access to MUSC’s eIRB, CITI Training, REDCap, and/or SPARCRequest systems only.

SCTR’s Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design program can help. Visit their resource page to learn more and request a consultation.

See the ORSP Resources Page for decision checklists.

Log in to the ORSP Research Forms and Guidelines page to access institutional systems for incoming and outgoing agreements.

Visit the Zucker Institute for Innovation and Commercialization to submit your Innovation.

SCTR’s Dissemination and Implementation Science Collaborative has curated numerous tools, and trainings and provides consultations to aid in planning for dissemination.

If you want to obtain a scientific review of your grant before it is submitted, there are several options available all at no cost. Explore the list below to find the best option for your proposal:

Information regarding internal submission deadlines and other resources related to proposal submissions can be found on ORSPs Proposals page.

To obtain an eRA Commons account, the Investigator must send an email to ORSP@musc.edu and include “NIH Commons Account Request” in the subject line. No additional information is required in the email.

The SCTR SUCCESS Center offers free recruitment consultations. Visit their page to view the full portfolio of consultations available.

The MUSC Approval Plan for Research (MAP-R) is a self-directed tool that can help investigators identify the regulatory and institutional approvals needed for a proposed study.

MUSC’s Quality Improvement (QI) Self-Certification Tool can help investigators determine whether their project qualifies as research, quality improvement, or program evaluation.

The SCTR SUCCESS Center offers free human subjects regulatory and protocol writing consultation. The SCTR SUCCESS Center also offers REDCap consultative services should you require guidance on database and survey development. Visit their page to view the full portfolio of consultations available.

Follow this link to find information on MUSC’s scientific environment.

Visit ORSP’s Grant Proposal Preparation page (log in required) and follow the steps.