FY25 C-ShaRP Proposal Format

The proposal should be submitted online via Stanford’s Seed Funding website, where you will be asked to enter the information below.

1. Primary applicant:  

All Stanford faculty and shared facility staff are eligible to apply. A proposer can only be the primary applicant on a single proposal. Shared facilities submitting multiple proposals are encouraged to seek separate primary applicants, i.e., other staff and faculty members. Primary applicants may serve as a co-applicant on additional proposals.

2. Co-applicants:   

Co-applicants are people who may contribute to the proposed activities. Any Stanford faculty and staff can be included as a co-applicant, including a primary applicant on another proposal. One of the co-applicants must represent the shared facility (e.g., faculty director, facility manager, technical staff) where the proposed activities will be performed, unless the primary applicant is the representative.

3. Brief title: 

Keep to fewer than 60 characters.

4. Oversight shared facility and school:  

Indicate the shared facility and the school where the proposed activities will be performed.

5. Proposal (PDF upload):  

5i) Title page (limit: 1 page): 

• Proposal title
• Names, departments, and e-mail addresses of the primary applicant and all co-applicants. For each co-applicant, provide a one-line summary of their contribution to the proposed activities.
• Instrument description
• Total budget request, including the breakdown of cost by year if the cost will span multiple years
• Space requirements, including estimated room renovation cost if applicable
• Proposed home facility and facility point-of-contact
• Primary benefiting school(s)

5ii) Narrative

Format: letter paper size, 1 inch margin in all directions, Arial 11 point font, single line spacing. Figures, tables, formulas, and equations can use any font as long as it is readable. 

For proposals between $100K and $600K: Not to exceed 2 pages of text and figures.

For proposals over $600K: Not to exceed 3 pages of text and figures.

Any references should be on separate pages following the narrative. There is no page limit for references. 

The narrative must include the following section titles in the order that they appear and must address all prompts.

• Purpose (no more than 3 lines):  

  • Describe the nature, mission, and location (if applicable) of the proposed enhancement. 

• Overview of Need and Significance:  

  • Describe the background, necessity, and/or urgency of the proposed enhancement. Why is this a critical enhancement for Stanford? If applicable, briefly describe the research activities and progress that are hindered by the lack of this enhancement (to be elaborated in the following section). 
    • If this is an upgrade or replacement of routine but aging capabilities, describe the current situation, severity of the need, and typical lifecycle of the capabilities. 
    • If this is an acquisition of new capabilities, describe why it is transformative, and if applicable, how Stanford is put at a disadvantage without it. 
    • If this is an urgency and funding must be secured within this fiscal year, clearly state so and explain why.
    • If the proposed enhancement has no known alternatives or substitutes on campus, describe its uniqueness.
    • If the proposed enhancement is for expanding current capabilities, show data and evidence of overuse of the current infrastructure. 
    • If a proposal includes multiple tools, the PI should prioritize and list the tools in priority order
  • Summarize at a high level, the impacts of the proposed enhancement. How will this grant resolve the issues faced by the proposer(s) and augment the quality of science and/or education? Briefly describe the impact on research, education, and/or translation. Use the section below to elaborate on these impacts.

• Impact on Research and Education: 

  • Describe in detail the impact of the proposed enhancement on research. Here you may elaborate on how the lack of the proposed enhancement hinders research activities and progress, and how this grant will augment the research. Provide sufficient specificity and evidence to demonstrate the expected impact.
    • Letters of support from faculty members can serve as evidence and provide additional details of the specific needs and impact.
  • Describe the breadth and depth of the expected impact on research. 
    • Provide the number of beneficiaries, which may include students, PIs, labs, departments, schools, and non-Stanford users. If known, describe the diversity of disciplines and research areas that will benefit. 
    • Estimate the number of hours of use per week for the proposed enhancement, and justify based on historical data on existing or comparable tools. If this proposal is to upgrade or replace existing capabilities, historical data on user numbers and hours must be provided. Compare historical and projected numbers, and justify any change. 
    • If you have additional means of demonstrating the depth of impact, describe them here, especially if the proposed enhancement is expected to benefit a small group of researchers.
  • Describe the impact of the proposed enhancement on the education of Stanford students and trainees, which may include undergraduate students, graduate students, and/or postdoctoral scholars. How will the proposed enhancement improve, expand, and/or impact the educational activities? If the proposed enhancement will support classes, specify them and state the estimated number of students. If not supporting educational activities, provide a detailed rationale. Proposals that do not support educational activities and without justifications may receive a lower score during review.

• Operational Plan

  • Briefly describe a multi-year plan to support the operation and maintenance of the proposed enhancement, and/or any staffing needs (in particular, whether proposers can leverage existing staff or need new expertise). Describe any user fees and other potential or confirmed sources of funding. If known, describe the expected maintenance costs. If the proposed enhancement has a low maintenance cost or does not require significant continuing support to be self-sustaining, clearly state so and explain.
  • If the proposed enhancement requires new space or renovations to existing space, describe them in the operational plan. Explain how they will be funded, if not through this program.
  • Describe any established use models, experience with the proposed enhancement, and/or track record of meeting operational goals. If such models or experience are lacking, describe how the proposers will successfully implement the operational plan.

• Response to Critiques from Prior Submission:

  •  If the application is a resubmission of a prior C-ShARP application, the applicant may optionally use an additional ½ page to respond to any feedback in the prior review. 

6. Budget (document upload): 

• The budget should include and break down estimates for the cost for acquisition, site preparation (if any), installation, service contracts (if any), repair cost, lease costs (if leasing instead of buying), taxes, and staff time necessary to run the equipment, together with the estimated number of hours the instrument will be used and the anticipated hourly rate.
•  Applications must summarize, in one paragraph, how ongoing operations will be managed and funded; include any projected annual financial shortfall and planned cost recovery via recharge.

7. Instrument Acquisition Details (if applicable) (document upload): 

For instrument proposals, please upload specifications/list of features and price quotes in PDF. 

8. Letters of Support and Appendices (e.g., list of users and cost-sharing) (document upload):  

Upload as a PDF. Acceptable appendices include letters of support, a budget spreadsheet, spreadsheet list of users, etc.  Further narrative or exposition should not be included. 

All applications should include at least one letter of support from University faculty and/or leadership describing the impact to their programs or users in their community. If serving multiple schools, at least one letter is required from each school. Proposals requesting over $600K should have a minimum of 3 letters of support.

There is no limit to the number of letters submitted.