At the invitation of the Projects and Grant Making Committee, the next step in our process is to submit a more detailed proposal. A full proposal is the complete plan of work and financial package for the project. It is to be prepared by, and have the support of, the full project team. Guidance for the content of a full proposal often is customized based on the nature of the proposed work, but generally includes the following:

• Project Outcomes
• Scope of Work - including project approach, work plan, and communication plan
• Background of the Fiscal Agent
• Project Personnel
• Project Budget
• Funding Plan

Fund staff and a panel of outside technical reviewers with relevant expertise review all full proposals. Reviewers evaluate the likely impact of the project on the health of the ecosystem, the feasibility of the work proposed, the completeness of the workplan, the qualifications of key personnel and collaborators, the relationship of the work and budget proposed, and the quality of the evaluation and dissemination plans.

Fund staff supplements these technical reviews with conversations with the project manager, collaborators and/or other experts in the field, and with staff roundtable discussions. Applicants are asked to revise their original submittal based on the comments and advice of the technical reviewers and Fund staff review.

The Projects and Grant Making Committee of the Fund’s Board of Directors reviews the compiled information—including Fund staff review and analysis, technical reviewer input, and the revised full proposal—and presents a funding recommendation to be acted upon by the full Board.

As a rule, the time from an invitation to submit a full proposal to a final funding decision is a four month process.