What Research Development Can Do for You
Research Development helps faculty and research teams turn ideas into competitive proposals and impactful collaborations. We focus on the work that happens before submission, building strong teams, crafting compelling narratives, and connecting projects with the right funding opportunities.
Support Exists on Campus to Help You
Research development support is distributed across UW–Madison. Many schools, colleges, and institutes have staff who help with proposal preparation, team building, and sponsor engagement, while central offices offer additional services and resources.
Use the guide below to locate the right point of contact for your project. Whether you’re developing your first proposal or leading a large, multi-investigator submission, these teams can help you find funding, strengthen your ideas, and connect to collaborators.
Research Development Resources Across Campus
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS)
- Services: Proposal coordination, budget building, grant matchmaking, relationship building.
-
Focus Areas: Proposal development, cross-campus collaboration, sponsor connections, strategic planning.
-
Cost: Free.
College of Engineering (COE)
Research Impact & Outreach (RIO)
-
Services: Narrative and vision development, editing, graphic design, broader impacts guidance, training.
-
Focus Areas: Proposal development, research communication.
-
Cost: Free or Fee-for-Service depending on scope.
School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH)
Department of Medicine: Research Development
-
Collaboration and team facilitation, grant writing, and proposal support.
-
Cross-campus relationship building, sponsor engagement, and strategic planning.
-
Cost: Free.
Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR)
-
Education, career support, and team facilitation for clinical and translational researchers.
-
Cost: Free or Fee-for-Service.
medRISE (Research Investigator Support and Education)
-
Resource libraries, template editing, and training for research staff.
-
Cost: Fee-for-Service.
-
Graphic design and illustration for research proposals and presentations.
-
Cost: Fee-for-Service
College of Letters & Science (L&S)
Collective for Research Impact and Social Partnerships (CRISP)
-
Partnership facilitation and interdisciplinary team building.
-
Focus Areas: Sponsor connections, proposal development, strategic planning.
-
Cost: Free.
Social Science Computing Cooperative (SSCC)
-
Statistical and data analysis support.
-
Cost: Fee-for-Service.
Social Sciences Research Services
-
Proposal preparation and coordination for social science projects.
-
Cost: Fee-for-Service.
Nelson Institiute for Environmental Studies
-
Proposal development, coordination, and collaboration support for sustainability-focused projects.
-
Cost: Free (campus-wide service).