For UT Faculty: What ESI Can Do For Your Grant Proposal
The Environmental Science Institute supports proposal-writing and administrative processes with staff assistance in the following areas:

• Editing, formatting, and logistics
  ESI includes scientists and editors who have been funded successfully. We can offer substantive edits, read proposals for clarity, and help you assemble documents with multiple contributors into a cohesive, easily navigated whole in the appropriate format for any funding agency. We interact with the UT Office of Sponsored Projects regularly and can help shepherd your proposal through the system. We have submitted single and multiple investigator proposals to NSF, DOE, DOD, NASA, NOAA, SECO, TWDB, and EPA.
• Budget formulation and proofreading
  We will take budget information that you provide and create an appropriately formatted budget for the funding agency. We will also assist with budget justifications.
• Support for Broader Impacts
  Funding agencies frequently require a well-supported and effective public outreach portion for scientific proposals. We can help. ESI has a dedicated outreach mission with an array of established programs that can effectively disseminate your research including the Hot Science – Cool Talks Outreach Series, an NSF-sponsored GK-12 program that partners graduate students and K-12 teachers, and an NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates and Teachers program. 
• Proposal and project coordination
  ESI can help coordinate meetings or provide technical support for phone or video conferencing. ESI can bring multiple PIs together to discuss a new project. Depending on the agency, support can also be written into proposals to include project coordination post-award.

What does ESI expect from me?
Generally speaking, the PI on a proposal supplies content and personally submits the proposal to the funding agency. ESI also needs timely responses to our requests for information.

Who may submit grants through ESI?
The Environmental Science Institute will work with faculty from any department or institution so long as the lead PI is housed at the University of Texas, Austin.

Will my department support my collaboration with ESI? Faculty involvement and overhead return.
ESI has the full support of UT’s administration to advance grant proposals. Submission of your proposal through ESI does not affect overhead return to your department. We have successfully supported PIs in Natural Sciences, the Jackson School of Geosciences, Engineering, Liberal Arts, Architecture, the LBJ School, and others to prepare proposals.

If you would like to know more or speak with somebody about your proposal, please contact Jay Banner at banner@mail.utexas.edu. You can also call us at (512) 471-5847.