This document provides guidance on finalizing and reviewing a health research proposal. It discusses thinking like the proposal reviewer and making the review process as easy as possible for them. The objectives are to finalize the research proposal, write a brief summary, and prepare a letter of intent for funding agencies. It offers tips for finalizing each section of the proposal, including the background, objectives, methodology, and ethics. It also provides an example summary and discusses presenting the proposal to relevant authorities through a panel presentation, accompanying submission letters, and revising the proposal based on feedback. The document emphasizes clearly communicating the problem statement, objectives, methodology, expected results and importance of the study for approval and funding.

1. Training Workshop on Health Research Proposal Development
Finalizing and Reviewing
the Health Research
Proposal
Ashok Pandey
Policy Researcher (Associate Research Fellow)
Policy Research Institute, A government think tank,
Narayanhity, Kathmandu
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8471-1253
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZI5jDykAAAAJ&hl=en
ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashok-Pandey-17
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2. Grant Proposals (or Give me the money!)
Grant (Proposal) writing varies
widely across disciplines, and
research intended for
epistemological purposes
(philosophy or the arts)
Very different assumptions than
research intended for practical
applications (medicine or policy
research).
Funding Opportunity Databases
Foundation Directory Online (FDO)
Pivot
Grants.gov
NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT)
Scientifyresearch,
ResearchConnect
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3. While Finalizing and Reviewing
the Health Research Proposal
• Think like the reviewer (just
like you need to think like a
journal editor when you submit
a manuscript, or a job
interviewer when you're trying
to get hired).
• Suppose you're tired and
hungry. You've got multiple
applications to read in a short
period. How can you make it as
easy as possible for the
reviewers?
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4. Objective of the session
At the end of the session, you should be able
to:
1. Finalize the research proposal for
presentation to the relevant authorities
2. Write a brief summary of the completed
research proposal
3. Prepare a letter of intent to send to potential
funding agencies
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5. Objective 1: Finalize the research proposal
• When you have finished the methodological section of your research
proposal and have pre-tested the methodology or at least reviewed it
thoroughly, you can start preparing the final
draft of various parts of your research proposal.
• If relevant to the problem, you should first review again whether
major cross-cutting issues have been addressed in a consistent way.
These may include:
• Gender;
• Equity (e.g. in access to services and quality of care provided);
• Participation of the target group in formulating the problem, major
findings (through giving feedback) and recommendations.
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6. Outline of
research
proposal
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7. How should you
proceed?
1. The first section of your proposal contains background
information, a statement of the problem, and a literature review.
This section should convince the reader of the relevance of the study
(magnitude, severity of the problem).
It should provide enough background data and illustrate why the
problem is important.
2. Critically review your objectives. Check whether they still cover
what you have planned to study and whether they are specific
enough.
3. Presents the methodology: Should now check the text for clarity of
wording and logical coherence. (An outsider must be able to
understand what you mean)
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8. Contd …
4. Discussion of various ethical issues affecting your study may be
scattered in different parts of your draft. Identify the most important
issues and discuss them in a separate section.
5. Last sections of the research proposal, focus on project management,
the work plan, the budget and the plan for administration, monitoring
and utilization of results, are quite clear-cut.
6. References should follow in a separate section at the end of the
research proposal. Take care that you list the references in a consistent
way. (Author(s), year, title, place, publisher, etc.,)
7. Annexes. A list of abbreviations, Data collection tools
8. Finally, prepare a title page, summary, table of contents and if
appropriate, acknowledgments
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9. Others
• Evaluate requirements in the solicitation
• Understand the sponsor's scoring system
• Identify the funder's mission
• Make friends with your research support office
• Prove your research will solve real-world
problems
• Involve peers from relevant disciplines
• Adopt research storytelling
• Use reader-friendly formatting
• Life after grant submission
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Lesson learned: Even renowned scientists aren't always successful.
The Nature article cited above notes that on the day molecular
biologist Dr. Carol Greider was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in
Physiology or Medicine, she learned her recently submitted grant
proposal got the thumbs down.

10. Rehearsal
1 . Prepare a final draft proposal: It is advisable to work in groups or two persons, each
with the responsibility for one or more sections.
2. Two persons should be responsible for the final editing (flows smoothly from one section
to the next)
3. All members of the group, including the facilitator, should have a proposal before the
final manuscript is handed in for typing.
4. The team leader/PI should be responsible for coordinating the production of the final
draft of the proposal.
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11. Objective II. Writing a summary of the
research proposal
The protocol is to be reviewed by senior authorities and policymakers or
funding agencies.
For the purpose of obtaining approval from policymakers or very busy
administrators, it is advisable to add a summary (of no more than two
pages) to the proposal.
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12. Objective II Contd …
A summary usually includes:
One page containing essential information such as:
• Title of the research proposal
• Duration (proposed dates of onset and completion of the project)
• Total budget (in local currency and US$)
- Contribution of the Ministry of Health
- Contribution of donor
Additional resources to be mobilized
• Research team (names and functions)
- Team leader
- Research team members
• Name of the project administrator
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13. Objective II Contd …
A brief narrative summary of one page that could contain:
- One paragraph on the statement of the problem
- General objective
- Study populations, sample sizes and data collection techniques used
- Indications concerning what major results may be expected from the
study and their possible contribution for solving the problem being
researched.
You should put the summary at the beginning of the proposal, although
it is the last thing you prepare.
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14. Example
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Funded by Korea SHE Foundation

15. Objective II Contd …
After the summary, a table of contents should follow.
Adding numbers to the pages of your report and including them in your
table of contents
A title page should be prepared
The names of the researchers with their titles
The name of the institution (e.g: NHRC)
Date of issue
Add also this is a research proposal in order to distinguish it clearly
from the research report that will later appear, probably under the same
name and with the same authors.
Finally, add a page of acknowledgments, thanking all who enabled you
to develop and implement this study.
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16. Objective III. Presenting the research proposal to
the relevant authorities
Before a research project can be implemented, the health systems
research proposal usually has to be:
• approved by the relevant health authorities,
• approved by the appropriate research committee or council, and
• given the funding
The procedure for approval may require that the research proposal be
submitted with an accompanying letter or prescribed form for the
relevant authority
In addition, the researchers may
be requested to make a brief verbal presentation or 'defend' the
proposal in person
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17. Presentation to a panel
The panel should consist of experienced researchers who will comment
on the research aspects of the proposal and, on the other hand, health
managers who are familiar with the problem that is being investigated and
will therefore be competent to comment on the focus, scope and
usefulness of the proposed study.
The panel members should be given a copy of the summary of the
research proposal before the presentation begins.
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18. The main points that should be emphasised in the
presentation include:
1. Title of the study
2. A brief description of the problem, why the study is needed, what information is
needed and how such information will be used
3. Objectives of the study
4. A brief statement on the type of study design, sample(s) and methods of data
collection
5. A summary of how and when the study will be implemented (where, by whom,
when, etc.)
6. A summary of how data will be analyzed to provide the required information
7. A summary of the main resources required (e.g., manpower, budget, transport)
8. A brief summary of ethical considerations, and plan for project administration,
monitoring and utilization of results.
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19. Submission of the proposal
• Accompanying letters should contain the title, the name of the team leader and
project administrator, and the period over which the study will be carried out.
• If a letter is going to the national research council or a similar group, you may
briefly refer to your study's methodology and expected results and mention where
further details can be found in your proposal.
Prepare a letter of intent that clearly summarises your research proposal and the
estimated resources required, to send to potential funding agencies.
• In letters to potential donors you should not only state the total amount required but
also the account to which the money, if granted, should be credited.
Furthermore, it may be advisable to develop a follow-up proposal with a budget
line, if implementation of your research recommendations will require additional
resources.
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20. Revising your proposal
• Strong grant proposals take a long time to develop.
• Start the process early and leave time to get feedback from several readers
on different drafts.
• Seek out a variety of readers, both specialists in your research area and non-
specialist colleagues.
• You may also want to request assistance from knowledgeable readers on
specific areas of your proposal.
• For example, you may want to schedule a meeting with a statistician to help
revise your methodology section.
• Don’t hesitate to seek out specialized assistance from the relevant research
offices.
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21. Use of AI and software
For grammar check and paraphrase text: https://quillbot.com/grammar-
check
For Nepali Grammar check: https://nepalilanguage.org/spellcheck/
For generating the concept and learn more:
https://chat.openai.com/?model=text-davinci-002-render
For plagiarism check:
https://www.turnitin.com/login_page.asp?lang=en_us
Note: Do not depend on it; They are changeable things
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22. Thank you
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