To assist Principal Investigators (PIs) with drafting grant proposals that are responsive to an evolving funding/scientific landscape, the Animal Care & Use (ACU) Program has developed a new Proposal Preparation page.
Launched in early August, the page contains a multitude of resources – outlined in greater detail below – compiled by the ACU Program in partnership with several cross-campus units.
Proposal Preparation Resources
- Suggestions on how to approach the Vertebrate Animal Section (VAS), a requirement of all grant applications for funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). For ease of use, guidance is sorted by criterion area:
- Description of Procedures
- Rationale/Justifications
- Minimization of Pain and Distress
- Method of Euthanasia
- Best practices for proposal preparation, including:
- How to address reproducibility and the Three Rs (reduction, refinement, and replacement)
- Frequently required grant data and boilerplate language
- Budget consultation and planning
The new webpage also includes a curated list of links to external references and resources created by the NIH, Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, and United States Department of Agriculture.
VAS Questionnaire
To ensure that these materials remain beneficial for members of the U-M research community, the ACU Program has also created a VAS Feedback Questionnaire 
. The brief questionnaire (available using valid U-M login credentials) asks PIs to share reviewer comments they have received on the VAS for grant proposals submitted within the last 15 calendar months.
All information will be de-identified and used to further refine programmatic guidance and best practices for writing a competitive VAS. Please consider sharing these important details so that our program may continue to develop resources in support of the responsible, judicious use of animals in research.
Questions?
Questions about the VAS Questionnaire , or the new Proposal Preparation webpage, may be directed to [email protected].
Links marked with a lock icon can only be accessed using valid U-M login credentials.