Letters of Commitment, Collaboration, and Support
Many proposals require or allow letters from your institution, administrators, partners, and collaborators. Some funding organization request letters of support or commitment and others do not allow them. The Department of Education, for instance, rarely asks for letters, and, if included, would count against the proposal page count. The National Science Foundation, on the other hand, requires letters of collaboration, especially from the proposing institution and project partners, but does not allow letters of support. Other funding agencies leave the inclusion of letters to the proposer’s discretion.
It is important that proposers understand what is expected by the funder, the difference between the types of letters, and how to strengthen this aspect of a proposal. The following descriptions explain the general differences among these types of documents:
Letter of Commitment
A letter of commitment indicates the signatory’s intent to commit resources to the funded project as specified in the letter, should the proposal be funded. May also give the partner’s rationale for supporting the project and point to strengths of the organization that could be of value in implementing or sustaining the project.
Letter of Collaboration
Letters of collaboration indicate the signatory’s intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as described in the proposal or the letter, should the proposal be funded.
NSF Letter of Collaboration
Documentation of collaborative arrangements of significance to the proposal through letters of collaboration. (See PAPPG Chapter II.C.2.d(iv)). Letters of collaboration should be limited to stating the intent to collaborate and should not contain endorsements or evaluation of the proposed project. The recommended format for letters of collaboration is as follows:
"If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator] entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by NSF, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description or the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal."
Letter of Support
A letter of support expresses the organization’s knowledge and support of the project, including why the project is important and how it relates to the organization’s mission or expressed goals. May address the proposer’s qualifications or abilities to complete the project. Such letters can add much additional information to strengthen the proposal.
NSF Letter of Support
While letters of collaboration are permitted, unless required by a specific program solicitation, letters of support should not be submitted as they are not a standard component of an NSF proposal. A letter of support is typically from a key stakeholder such as an organization, collaborator or Congressional Representative, and is used to convey a sense of enthusiasm for the project and/or to highlight the qualifications of the PI or co-PI. A letter of support submitted in response to a program solicitation requirement must be unique to the specific proposal submitted and cannot be altered without the author’s explicit prior approval. Proposals that contain letters of support not authorized by the program solicitation may be returned without review.
Preparing Letters
The PI should solicit letters well in advance of the due date so there will be time for signatures. Letters from partners should represent true, collaborative partnerships. These partnerships work best when partners have been involved in the proposal planning and preparation stages so that their concerns and ideas are addressed. It is often useful if you, after conversations with the writer, draft the letter or give the writer a list of talking points of things to include. This is especially important if resources are being committed.
Use the following guidelines in preparing letters:
- Keep letters short and to the point.
- Be specific about the nature of the collaboration or commitment.
- Usually indicate concrete actions the signer is committed to provide during the project.
- Do not commit to any dollar amount of funds or resources unless you have permission.
- Don’t use form letters; make each letter unique (except for NSF Letters of Collaboration).
Institutional Commitment/Support Letters
Institutional commitment/support letters are intended to show department/college/university support that will be available to the project, without providing specific dollar amounts that could be construed as auditable cost sharing by the sponsor. General statements should be made to convey university support towards the project. The letter should contain general statements such as:
“The University will provide offices, labs, and administrative space as necessary for the accomplishment of project deliverables.”
"University of Chicago has several labs that will be utilized for the proposed research.”
“Several graduate students within the department will be providing basic research support to the researchers during the life of the project.”
Institutional Cost Share Letter
Cost share commitments should be kept to a minimum and provided only when required by the sponsor or justified in compelling circumstances. Institutional cost share letters are intended to show institutional approval of the cost share commitments listed in the budget and budget justification. Specific dollars amounts are included and are considered auditable cost share. Examples of cost share are:
- State funded salaries/fringe benefits
- Unrecovered F&A (indirect costs)
- Tuition remission
- Cash contributions
Sample Institutional Commitment/Support Letter
(Insert Date)
(Insert sponsor contact information)
Re: Letter of Institutional Commitment/Support
Dear (insert sponsor name),
I write to express my strong support for this grant proposal submitted to (insert sponsor name), titled “(insert proposal title)”. I understand that (insert PI name) will pursue (insert a few words describing project). As (insert title of person providing commitment letter), I can assure you that the University will provide the resources necessary to facilitate this project at NDSU. Specifically, the University has committed (insert general resource statements) in order to accomplish the objectives of this project. I am highly supportive of the efforts as outlined in this proposal, and (insert statement how this project will benefit a greater goal).
Best regards,
(Insert institutional authority)