Proposal Evaluation + External Review

The Proposal Evaluation and External Review (PEER) program is open to all principal investigators in every field of study.

The goal of the program is to help researchers obtain quality feedback on their grant applications prior to submission to an external funding agency, strengthen the merits of the proposal and improve the likelihood of acceptance for funding.

The Office of Research will provide a payment of $500 to external reviewers to read and assess eligible grant applications prior to their submission to external funding agencies. No more than one reviewer per proposal will be approved for payment.

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Eligibility + instructions

  • The KU applicant must be responsible for oversight of the project and have principal investigator (PI) status.
  • The project description/research plan must be in near final form.
  • The application form and proposal must be submitted to kucrpeer@ku.edu at least 30 days prior to the funding agency’s proposal submission deadline.
  • The external peer reviewer may not be a State of Kansas employee, including KU and all other Board of Regents institutions.
  • The peer reviewer must be qualified to conduct the review and be endorsed by the PI’s chair/unit director.
  • When considering potential reviewers, applicants should avoid doing anything that could be perceived to compromise an external funding agency’s review process, such as contacting members of a review panel/study section who might be involved in the review of a submission to that agency.
  • The peer reviewer must sign a written confidentiality agreement concerning the proposal and must agree to provide the KU researcher written feedback within 10 days.
  • Prior to submission of this application, the KU researcher should make preliminary contact with the reviewer to confirm that he or she is willing to conduct the review in accordance with these guidelines.
  1. Complete the online PEER application form.
  2. An Associate Vice Chancellor for Research will review the application and the PI will be notified within three working days when a decision has been made to approve or deny the request.
  3. Pre-Award Services will contact the selected reviewer and request a signed confidentiality agreement, a completed contractual services form and a completed W-9. The proposal will be sent to the reviewer upon receipt of these documents.
  4. Reviewer returns review within 10 days of proposal receipt.
  5. Pre-Award Services will provide review to PI and forward contractual services form and W-9 to Financial Services for payment processing.

Pre-Award Services will provide reviewers with the following three forms:

  1. Confidentiality agreement
  2. Contractual services form
  3. W-9 form

Once we have received the completed forms, we will forward a copy of the proposal, and ask that you return your review within 10 days.

Note: Individuals with H1B visa status may only be paid through their sponsoring institution. If you have an H1B visa, please contact kucrpeer@ku.edu for additional clarification.