Blog
Field notes on the current state of US research funding.
Analysis on funding trends, proposal craft, and where AI is genuinely changing research development — and where it isn't.
The State of Federal Research Funding, Mid-2026
Agency budgets, solicitation volume, and award timelines are all shifting at once. Here's what research offices need to track this cycle.
Your Compliance Matrix Is Not a Checklist
Most teams build a compliance matrix to survive Section L. The best teams use it to win on Section M. Here's the difference.
AI Drafting Guardrails Every Research Office Needs Now
AI tools are already inside your proposal process, whether or not there's a policy for them. Here's how to get ahead of it.
Large Multidisciplinary Proposals Have a Partnership Problem
Center-scale proposals rarely fail on the science. They fail on the seams — the places where partner institutions and disciplines don't quite connect.
Go / No-Go Decisions That Actually Hold Up Under Pressure
Every research office has a go/no-go process on paper. Few of them survive contact with a persuasive PI and a tight deadline.
How to Read a Solicitation Like a Reviewer, Not a Writer
The single highest-leverage habit in proposal development is reading Section M before you write a word of the technical volume.
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