This program promotes the development of ambitious, collaborative, and competitive grant proposals by supporting external expert review. The EMS Research Office will provide a modest honorarium to compensate reviewers outside of Penn State who offer constructive, critical feedback on draft proposals prior to submission. This compensation is considered an honorarium rather than a fee, in recognition of peer review as a professional service to the academic community. External reviews can significantly strengthen proposals and improve funding success by offering objective insights from experts not involved in the research team
Process
The faculty member is responsible for identifying and contacting potential reviewers. A sample communication for contacting potential reviewers is provided below. It is customary to give peer reviewers at least three to four weeks to review a proposal. The external reviewer will receive an honorarium of $500. Honoraria will be processed by the EMS Research Office when the faculty member submits proof of having received external peer review comments on their draft proposal.
Please contact Karen Royer for questions (klr9@psu.edu).
Eligibility
- Full-time EMS faculty
- Faculty are allowed a maximum of two external review requests per fiscal year
- Requests must be submitted through InfoReady prior to obtaining external review
- Faculty should not solicit reviews from individuals they hope may later serve as reviewers for the funding agency, as prior involvement could disqualify those individuals from formally evaluating the proposal
It is the responsibility of the faculty applicant to ensure the objectivity and independence of the external reviewer. If you are uncertain about a potential conflict, please consult the EMS Research Office in advance.
Submission Guidelines
- Requests may be submitted at any time through the InfoReady website: https://psu.infoready4.com/
- Application materials need to include:
- External reviewer contact, including name, title, and affiliation (maximum 2)
- Copy of email confirmation generated from EMS Proposal Submission Form indicating proposal submission details
Sample script for contacting reviewers (Revise as appropriate)
Subject: Request for Expert Review of Grant Proposal
Dear [Name],
I hope this message finds you well.
I am preparing to submit a grant proposal in early [Month] focused on [1–2 sentence explanation of the research topic and its significance]. Our research team includes Drs. [Name] ([Department]), [Name] ([Department]), [Name] ([Department]), and [Name] ([Department]).
We are pursuing an ambitious and collaborative project that [brief description of the research goals and intended impact]. A working summary of the proposal is included below for your reference. I’m writing to request your expert review of our grant application. We are seeking a thoughtful, detailed, and candid critique of the proposal in order to strengthen its content and competitiveness prior to submission. Feedback may be in narrative form, in-line comments, or structured in a format typical of agency reviews (e.g., NSF/DOE). We would especially appreciate your input on the core review criteria of [Agency Name] (see link here: [insert review criteria link]).
To acknowledge your time and expertise, we are pleased to offer an honorarium of $500. You would receive the complete draft by [Month Day, Year], and we would kindly ask for your comments by [Month Day, Year].
We greatly value your perspective and would be grateful for your participation in this review. Please let me know if you would be willing to assist, or if you have any questions.
With sincere thanks,
[Your Full Name]
[Your Title/Role]
[Department/College]
[University Name]
[Email | Phone]