PROCESS FOR SOLICITING CONGRESSIONAL LETTERS OF SUPPORT

For select federal grants, it is common practice to have congressional letters of support from Members of Congress who represent the University submitted with the proposal. In some instances, the letters of support would be submitted only after the proposal has been submitted to the selecting agency. To provide guidance for faculty and staff who would like to obtain congressional letters of support for competitive proposals that are being submitted to federal agencies, we offer the following:

1. Faculty and staff who believe that a congressional letter of support would be advantageous should contact UCF’s Office of Government & Community Relations at least one month before the letter is needed.

2. While there are no fixed criteria for determining whether the type of proposal or potential dollar value of a grant award merits a letter of support, below are a few examples of proposals for which congressional letters of support would be helpful:

A. Multi-institution proposals where UCF is the lead institution.

B. Proposals that support National Centers of Excellence (or similarly named entities), particularly in areas that align with UCF’s Strategic Plan or Faculty Cluster Initiative.

C. Proposals that would lead to strengthening the economic, educational, cultural, and health outcomes in the Central Florida region, particularly ones that enjoy intergovernmental support.

D. Proposals that are designated a priority of the President or Board of Trustees.

3. Proposals that will be submitted to NIH or NSF are generally ones where congressional letters of support can be counterproductive. However, in select instances, a letter of support would be appropriate.

Please contact the Office of Government & Community Relations to discuss whether letters would be appropriate to accompany a specific proposal.

FORMAT FOR REQUEST OF CONGRESSIONAL LETTERS OF SUPPORT

To begin the process for requesting a letter of congressional support, the following information will be necessary:

1. A brief Executive Summary of the proposal [including amount being requested; partners (if any); benefit to UCF and the State of Florida if the grant is approved; unique nature of the proposal)

2. Name and address of the federal official that the letter should be directed to.

3. Date that the proposal needs to be submitted (remember to allot sufficient time that is needed by the Office of Research and Commercialization to process the proposal before submission)

4. Name and contact information for the Principal Investigator

5. History of relevant federal funding (any agency) related to the proposal

6. History of prior grant submissions for this award (if any).