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1,600+ Sample Grant Proposals from 150+ Verified Sources

Sample Grant Proposals: Funded Examples Database

Access the most comprehensive collection of sample grant proposals and successful grant application examples from NIH, NSF, ERC, Horizon Europe, and 150+ other sources. Study funded proposals to improve your own applications.

60+
Sources
1,600+
Sample Proposals
10+
Regions
75%
Open Access
Showing 60 sample grant proposal sources

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⭐ Top Resource
Open Grants Initiative
Global50+ proposals
Open Access
Premier community-driven hub with 50+ full-text proposals from NSF, NIH, CZI, Mellon Foundation. Includes rare corporate philanthropy examples and unsuccessful proposals for comparison.
NSFNIHCZIMellonMulti-disciplinary
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RIO Journal
Global
Open Access
Peer-reviewed journal publishing grant proposals as citable scholarly articles with DOIs. Strong for EU-funded projects including BiCIKL, WildPosh Horizon 2020/Europe proposals.
EUHorizon EuropeDOIPeer-reviewed
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Zenodo
Global100+ proposals
Open Access
CERN/OpenAIRE repository with strong ERC and Horizon Europe coverage. The "EU Projects" community aggregates Descriptions of Action (DoA) and deliverables.
ERCHorizon EuropeCERNOpen Access
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Figshare
Global
Open Access
General repository hosting PI uploads including both successful and unsuccessful ERC Starting Grant proposals with DOI assignment.
ERCMulti-disciplinaryDOI
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Open Science Framework (OSF)
Global
Open Access
Growing collection blurring line between proposals and registered reports. High searchability with SSHRC Partnership Development Grant examples.
SSHRCRegistered ReportsOpen Science
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CORDIS (EU)
Global35,000+ proposals
Mixed Access
EU official database with 35,000+ Horizon projects. Project summaries and links to institutional repositories that may host full proposals.
EUHorizon35K+ Projects
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OpenGrants Library
Global60+ proposals
Mixed Access
Commercial platform with 60+ funded proposals from foundations, government agencies, and corporations. Strong nonprofit and community project coverage.
FoundationsNonprofitGovernment
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Jabberwocky Ecology
Global40+ proposals
Open Access
Curated list of 40+ proposals in biological sciences including NSF, NERC, EMBO, Moore Foundation, and BBSRC examples.
BiologyNSFNERCBBSRC
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⭐ Top Resource
NIAID Sample Applications
United States40+ proposals
Open Access
Gold standard for biomedical researchers. 40+ complete proposals with Summary Statements covering R01, R03, R15, R21, K01, K08, K23, F31, U01 mechanisms.
NIHR01K AwardsBiomedical
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NCI Behavioral Research Program
United States15+ proposals
Open Access
~15 R01 examples for Behavioral Research, Cancer Epidemiology, and Implementation Science. Valuable for hybrid effectiveness-implementation designs.
NIHNCICancerR01
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NIDCD Sample Applications
United States10+ proposals
Open Access
10+ proposals covering R01, R21, and Early Career R21 mechanisms for hearing/communication research.
NIHNIDCDR01R21
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NHGRI ELSI Program
United States10+ proposals
Open Access
10+ examples including K99/R00, K01, R01, R03, R21 for ethical/legal/social implications research in genomics.
NIHNHGRIELSIGenomics
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NIH Central Resources
United States
Open Access
Central hub linking to various NIH institute sample pages. Multiple grant types with varying access across all institutes.
NIHCentral HubAll Institutes
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NIH RePORTER
United States
Mixed Access
Database of all funded NIH projects. Provides abstracts only, but useful for identifying successful PIs to contact for full proposals.
NIHDatabaseAbstracts
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⭐ Top Resource
SERC Carleton College Repository
United States30+ proposals
Mixed Access
30+ proposals focused on Geosciences (EAR, OCE, ATM) and STEM Education (IUSE, CAREER, REU, MRI). Many include panel reviews.
NSFCAREERGeosciencesSTEM Education
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NSF Award Search
United States
Mixed Access
Filter for funded awards. Hundreds of abstracts; some include full proposal PDFs for programs like CAREER and Major Research Instrumentation.
NSFCAREERMRIAbstracts
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NSF BCS Sample Proposal
United States
Open Access
Official NSF example for Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement grants in Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences.
NSFDDRISocial Sciences
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NEH Sample Grant Narratives
United States
Open Access
Successful narratives for Digital Humanities Advancement Grants, Challenge Grants, and Summer Stipends via FOIA.
NEHHumanitiesDigital Humanities
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MacArthur 100&Change Solutions Bank
United States
Open Access
Top-rated $100M competition proposals filtered by SDG, geography, population. Reveals rhetoric of "Big Bet" philanthropy.
MacArthurPhilanthropySDGsBig Bets
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Coefficient Giving (formerly Open Philanthropy)
United States
Open Access
Radical transparency model. Publishes detailed grant pages by fund, reconstructing proposal arguments, budgets, and theory of change. Over $4B in grants since 2014.
Coefficient GivingEATheory of Change
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CZI EOSS Proposals
United States
Open Access
Essential Open Source Software for Science proposals. Full texts for open science infrastructure projects.
CZIOpen SourceScience Infrastructure
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W.T. Grant Foundation
United States
Open Access
Annotated excerpts from successful proposals with commentary explaining evaluation criteria.
W.T. GrantAnnotatedYouth Development
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⭐ Top Resource
University of Florida Grants Collection
United States400+ proposals
Open Access
~400+ funded proposals across all disciplines in the UF Digital Collections institutional repository.
Multi-disciplinaryUniversityLarge Collection
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Harvard FAS Sample Proposals
United States
On Request
Sample proposals from recent award recipients available by request to FAS/SEAS faculty and PIs.
Multi-disciplinaryHarvardFaculty
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University of Chicago
United States
Open Access
NIH, NSF, NEH, DOE, foundations. Notable: includes one rejected proposal with feedback for comparison.
NIHNSFNEHRejected Examples
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Northwestern (Undergraduate)
United States30+ proposals
Open Access
30+ annotated undergraduate proposals. Excellent for early-career training and understanding fundamentals.
UndergraduateAnnotatedTraining
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University of South Florida
United States
Open Access
NSF, NIH, NASA, NEH proposals plus Data Management Plan examples.
NSFNIHNASADMP
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MIT CommKit
United States
Open Access
NSF research proposal guide with examples and templates from MIT Communication Lab.
NSFMITGuideTemplates
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University of Alaska Fairbanks
United States
Open Access
Comprehensive cross-agency index linking to NEH, NIH, NSF, DOE, USDA samples.
Multi-agencyIndexComprehensive
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⭐ Top Resource
FFG Austrian ERC Compilation
European Union50+ proposals
Open Access
Most valuable curated collection of 30-50+ full Part B1 + B2 for Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced Grants. Some include both attempts.
ERCStGCoGAdG
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ERC Official How to Write
European Union
Open Access
Official ERC guidance document with structure recommendations and evaluation criteria explanations.
ERCOfficialGuide2025
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GitHub ERC Templates
European Union
Open Access
LaTeX templates for StG/CoG/AdG applications with formatting and structure guidance.
ERCLaTeXTemplates
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ERC Dashboard
European Union
Open Access
Interactive dashboard to search ERC-funded projects with filters by funding scheme, country, year, and panel.
ERCDatabaseProject Details
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Shannon Chance MSCA Example
European Union
Open Access
MSCA Individual Fellowship 2015 proposal fully shared with commentary and tips.
MSCAMarie CurieFellowship
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Crowdhelix MSCA Guide
European Union
Open Access
Training resources with successful proposal database backend for Marie Curie applications.
MSCAPostdocTraining
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MSCA Postdoctoral Proposal Example
European Union
Open Access
Full successful MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship proposal shared on ResearchGate for early-career researchers.
MSCAMarie CuriePostdocFull Proposal
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OpenAIRE
European Union
Open Access
Aggregates EU-funded research outputs including proposal documents. Filter by "Proposal" resource type.
EUHorizon EuropeOpen Access
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Horizon Europe Catalog
European Union
Open Access
Searchable catalog of EU projects with links to project documentation and deliverables.
EUHorizon EuropeCatalog
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⭐ Top Resource
Wellcome Open Research Fund
United Kingdom100+ proposals
Open Access
100+ downloadable PDFs with decision summaries explaining successes and failures. Gold standard for funder transparency.
WellcomeHealthDecision Summaries
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Gateway to Research
United Kingdom
Mixed Access
Official portal listing all funded UKRI projects. Abstracts and outcome links; use to identify successful PIs.
UKRIDatabaseAll Councils
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CHASE Doctoral Training
United Kingdom
Open Access
Sample PhD project proposals by research panel (Medieval History, Art History, Media Studies) with funded document links.
PhDArtsHumanities
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UCL BEAMS FLF Guide
United Kingdom
Open Access
UKRI Future Leaders Fellowships application guide with strategies and examples.
UKRIFLFFellowship
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⭐ Top Resource
Lauren Thompson Repository
Canada10+ proposals
Open Access
Most comprehensive publicly available resource for Canadian graduate funding. 10+ complete applications including NSERC CGS-M, PGS-D, Vanier, Banting.
NSERCVanierBantingGraduate
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NSERC Discovery Grants
Canada10+ proposals
Open Access
5-10 sample successful proposals and guides. Distinct for "program of research" focus.
NSERCDiscoveryResearch Program
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CIHR Project Grants
Canada10+ proposals
Open Access
10+ funded Project Grant examples covering health research across CIHR institutes.
CIHRHealthProject Grant
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SSHRC Opportunities
Canada5+ proposals
Open Access
5+ Insight Grant samples for social sciences and humanities research.
SSHRCSocial SciencesHumanities
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ARC Data Portal
Australia
Mixed Access
Grants search with National Interest Test statements—100-150 word summaries, the only public text available.
ARCDiscoveryNIT Statements
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NHMRC Investigator Grants
Australia10+ proposals
Open Access
10+ sample applications for medical research at different career stages.
NHMRCHealthInvestigator
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JSPS Grant Samples
Asia30+ proposals
Open Access
30+ KAKENHI grant samples in English covering Physics, Engineering, Biology, and Computer Science.
JSPSJapanSTEM
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A*STAR Grants
Asia
Open Access
Full proposals for biomedical and tech research with emphasis on innovation and commercialization.
SingaporeBiomedicalTech
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CNPq Universal Call
Latin America
Open Access
Universal Call samples with full texts. Emphasis on biodiversity research, Amazon sustainability, and tech innovation.
BrazilBiodiversityAmazon
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ANID FONDECYT
Latin America
Open Access
Chilean national research fund supporting Regular, Initiation, and Postdoctoral projects across all knowledge areas.
ChileFONDECYTResearch Quality
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African Academy of Sciences
Africa
Open Access
AESA programs including ARISE, DELTAS Africa, and Grand Challenges Africa for climate and health research.
AfricaClimateHealthAESA
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NRF South Africa
Africa
Open Access
Thuthuka (emerging researchers) and other programmes supporting designated researchers in South African universities.
South AfricaNRFEmerging Researchers
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QRDI Council Qatar
Middle East
Open Access
Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council. Academic Research, National Research, and Talent programs for Gulf region challenges.
QatarEnergyWaterHealth
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Austin Henley (NSF CAREER)
United States
Open Access
NSF CAREER proposal with detailed writing guide. Computer Science.
NSFCAREERCSIndividual
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John Bunce (NSF Anthropology)
United States
Open Access
NSF Cultural Anthropology: rejected (2011) + funded (2012) versions with panel summaries. Invaluable for revision strategy.
NSFAnthropologyRejected + Funded
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Gemma Boleda (ERC StG)
European Union
Open Access
ERC Starting Grant AMORE (2016) Parts B1 and B2 in Computational Linguistics with full methodology section.
ERCStGLinguistics
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Ethan White (Multiple NSF)
United States
Open Access
NSF CAREER, Postdoc, Starter Grant proposals in Ecology shared on Figshare.
NSFCAREEREcology
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Amazon Research Awards
Global
Mixed Access
AI/ML proposals with anonymized successful examples. Focus on fairness, interpretability, and AWS integration.
AmazonAI/MLIndustry
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Sample Grant Proposals: Your Gateway to Successful Applications

This comprehensive database compiles 150+ verified sources containing over 1,600 sample grant proposals from major funders worldwide. Whether you're applying for an NIH R01, NSF CAREER Award, ERC Starting Grant, or Marie Curie Fellowship, studying successful grant application examples is one of the most effective ways to improve your grant writing.

Why Study Sample Grant Proposals?

Successful grant application examples reveal crucial patterns in structure, argumentation, and presentation that review panels respond to positively. By analyzing how funded researchers framed their specific aims, justified their methodology, and articulated broader impacts, you can reverse-engineer the rhetorical strategies that work. Understanding the anatomy of a winning grant proposal starts with reading real examples.

Using This Sample Grant Proposal Database Effectively

  • Start with Top Resources: Sources marked with ⭐ contain the highest-quality, most accessible full-text sample proposals
  • Filter by Region: Different funding agencies have distinct cultures and expectations—NIH proposal examples differ from ERC or NSERC styles
  • Search by Mechanism: Find proposals matching your specific grant type (R01, CAREER, StG, etc.)
  • Contact PIs Directly: Research shows 60-70% of PIs share proposals when asked respectfully

From Reading Sample Proposals to Writing Winning Applications

Studying sample grant proposals is step one. Proposia helps you transform those insights into your own competitive application with AI-powered section generation, evidence-based writing guidance, and funder-specific compliance tools.

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Grant Proposal Examples by Funder Type

Our database organizes sample grant proposals by funder category for easier navigation:

  • NIH Sample Applications: R01, R21, K Awards, F31 fellowship proposals with reviewer feedback
  • NSF Proposal Examples: CAREER, MRI, REU proposals with panel reviews
  • ERC Grant Examples: Starting, Consolidator, and Advanced Grant Part B proposals
  • Foundation Proposals: MacArthur, Wellcome, CZI, Open Philanthropy examples

For detailed guidance on analyzing these examples, see our blog post on research proposal samples that actually won funding.