Launching a professional
funding operation from day one
A newly formed grants team at a space life science research institute needed a complete funding operation designed and built before it ever made its first submission. The institute's research program spans four areas: space biology, radiation biology, reproductive biology, and research infrastructure, each with its own funder landscape, program cycles, and proposal requirements.
Starting fresh is an advantage: no legacy processes to untangle, no inherited workarounds. But it also means every system decision carries forward. The goal was to build something the team could trust, grow into, and hand off to future members without losing institutional knowledge.
Three interlocking layers,
one continuous pipeline
Rather than building a single tracker, the system was designed in three interdependent layers: a strategic framework defining what to pursue and why, a live tracking infrastructure managing every opportunity from discovery to submission, and a team playbook establishing shared protocols from the start.
Research Alignment Framework
Funding Strategy Matrix
Operational Tracking System
Team Playbook & Training Suite
Funder Landscape by Time Horizon
A 7-stage proposal pipeline
with built-in accountability
Every funding opportunity moves through a standardized pipeline. Each stage has a defined meaning, a color code for at-a-glance status, an assigned owner, and a next action with a clear deadline. Updating the Stage column is the only action required to keep the pipeline and dashboard current.
What was built and handed off
Every deliverable was designed to be immediately usable without additional training, clear enough to onboard new team members, and detailed enough to handle edge cases independently.
Funding Operations Playbook
Slide deck covering research alignment, funding strategy, pipeline stages, program officer outreach, and the weekly review protocol.
Google Sheets Tracking System
Four-tab pipeline with automated formulas, dropdown-driven data entry, urgency alerts, and a live summary dashboard.
Team Walkthrough Guide
Column-by-column guide covering every field, auto-update behavior, filter view setup, and common mistakes to avoid.
Team Cheat Sheet
Single-page quick reference with the full workflow, all dropdown values, weekly review steps, and a self-check checklist.
Funding Strategy Matrix
Funder-to-research-area mapping across all three time horizons, with specific named programs at federal agencies and foundations.
Prospect Research Workflow
Standardized 7-step process for identifying, evaluating, and logging new funding opportunities from discovery through pipeline entry.
Starting with a new team meant the system could be built right the first time. The goal was infrastructure the team could trust from day one and hand off to future members without losing anything along the way.