Concept paper
A short outline of a proposed project, submitted before a full application so the funder can say whether to proceed. Where it is required it is a gate; where it is optional it is usually still worth submitting, because feedback before the work is cheaper than after.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Pre-application · Preliminary proposal
In detail
Federal agencies use it to manage review load on programmes that would otherwise attract far more full proposals than they can read. Its deadline is the operative one.
A discouraging response is not always a bar to applying, and it is nearly always worth treating as one. Agencies discourage for reasons they have already decided.
Against a letter of inquiry
A letter of inquiry asks a funder whether a project is in scope. A concept paper outlines the project itself for a preliminary judgement. Both sit before the full application and both have their own deadline, which is the fact that matters for a calendar. Our `deadline_note` carries the source’s wording where a notice publishes a two-stage process.
How GrantTrove stores it
- `deadline_at` and `deadline_type` carry what the source published, and `deadline_note` keeps the sentence that qualifies it.
- We never merge two published dates into a range. A range built from a pre-application date and a full proposal date would describe a window nobody stated.
Common questions
Can I skip an optional concept paper?
You can. Feedback before writing the full proposal is usually worth more than the time it costs.
Is a discouraging response final?
Not always formally. It usually reflects a decision already made.
Which date do you show?
What the source published, with its own wording in the note.