Stanford RDO
The Stanford Research Development Office (RDO) is a unit under VPDoR that aims to strengthen collaborative or strategic research, scholarship, and creative activities by helping to set PIs up for sponsored research funding success through project-opportunity alignment, early preparation, and proposal development support.
RDO’s goal is to enhance competitiveness of proposals through grantsmanship while reducing the burden on PIs. We support researchers and research teams from across the University, with an emphasis on complex or strategic proposals. This often includes large, multi-PI, and/or multi-disciplinary proposals, but can also apply to other projects depending on the discipline or specific situation.
Services
We offer a variety of types of support, depending on the needs of the project, timing, and RD Specialist availability. For more information about how RDO can help you, check out RDO Services. Our About page contains further details about our office. Please also see our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information.
RDO complements other pre-award services such as budget development by local research administration support and compliance review and submission by the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR), the Research Management Group (RMG), or the Industrial Contracts Office (ICO).
Our Team
Program Manager, Limited Submissions and Seed Grant Programs
Research Development Specialist (STEM* focus with special emphasis on Sustainability)
Research Development Specialist (Humanities, Arts, and Interpretive Social Sciences)
* Includes Social Sciences as in NSF’s broader definition of STEM and is used more to indicate the breadth of disciplines supported rather than to restrict the domains that would receive support.
Testimonials
As it’s said, “the difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” RDO’s staff goes above and beyond to make that difference!
Tiziana Vanorio, Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences and (by courtesy) Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geophysics
The Research Development Office made it possible to apply for a complex traineeship grant on an extremely tight timeline; they were an invaluable resource in understanding grant agency priorities + how to meet them within the Stanford ecosystem, and in connecting me to external resources when necessary.
Jon Simon, Associate Professor of Physics and Applied Physics
The Stanford Research Development offers indispensable complementary support to the plentiful resources that Stanford already provides to faculty around campus for the preparation of grants. I highly recommend that faculty reach out to discuss their project goals early in the process to get advice on specific grants.
Emily Levine, Associate Professor of Education and (by courtesy) History
It was one of the most impressive examples of grant support I have ever seen, probably the most impressive.
Russ B. Altman, Kenneth Fong Professor of Bioengineering, Genetics, Medicine, Biomedical Data Science and (by courtesy) Computer Science
Frequent Partners
Stanford RDO partners with individuals and offices across the Stanford community, including:
- Kyle Cole, Director of Education and STEM Outreach; Office of Community Engagement
- Blythe Nobleman, School of Engineering Research Development Strategist and Editor; Engineering Research Administration
- The Proposal Development Office; School of Medicine
- Research Administration
- The Office of Research Administration
- Research Administration in the Dean of Research
- The Research Management Group; School of Medicine
- Sonia Barragan, Executive Director; Research Administration, School of Humanities & Sciences
- Other local support
- University Corporate and Foundation Relations
- Karin Immergluck, Executive Director; Industrial Contracts Office
- The SLAC Director's Office and Officers; SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Contact Us
Address
Web Accessibility
Stanford University is committed to providing an online environment that is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities.
Having trouble accessing any of this content due to a disability? Learn more about accessibility at Stanford and report accessibility issues .