Project Development & Visioning

Great grant proposals don’t start with writing; they start with building awesome projects.

Every researcher has valuable questions to ask and meaningful problems to solve. Whether you are drafting your very first federal proposal or leading a multi-institutional team across several universities, you belong in the funding enterprise. Project development is a collaborative, creative process where we take raw research passions and shape them into clear, coherent, and logistically sound initiatives.

Zaposa brings deep, high-level federal and research expertise to your project architecture:

• Federal Program Leadership: Former NSF Program Director in the Division of Undergraduate Education, overseeing a $65M portfolio of 90+ awards across 35 states and running panels across multiple federal programs.
• Multi-Million Dollar PI Track Record: 20+ years of principal investigator leadership on major grant awards, including multi-institutional NSF IUSE projects like PhysPort’s Impact on Teaching Practice ($2.4M) and Foundational Research on Problem Mathematization ($500k).
• User-Centered Project Design: Decades of experience applying user-centered design, persona building, and logistical workflow architecture to large-scale education initiatives.

What We Offer

Project Visioning & Concept Architecture

Transforming raw research ideas and passions into clear, coherent project frameworks. We help you define core research questions, select robust theoretical lenses, and ensure every element of your project works together seamlessly.

Strategic Pivots & Project Resets

Hands-on strategic consulting for research teams with stalled projects or those needing to reshape an existing initiative for a new funding opportunity or institutional focus. We treat stalled projects not as failures, but as natural moments for sense-making and strategic alignment.

Solicitation Alignment & Strategy

Deep-dive strategy mapping your project design directly to federal sponsor priorities and merit review criteria (including NSF IUSE, BCSER, S-STEM, CAREER, and cross-directorate solicitations). Having managed complex review panels across federal programs at the NSF, I help teams translate complex multi-source ideas into structured, compelling narratives that address Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts with total clarity.

User Needs Discovery & Operational Design

Ensuring your project is as practical and executable as it is ambitious. Drawing on user-centered design methodologies developed during our national research initiatives, we help teams execute user needs discovery, structure feasible data collection streams, map logistical workflows, and build collaborative spaces for multi-author teams.

Who This Is For: Ambitious Projects at Every Scale

We welcome researchers and teams at every career stage, ensuring everyone has the strategic tools and support needed to build competitive initiatives:

• First-Time & Emerging PIs: Early-career faculty, postdocs, or disciplinary scholars preparing their first major federal grant applications who want a trusted thought partner to de-mystify federal sponsor expectations.
• Experienced PIs & Multi-Institutional Teams: Senior leads building large-scale, complex, or interdisciplinary center proposals requiring tight narrative alignment and smooth team logistics.
• Offices of Proposal Development & Research Deans: University research offices seeking expert strategic consulting, project architecture, or proposal incubator workshops for high-stakes faculty cohorts.

Ready to Work Together?

Whether you need a 1:1 mentor for your research pivot, training and masterclasses for your group, a thought partner to build an awesome project, or a tailored evaluation plan that actually serves your project, let’s talk.

Schedule a Strategic Consultation

Zaposa services & strategic support