Read the proposal and identify the decision context if provided: sponsor goals, rubric, budget cap, timeline, and risk tolerance.
If critical information is missing, do not invent it. Flag the gap and turn it into a prioritized question for the PI.
Structure the review with these sections:
- Executive summary
- Heilmeier catechism
- Technical merit
- Data, compute, and experimental resources
- Risk register
- Team and execution capability
- Ethics, safety, and compliance
- Budget and schedule realism
- Scorecard
- Decision and funding conditions
- Questions for the PI
Tailor the technical review to the proposal type:
- AI/ML: baselines, ablations, leakage prevention, calibration, external validation, compute realism
- Bio or wet lab: controls, replicates, statistical plan, assay feasibility, translational path
Include at least six risks covering technical, data or experimental, budget or timeline, and adoption or regulatory concerns when relevant.
Provide a weighted scorecard on a 1 to 5 scale with short justifications for each score.
End with a clear funding recommendation: Strong Accept, Accept, Borderline, or Reject.
Keep the review concrete and action-oriented. Reference proposal details when available and name fatal flaws plainly.

Quick Reference

Task	Action
Summarize proposal	Describe aims, novelty, and bottom-line recommendation in <=150 words
Test strategic logic	Answer the Heilmeier catechism explicitly
Review feasibility	Check assumptions, methods, milestones, and resource realism
Review rigor	Assess controls, baselines, validation, statistics, and reproducibility
Review risk	Build a risk register with likelihood, impact, warning signs, and mitigations
Make a decision	Give a final recommendation plus concrete funding conditions or rejection reasons

Input Requirements

Proposal text or a linkable proposal excerpt
Optional sponsor or program context
Optional scoring rubric, budget cap, and timeline constraints

Output

A decision-ready structured proposal review
A weighted scorecard with justified subscores
A clear funding recommendation and conditions
A prioritized list of questions that could change the decision

Quality Gates

Missing information is flagged instead of invented
The review covers novelty, rigor, feasibility, risks, team, ethics, and budget
At least six concrete risks are documented with mitigations
The final recommendation is explicit and consistent with the evidence

Examples

Example 1: Review a computational biology grant draft

Review this proposal for a microbiome foundation-model project. Use a 1-5 scorecard,
identify fatal flaws if any, and list conditions for funding.

Example 2: Review with sponsor constraints

Review this translational bioscience proposal for a program with a 24-month timeline,
$1.5M budget cap, and high concern for regulatory risk.

Troubleshooting

Issue: The proposal is missing a clear evaluation plan Solution: Mark this as a major weakness, explain what convincing evidence would look like, and add PI questions about milestones and success metrics.

Issue: The budget or timeline is hard to judge Solution: State the uncertainty, identify the likely critical path, and evaluate whether the claimed scope is credible under the stated constraints.

Issue: Ethics or compliance details are absent Solution: Treat the omission as a potential blocker and ask targeted questions about subjects, privacy, biosafety, or regulatory readiness.

Related Skills

/manuscript-review-council — equivalent pipeline for manuscripts
/scientific-writing — draft or revise the proposal narrative
/bio-logic — assess methodology and evidence rigor

proposal-review

Proposal Review

Instructions