Expert Grant Writing and Consulting Support

Spotz Scientific focuses on scientific computing research proposals to federal agencies, particularly the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and its Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, as well as the National Science Foundation’s Computer and Information Science and Engineering directorate. Support includes DOE Early Career, NSF CAREER, pre-proposals, SBIR applications, and institutionally managed proposal competitions.

A red-team review provides an independent assessment of a draft proposal or pre-proposal before it is submitted. Bill Spotz reviews the proposal through a funder and reviewer-oriented lens, identifying opportunities to improve clarity, strategic alignment, responsiveness to the funding opportunity, technical narrative, and overall competitiveness. Feedback is designed to be actionable so the team can prioritize revisions before the deadline.

Yes. Spotz Scientific provides targeted coaching, proposal strategy, and red-team review for DOE Early Career Research Program applicants. The guidance reflects Bill Spotz’s eight years as a DOE Office of Science program manager and helps applicants consider program fit, research framing, competitiveness, and how clearly the proposal communicates its scientific case to reviewers.

Yes. NSF CAREER consulting can include proposal strategy, red-team review, and guidance on positioning a submission within NSF CISE funding priorities. The service is intended to help early-career faculty strengthen the research narrative, communicate the proposal’s significance, and prepare a more coherent, reviewer-ready application while remaining responsive to the specific solicitation and program requirements.

Strategic advisory services focus on a specific Notice of Funding Opportunity. They help individuals or groups interpret the opportunity, assess fit, identify program priorities, and make sound decisions about proposal positioning and development. This is especially useful for applicants considering DOE Early Career or NSF CAREER opportunities and scientific computing proposals to DOE or NSF programs.

The standard consulting fee is $250 per hour. A premium rate of $300 per hour applies when review materials are provided less than two weeks before the deadline of a Notice of Funding Opportunity. Providing materials early gives sufficient time for a thoughtful review, discussion of feedback, and meaningful revisions before submission.

Yes. Spotz Scientific works with university faculty support offices to build resources, frameworks, training, and materials that help faculty prepare stronger federal research proposals. Support can be tailored to the office’s needs, including DOE Early Career submission guidance, internal processes, proposal-development practices, and tools that enable staff to better advise scientific computing researchers.

Yes. Bill Spotz can serve as a team member on research projects requiring scientific computing expertise. His experience spans computational science, applied mathematics, modeling and simulation, scientific machine learning, data analysis, climate modeling, and federal research programs. This engagement allows teams to draw directly on his technical background as well as his understanding of research funding environments.