Red team review is a structured proposal feedback process designed to help teams identify strengths, weaknesses, responsiveness issues, and competitiveness risks before submission. Reviews are most useful when the proposal team has a complete or near-complete draft and enough time to revise based on feedback.
A red team review provides strategic, reviewer-oriented feedback on a proposal draft. The review focuses on whether the proposal is clear, responsive to the solicitation, compelling to reviewers, and competitive within the sponsor’s stated priorities and review criteria.
Contact YRD as early as possible if your team is interested in a red team review. Reviews require advance planning, reviewer identification, contracting, draft preparation, review time, and revision time.
Minimum lead time
- At least 2 weeks before review begins to identify and contract reviewers
- 10 days for reviewer evaluation
- Additional time after the review for the PI/team to revise before sponsor submission
I would not describe this as “2 weeks before submission,” because that will create chaos. It’s 2 weeks before review begins, plus 10 days, plus revision time.
| Timing | Activity |
|---|---|
| 4–6+ weeks before sponsor deadline | PI/team contacts YRD to discuss review feasibility, timeline, reviewer needs, and draft readiness |
| At least 2 weeks before review period | Reviewers are identified, confirmed, and contracted |
| Start of 10-day review period | Proposal materials are sent to reviewers |
| During 10-day review period | Reviewers assess the proposal using agreed review criteria and instructions |
| End of review period | Feedback is returned to YRD and/or the proposal team; Zoom feedback session is held |
| After feedback | PI/team revises proposal based on reviewer input before final submission steps |
Reviewers may be suggested by the PI/team or sourced by YRD, depending on proposal needs, timeline, reviewer availability, and potential conflicts of interest.
PI-suggested reviewers may be appropriate when:
- The PI knows field-specific experts who can evaluate the proposal’s technical merit.
- The proposal requires niche disciplinary expertise.
- The team has existing external advisory contacts who can provide useful feedback.
- Conflicts of interest can be managed appropriately.
YRD-sourced reviewers may be appropriate when:
- The PI/team does not have suggested reviewers.
- The team needs a broader strategic or reviewer-perspective assessment.
- The proposal would benefit from someone with sponsor, mechanism, or center-review experience.
- Independence from the proposal team is especially important.
Reviewer participation depends on availability and contracting feasibility. YRD cannot guarantee that specific suggested reviewers will be available or appropriate.
Reviewers can be asked to assess:
- Alignment with solicitation goals and review criteria
- Clarity and strength of the central proposal argument
- Significance, innovation, approach, and feasibility
- Team qualifications and integration
- Management, governance, milestones, or center structure, if applicable
- Responsiveness to sponsor priorities
- Strengths, weaknesses, gaps, and risks
- Reviewer questions or points of confusion
- Recommendations for revision
For center-style or large-scale proposals, reviewers may also assess integration across projects, cores, thrusts, partners, management structures, and institutional strategy.
Required materials may include:
- Current proposal draft or near-complete sections
- Solicitation or funding opportunity announcement
- Review criteria
- Specific questions or areas where feedback is requested
- Proposal timeline and sponsor deadline
- List of suggested reviewers, if applicable
- Any known reviewer conflicts of interest
- Relevant figures, attachments, or supplementary components
Red team review is most effective when reviewers receive a coherent draft and clear instructions. Incomplete or highly fragmented materials may limit the usefulness of reviewer feedback.
YRD may support:
- Review planning and timeline development
- Reviewer identification or coordination
- Reviewer contracting, when applicable
- Review instructions and feedback templates
- Collection and organization of reviewer comments
- Strategic interpretation of reviewer feedback
- Follow-up discussion with the PI/team
- Revision prioritization, depending on capacity and timing
Red team review does not replace OSP review, sponsor compliance review, departmental review, budget development, copyediting, or final proposal assembly.
Additionally, red team review typically does not cover:
- Budget review
- Institutional approvals
- Compliance determinations
- Formatting checks
- Copyediting/proofreading
- Guaranteed funding outcomes
- Last-minute rewrite support
After reviewer feedback is returned, the PI/team should prioritize revisions based on likely impact on competitiveness, responsiveness, and reviewer comprehension. Not all feedback will carry equal weight, and some comments may require strategic interpretation.
YRD can help with:
- Sorting feedback by priority
- Identifying cross-cutting concerns
- Distinguishing major competitiveness risks from minor preferences
- Revising proposal structure or narrative strategy
- Determining which comments require PI/team decisions
To discuss whether a red team review is feasible for a specific proposal, contact YRD as early as possible. Please include the solicitation, sponsor deadline, proposal status, anticipated review needs, and any suggested reviewers.