With some NIH pay lines running at or below the 10th percentile, and funding becoming scarce for large science grants, new approaches are necessary to secure large interdisciplinary grant awards. The UCSD Moores Cancer Center has developed a team approach, starting with the identification of a competitive opportunity and progressing to the designation of a project team of faculty and administrators through to the submission of a finely tuned product. An important aspect of this approach is that scientists and administrators are on an equal footing, bringing to the table unique skill sets and experience critical to the process. While every application will not be successful, the effort will not fail from an apparent absence of expertise, diligence, or awareness. Grant development will be a more critical area of research administration as competition for limited funds increases. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)