To encourage high-quality research and simultaneously contribute to society, the Community Service Program (PKM) has become an important instrument for students in fulfilling the Tri Dharma of Higher Education: education, research, and community service. This program also aligns with the vision of Universitas Dian Nusantara (UNDIRA), which emphasizes professionalism. Through PKM, it is expected that not only innovative scientific works will be produced, but also tangible contributions to improving the quality of education and social life.

As an effort to enhance research capacity and competence in the PKM program, the Institute for Research and Community Service (LRPM) at UNDIRA held a Workshop on Community Service Proposal Writing. The workshop aimed to train lecturers in preparing proposals that meet the standards of the Directorate General of Higher Education (Dikti). The event was conducted in a hybrid format, with an in-person session on the 6th floor of Universitas Dian Nusantara and via Zoom Meeting. The speaker for this workshop was Dr. H. Khairul Umam Noer, M.Si., a lecturer in Social and Political Sciences from Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta and one of Dikti's assessors.

PKM proposals must meet the criteria set by Dikti to obtain funding. These proposals also serve as motivation for students to conduct research that can be published in national journals. Each proposal will be entered into a pool system and reviewed by the Higher Education Service Institute (LLDikti) in other regions. The evaluation of proposals is carried out objectively, without displaying the proposer's name, ensuring that content quality is the main factor in the evaluation process.

Once the proposal is submitted and approved by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM), the filtering process goes through two stages: word screening and content screening. Proposals are assessed using a point system with a maximum score of 16. If there is a significant difference in scores between two reviewers, a dispute mechanism will be applied to reach a final decision.

Some common reasons why PKM proposals fail to pass the selection include:

• Incorrect Schematics: The proposal scheme does not comply with the applicable regulations at the university.

• Misaligned TKT: The Technology Readiness Level (TKT) does not match the type of research submitted.

• Ineligibility: The proposal does not meet the eligibility criteria.

• Mismatch with Expertise: The research field does not align with the proposer's area of expertise.

• Unclear Proposal: The use of templates or copy-pasting can result in the proposal being deemed of poor quality.

• Unrealistic Research Planning: The details of the research activities are considered unrealistic or excessive.

To increase the chances of proposal acceptance, proposers are advised to develop ideas and budgets that are rational. If partners are involved, their roles and contributions must be clearly explained, including the division of cost-sharing between in cash (direct financing) and in kind (contributions in the form of goods or services). Currently, there is a debate regarding the submission of in-kind contributions related to the cost of facility usage.

In the preparation of the proposal summary, proposers are encouraged to present focused, non-excessive information, free from repetition. The writing format must comply with the standards to be easily readable by the system, and the number of research questions should be limited to keep the proposal focused and relevant to the reviewers' expectations.

Proposers are also reminded not to use personal funds for PKM implementation, particularly concerning in-kind contributions. Partners only provide raw materials or other non-monetary contributions, not cash. Partners are not entitled to receive funds from Dikti.

The workshop concluded with an interactive session, where lecturers were given the opportunity to present summaries of their PKM proposals to the speaker. This session aimed to provide direct guidance to refine the proposals before submission.