Proposal Review & Submission
Internal Review
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) must review, guide necessary revisions, and approve all sponsored program proposals prior to their submission to any external funding organization. OSP is the only university unit authorized to provide official approval for sponsored program proposals.
However, review and approval are necessary at various stages and from multiple areas to ensure compliance and that the proposed resources to be dedicated to the project have full university support. Prior review and approval from the chair and/or center director and the dean are required for this purpose. These prior internal approvals must be documented on an OSP internal routing form, which must accompany all proposals when they are submitted for OSP review. Depending on the project, other approvals may be necessary.
Faculty and staff are not authorized to commit the institution through proposal submission or award acceptance. Failure to obtain the required university approvals before submission may result in a refusal to accept or support an award or proposal.
Internal Deadline for Proposals
Internal deadline for proposals is four working days prior to the sponsor due date.
Each month, OSP reviews, signs, and submits large numbers of proposals. Numerous administrative requirements exist, and proposals must be carefully reviewed for compliance prior to submission. Furthermore, sponsor requirements continue to change, especially as many organizations transition to electronic submissions. Since both the principal investigator and the authorized organizational representative are responsible for the accuracy of the information proposals contain, OSP must have sufficient time to review the administrative portions. Consequently, researchers interested in submitting a proposal are urged to contact OSP as soon as a funding opportunity is identified so a thorough review of the administrative requirements can begin early in the process.
Insufficient OSP notice may result in inadequate time for appropriate administrative review, correction, and certification, and it may ultimately result in a poorly rated and/or rejected proposal. In some cases, proposals may be returned by the agency without review if they do not comply with all requirements. Therefore, in accordance with university best practices, an internal deadline has been established to allow sufficient time to ensure that OSP review and certification are accurate and that the proposal complies with both university and sponsor policies and requirements.
As a result, all proposals, supplements, and amendments, including electronic proposals, must be received by OSP not less than four business days prior to the sponsor due date. Proposals received less than four business days prior to the sponsor due date may be reviewed. However, proposal accuracy cannot be guaranteed if this deadline is not adhered to, and proposals that miss this deadline will not be prioritized ahead of proposals that met the four-day review requirement.
The Office of Sponsored Programs understands that there may be mitigating circumstances for late preparation of a proposal. In these situations, individual circumstances will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis and reasonable efforts will be made to review the proposals. However, if a late submission is expected, it is important to notify OSP in advance so an appropriate plan can be established. In many instances, at least a partial review of the proposal, particularly the administrative and financial sections, can be initiated in an effort to accommodate truncated timelines.
Submission
Numerous options exist for proposal submissions, including everything from mailing paper copies to submissions via sponsor-specific electronic portals. The RFP guidelines should be followed. However, OSP can provide guidance and in situations requiring electronic submission will often be the unit responsible for the actual submission. Researchers should contact their assigned pre-award administrators for guidance and assistance.
