Proposal/Transmittal Routing, Submission and Approvals
All formal proposals to an external agency for sponsored project funding must be routed for approval via an internal transmittal before submission to the agency or sponsor. At least two (2) weeks prior to the proposal due date, an online transmittal should be initiated and routed for approvals. For Departments with colleges which do not have a Pre-Award offices, the central Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) Pre-Award office is available to assist with the review and submission of formal proposals as well as the transmittal initiation and routing process. Departments which have their own college Pre-Award Research Administrators will assist their faculty with this process.
The chart below outlines the steps, responsible office or person, and the timing associated with this process.
| Steps | Responsible Office or Person | Timing |
|
Identify funding opportunity |
Principal Investigator (PI) Research Liaison Officer Deans/Chairs *Vice President for Research |
At least 30 days before the proposal deadline |
|
Review solicitation, agree on required proposal elements, deadline and submission date |
Principal Investigator (PI) Research Liaison Officer Pre-Award RA **Editor (Contractor) |
At least 30 days before the proposal deadline |
|
Draft abstract, start budget development and initiate the transmittal |
Pre-Award RA Principal Investigator |
At least 2 weeks before proposal deadline |
| Edit the technical scope of work of the proposals project |
Research Liaison Officer **Editor (Contractor) |
At least 3 weeks before proposal deadline |
| Finalize proposal and combine proposal packet |
Principal Investigator (PI) Pre-Award RA Research Liaison Officer **Editor (Contractor) |
At least 1 week before proposal deadline |
| Create application in required portal (Cayuse 424, research.gov, NSPIRES, etc.) |
Pre-Award RA Principal Investigator |
At least 1 week before proposal deadline |
| Finalize transmittal approvals |
Principal Investigator/Co-PIs Deans/Center Directors Chairs Pre-Award RA *** Vice President for Research |
5 days before proposal deadline |
|
Submit Proposal |
Pre-Award RA |
2-3 days before proposal deadline |
* For Large, multidisciplinary proposals, the Division of Research central office coordinates this process
**The Division of Research engaged 4 contractors and one firm to assist with reviewing and editing large/complex proposals
** The Vice President for Research approves transmittals with IDC waivers and/or cost share commitments from DOR
Routing and Lead Time
As the university requires that the department chair, college dean and the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) review and endorse the proposal prior to submission, it is important to prepare and send the transmittal with sufficient time to complete the routing and approvals before proposal submission. When the PIs require help editing or proofreading, including development of the proposal content, improving the accuracy of language, flow, and overall readability, and checking for grammar and spelling, it is important that the editor have at least two (2) weeks lead time to complete this task. However, when no assistance with editing or proofreading is necessary, a lead time of 2-3 days for proposal submission is required.