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Proposal Preparation & Submission
- What is a complete proposal?
- What do I need to provide SRS to submit a proposal?
- Why do I have to get SRS's approval to submit a proposal?
- The Agency allows a reduced overhead, will UC recognize that overhead?
- Do I still need to follow the same SRS procedures for a small dollar value grant, as I do for a large grant?
- The proposal requires submitting assurances and/or certifications. Who prepares those?
- When should I release submit access to SRS on a FastLane proposal?
- Why can't/shouldn't I show cost sharing in my proposal when it's not required? It shows the Sponsor that my institution supports the work.
- Who is responsible for sending the proposal to the Sponsor?
- What is Program Income?
- When an award is received, how is it handled?
- Since I am the Principal Investigator responsible for the project can I sign the Sponsor's Agreement?
- When can I set up my account?
- What do I need to do if my account does not have an object line required for a particular expense?
- The Agency guidelines state that as long as budget changes are within the proposed categories, you don't need to get approval for rebudgeting. Does that mean that I can buy a piece of equipment?
- I find that I am exceeding the budget in some categories. What do I need to do to rebudget my program?
- I am not going to finish the program on time. What do I need to do to get a no-cost extension?
- How long do I have to keep the records of the effort?
- I have equipment that was bought under the Grant. Do I have to return it?
Q: What is a complete proposal?
A: A complete proposal includes all of the following:
1. The final scope of work or technical description of the project often referred to as the project description, research plan, project narrative etc.
2. A budget and budget justification in compliance with sponsor requirements and institutional policies. Budgets must include fringe benefits and facilities and administrative costs at our current federally negotiated rates. Proposed cost sharing must be approved by an individual authorized to commit the unit’s [support may come from College or Provost areas] funds. If third party cost sharing is included, an endorsement of the cost sharing commitment must be included with other documentation. Restrictions on Facilities and Administrative costs must be in accordance with official policies of sponsoring agencies or have the approval of the Vice President of Research.
3. All ancillary components of the proposal such as the biographical sketches, facility descriptions, voluntary or mandatory letters of support and appendix materials.
4. All administrative components of the proposal must be complete. This means all required forms must be filled out and ready for signature. Required forms vary by agency and are often specific to a funding announcement.
5. The above described proposal components must be assembled in the final format required by the sponsor. In the case of grants.gov applications all files must be converted to .PDF and loaded into Pure Edge form. The individual must also invoke the check error icon and correct any errors that appear. In the case of a FastLane application (not via grants.gov) all files must be uploaded to FastLane, the check function must be used to determine if there are missing documents and to determine errors that need to be corrected; application must be error free, SRS must be given submit access.
Note: In both of these examples the tasks must be completed at least 5 full working days prior to the sponsor’s deadline. A pre-check of the administrative components of the application including the budget and budget justification is recommended. The budget, budget justification and any administrative forms can be forwarded to your Grant Administrator when complete for a pre-review. However, the final proposal application is due no later than 5 full days before the sponsor deadline.
6. A fully signed electronic proposal routing form. This includes all faculty members, key personnel and their designated department officials. If you are using the paper version of the proposal routing form the paper forms must be fully signed by all required individuals.
7. Proposals with collaborators (subrecipients) must include the following:
a) final scope of work for the organization UC will contract with if an award is forthcoming
b) budget and budget justification consistent with sponsor requirements for the subrecipient.
c) approval /endorsement from an authorized representative of the collaborating entity. This authorization is critical to SRS’s approval of your proposal.
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Q: What do I need to provide SRS to submit a proposal?
A: See Processing Your Proposal.
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Q: Why do I have to get SRS's approval to submit a proposal?
A: In most cases the Sponsor requires the proposal to be submitted with an authorized signature. Also, SRS will review the proposal to determine if it conforms to UC policy, satisfies the Sponsor's requirements, and if the budget contains the correct budget items such as salary, fringe benefits, correct indirect, graduate student tuition, etc..
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Q: The Agency allows a reduced overhead, will UC recognize that overhead?
A: Yes. UC will accept the reduced overhead if it's published in the program announcement guidelines or if it is on record and a matter of policy with the Sponsor.
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Q: Do I still need to follow the same SRS procedures for a small dollar value grant, as I do for a large grant?
A: Yes. The same procedures must be followed.
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Q: The proposal requires submitting assurances and/or certifications. Who prepares those?
A: SRS will prepare and obtain the signature of an authorizing official for any necessary assurances and/or certifications.
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Q: When should I release submit access to SRS on a FastLane proposal?
A: Submit access to any proposal you have created should not be given to SRS until the application is complete including the science. To meet SRS’s 5 day deadline, Investigators are giving access to SRS and then asking for a delay in “pushing the submit button”. SRS does not have the staff power to keep track of proposals that are ready to submit and proposals that need to be delayed.
Any FastLane proposal with SRS submit authority will be released to NSF as soon as Tana or I have reviewed and approved the proposal. There will be no exceptions to this practice.
If the science portion of your proposal is not complete do not give SRS submit access. SRS will not be responsible for incomplete applications submitted to NSF because the science was not in its final form.
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Q: Why can't/shouldn't I show cost sharing in my proposal when it's not required? It shows the Sponsor that my institution supports the work.
A: Cost sharing that is not required is discouraged. If an award is made with cost sharing expenses must be tracked and reported to the Sponsor by your Department.
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Q: Who is responsible for sending the proposal to the Sponsor?
A: The principal Investigator or his/her designee.
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Q: What is Program Income?
A: (Adapted from Compliance, Office of Research Administration, Stanford University, Stanford, CA)
Program Income is gross income earned by the recipient that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result of the award. Program Income is treated in one of three ways depending on policy, sponsor type, and/or terms and conditions of award:
- Additive : Program Income funds are added to available funds, thus increasing the amount available to accomplish program objectives
- Deductive : Total funds available to the project remain the same and the funds generated through Program Income are deducted from the financial commitment of the sponsor
- Matching : Program Income is used to finance the non-federal share of the project
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Q: When an award is received, how is it handled?
A: SRS first contacts the PI to let him/her know that the award was received. An award letter is issued that goes to the PI, any Co-PI, and the Department Head. The award agreement is reviewed by SRS for acceptable terms and the Sponsor is contacted to negotiate any unacceptable terms. Once the terms of the Agreement are acceptable to UC an A-910 is prepared by SRS and it is then sent to the PI for signature. The A 910 is also signed by the Department Head, Dean, and Sponsored Program Accounting (SPA). The final signature is General Council who will also sign the Agreements. In some cases the Director of SRS can sign the Agreement and the A-910 is returned to SRS after SPA signs. The signed Agreements are sent to the Sponsor for signature and when a copy is returned to SRS then an A-323 is prepared by the Department and sent to SRS. SRS checks for accuracy and then it is sent to SPA to obtain an account number. If the Agreement is initially sent to UC by the Sponsor already signed and the terms are acceptable then an A-323 will be requested from the Department to set up an account at that time and an A-910 will be prepared for signature.
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Q: Since I am the Principal Investigator responsible for the project can I sign the Sponsor's Agreement?
A: No. The only individuals that can sign Agreements are the Board of Trustees Chairperson, the President and the Contracting Officer or their specific designees. An unauthorized person who does execute a contract that purports to be a binding agreement of the University runs the risk that the contract will be repudiated, in which case the unauthorized person could be held personally liable on the contract.
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Q: When can I set up my account?
A: The account can be set up when there is a commitment on the part of the Sponsor. That is, when the Sponsor signs the Agreement or a check is received from the Sponsor.
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Q: What do I need to do if my account does not have an object line required for a particular expense?
A: Send an email to the Grant Administrator handling the account and request the object line to be added. Also, for federal awards provide a detailed justification as to why the expense is needed.
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Q: The Agency guidelines state that as long as budget changes are within the proposed categories, you don't need to get approval for rebudgeting. Does that mean that I can buy a piece of equipment?
A: If the equipment item was in the original budget provided to the Sponsor and you stay within the allowable budget limits then the equipment item can be purchased.
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Q: I find that I am exceeding the budget in some categories. What do I need to do to rebudget my program?
A: In most cases the Agreement dictates the requirement for rebudgeting. If the Agreement indicates that Sponsor's approval is required then the PI should prepare a cover letter to the Sponsor and get SRS to countersign the letter. The letter should include the change in budget items (funding) and a clear and concise justification as to why the rebudgeting is required. If the Agreement does not provide adequate instructions for rebudgeting then SRS can advise the PI what needs to be done. In a lot of cases the rebudgeting does not require prior approval thus no action is required.
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Q: I am not going to finish the program on time. What do I need to do to get a no-cost extension?
A: In some cases the PI needs to prepare a letter to the Sponsor outlining the reason(s) for the no-cost extension and have SRS countersign the letter. Some Federal Demonstration Project grant awards (NSF, NIH, DOE, etc.) can be unilaterally extended for one year providing the Sponsor is notified so many days (normally 10 days) before the end of the grant period. Contact SRS to determine if that can be done and how many days are required.
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Q: How long do I have to keep the records of the effort?
A: If the Agreement with the sponsor does not specify a length of time then UC Records Management requires that records must be kept 5 years from the end date of the effort.
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Q: I have equipment that was bought under the Grant. Do I have to return it?
A: In most cases the equipment will belong to UC. Please contact SRS for determination.
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Submit comments or questions to osp.west@uc.edu.
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