Dear Colleagues,

To ensure timely and accurate submission of proposals for sponsored projects and to honor our commitment to a healthy work-life balance for our staff, the following policy was developed in collaboration between the Vice President for Research, Collaborative Grant Services (CGS), Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) and the Associate Deans for Research (ADRs). This policy outlines the timeline and responsibilities for the proposal preparation and submission process. Adherence to these deadlines is essential to maintain compliance with sponsor requirements and to facilitate internal review processes. This policy will go into effect for Proposal Initiation Forms (PIFs) submitted on and after February 15, 2025, and it will be strictly enforced.

Policy Overview

1. Proposal Initiation Form (PIF) Submission to CGS

   • A PIF must be submitted no later than one month (30 days) prior to a sponsor’s deadline to initiate the proposal process. Most sponsor deadlines are known well in advance, so early submission is strongly encouraged. It is never too early to submit a PIF.

   • By 10 a.m. the first business day after PIF submission, an automated email to the Principal Investigator (PI) will request budget and other information and identify the CGS Pre-Award Specialist who will work on that proposal. The proposal submission timeline with deadlines specified will be included in the email. To accommodate equitable workload distribution, the assigned CGS Pre-Award Grant Specialist may be updated in some cases, especially around peak agency deadlines. 

   • CGS Pre-Award Grant Specialist will contact PI within two (2) business days following the automated email generated by PIF submission to discuss the proposal.

   • The CGS Pre-Award Grant Specialist will begin work on the budget, initiate the Internal Approval Form (IAF) and the proposal package in Cayuse (or other sponsor submission system, as appropriate) at any time after this discussion occurs or, in the absence of a formal Zoom/Teams or phone discussion, after the PI sends the initial budget information. 

2. Draft Budget Development and Review

   • No later than three (3) weeks (15 business days) before the sponsor’s deadline, the CGS Pre-Award Grant Specialist (GS) and the OSPA Pre-Award Research Administrator (RA) will meet to review the draft budget. The review will focus on the following: 

     1. Budget caps and allowability constraints.

     2. Application of correct F&A rates including:

        • Sponsor F&A policy or program announcement guidelines. 

        • Proper characterization of the project as research, instruction or other.

        • Off-Campus Rate Worksheet (if applicable) must be completed prior to the meeting (approvals can come later but before proposal submission).

        • F&A waiver requests (approvals can come later but before final proposal is submitted to OSPA for review).

        • Voluntary cost share requests (approvals can come later but before final proposal is submitted to OSPA for review).

        • Tuition costs.

        • Equipment purchases.

        • Subawards or vendor determinations.

        • Correct interpretation of any “stipend” or participant support costs.

        • Other CAS/normally indirect cost items and excluded budget items, with additional text in justification highlighted.

3. Document Submission to CGS

   • All proposal documents should be provided to CGS as they are ready for review and uploaded to the Cayuse proposal package.

   • Six (6) business days before the sponsor’s deadline, the following final and draft documents must be submitted by at 9 a.m. by the PI to CGS: 

     1. Final administrative documents (e.g., Facilities and Resources, Biosketches, CVs, finalized budget and budget justification for UK and any subrecipients, and letters of support). 

     2. Draft technical documents (e.g., Project Summary, Project Description, Specific Aims, Research Strategy, References cited, and other narratives and references).

3. • CGS will have three (3) business days to review these documents, request final edits from PI, and complete building the proposal package in Cayuse or other sponsor submission system, as appropriate.  

   • The CGS Pre-Award Grant Specialist will create the IAF add required attachments, and route for necessary approvals as documents are received. The fully routed IAF is due to OSPA no later than three (3) business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

4. Final Submission to OSPA

   • Three (3) business days before the sponsor’s deadline, CGS must submit by 9 a.m. the completed proposal package to OSPA, including: 

     1. Final administrative documents.

     2. Final technical documents approved by the PI. These documents must be uploaded and approved by the PI in Cayuse.

• • OSPA will have three (3) business days to conduct a final review, ensure compliance and submit the proposal to the sponsor.

Exceptions to the Timeline in this Policy

Exceptions to this policy (6- and 3-business-day deadlines) should be requested via communication from the ADR to the VPR and will only be granted under exigent circumstances such as those outlined below. Work on the proposal will cease while the exception is under review:

• Short notice by the sponsor or pass through entity. Any proposal with less than a 30-day turnaround from the date of notice or publication of the solicitation will be exempt from the 6-day (CGS) and 3-day (OSPA) policy.

• Serious illness or death of Co-PI or family member.

• Proposal package updates by the sponsor that necessitate creation of a new package within 2 weeks of the sponsor’s deadline.

Ilhem Messaoudi, PhD
Acting Vice President for Research