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Policy 7102 – Submission of Proposals

Revision Date: 9/6/2005

Responsible Office: Office of Research and Innovation 


Proposals are prepared by the faculty members with the aid of the College Director
of Research and under the stipulations provided by the agency to whom the proposal
is submitted. It is desirable that coordination be obtained between the Principal
Investigator, the College Research Director, and the Office of Sponsored Projects
so that all may be informed of the nature of the project. Faculty members should keep
Office of Sponsored Projects informed about their preparation of proposals.

The Sponsored Project Proposal Review/Routing Form must accompany all sponsored project
proposals as they are routed for signatures along with a copy of the funding agency’s
guidelines. The following steps must be followed in a timely manner during the routing
process:

Step 1:  Faculty member obtains routing form and proposal number from Office of Sponsored
Projects. 

Step 2:  Faculty member discusses proposal with College Research Director. 
Step 3:  Faculty member obtains approval of Unit Head and College Dean. 
Step 4:  Faculty member forwards proposal to Office of Sponsored Projects.

In addition to formal proposals, the same routing process is to be utilized with preproposals,
subcontracts, and any other supplemental funding. If Tech is submitting as a subcontractor
on another institution’s proposal, the subcontract proposal must be approved at all
levels prior to submission. This requirement is identical to any other proposal which
obligates the University.

The issue on subcontracts is fairly clear. If an investigator is submitting as a subcontractor
on another institution’s proposal, the Tech subcontract proposal must be approved
at all levels prior to submission. This requirement is identical to any other proposal
which obligates the University.

There are many terms which can be included under the term “preproposal.” These include
concept papers, preproposals, and preliminary proposals. Agencies will many times
request information on an idea only. As a result, all correspondence with a funding
agency that includes any resource-related issues (faculty/staff/student time, use
of facilities, level of funding/effort, etc.) Must be routed through Office of Sponsored
Projects. This requirement is not intended to cause any impediment to pursuing research
opportunities, but rather to ensure that the University’s interests are protected
while also ensuring the sponsor that the “preproposal” is realistic.

The Sponsored Project Proposal Review/Routing Form for interdisciplinary proposals
(proposals involving resources of more than one Department/College) should clearly
identify the appropriate percentage involvement of Departments/Colleges for the determination
of Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs distribution.

Office of Sponsored Projects will check the proposal, route it to the appropriate
safety review committees if necessary, and then route it to the Business Manager,
the Chief Research and Innovation Officer, and the President. The Office of Sponsored
Projects will then follow the RFP guideline for proposal distribution and arrange
for the delivery of the proposal with a letter of transmittal to the funding organization.

NOTE: If a proposal, subcontract, or “preproposal” is funded without campus routing and
approval, there is no guarantee that the University will recommend acceptance of the
award.

Because all proposals are reviewed to ensure that they are consistent with University
policies, the completed proposal should be submitted to the Office of Sponsored Projects
at least five working days prior to the submission deadline. If a submitted proposal
is found to be inconsistent with University policies or without adequate time for
review, the University reserves the right to withdraw the proposal from the funding
agency.

All information requested on the Routing Form should be supplied if at all applicable
to a project. The Form should explicitly show any institutional resource commitments
– both those that would involve new budgeting of operating funds as well as those
already budgeted to a Department/Unit. The details of any in-kind matching should
be shown. Requests for matching funding commitments should be submitted in writing,
discussed, and approved by appropriate University administrators prior to finalization
of the proposal. All applicable account numbers for matching commitments should be
provided. Approved requests for matching commitments will be considered as budget
items as part of the University budgeting process. Non-Departmentally budgeted matching
funds should also be shown.