Sponsored Research Programs: Internal Submission Deadlines

Scope

This policy applies to all Indiana University personnel submitting proposals for sponsored projects. The Principal Investigator(s) (PI) on a grant proposal is ultimately responsible for adhering to the policy.

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Policy Statement

All proposals for sponsored projects must be reviewed by Grants Services of the Office of Research Administration (ORA) before submission to external sponsors. Proposals may not be submitted directly to the funding source without the prior approval of ORA. Administrative forms, including project budget, must be submitted to Grants Services by 5:00 p.m. five (5) business days before the sponsor's deadline. Proposal narratives and technical material must be submitted in accordance with the timelines outlined in the procedures section of this policy. This policy applies to both paper and electronic submissions.

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Reason for Policy

In order to ensure that IU prepares and submits competitive proposals that fulfill the administrative requirements of sponsors, it is necessary for Grants Services staff to review every proposal for conformity to sponsor guidelines, budget accuracy and allowability, acceptable contractual language, and that appropriate internal approvals have been secured. External sponsors are increasingly strict about submission deadlines and proposal accuracy and their electronic submission systems increasingly have business rules built in that reject proposals that are incorrect, incomplete, or formatted incorrectly, making careful and accurate entry of proposals increasingly important. It is important that with the increasing number of proposals submitted by IU PIs enough time is given to staff to make sure that the proposals are submitted correctly. Additionally, sponsors' computer systems are often unstable as proposal deadlines approach. Compliance with the deadlines state in this policy will enable Grants Services to best serve Indiana University faculty by ensuring adequate time to review, revise and process proposals.

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Procedures

Proposals will be considered fully compliant with the Proposal Submission Policy if:
For grants.gov proposals:

• all sections of the proposal, except the technical proposal and cited literature, are to be provided to ORA in final form five (5) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline; and
• the proposal is approved by the PI, and all cognizant Chair(s), Director(s), Dean(s) and, if required, VP, Chancellor or Provost; and
• the narrative and literature cited are uploaded to the proposal packet two (2) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.

• all sections of the proposal, except the technical proposal and cited literature, are to be provided to ORA in final form five (5) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline; and
• the proposal is approved by the PI, and all cognizant Chair(s), Director(s), Dean(s) and, if required, VP, Chancellor or Provost; and
• the narrative and literature cited are uploaded to the sponsor's submission site two (2) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.

• the complete proposal in final form is delivered to Grants Services with the number of copies required by the sponsor plus one copy for Grants Services records; and
• the proposal is approved by the PI, and all cognizant Chair(s), Director(s), Dean(s) and, if required, VP, Chancellor or Provost; and
• is submitted at least three (3) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.

Grants Services will follow a first-come, first-serve protocol for all proposal submissions. PIs who submit proposals to Grant Services later than the deadlines described above will be asked for an explanation and justification of the delay; the Vice President for Research (or delegates) will determine if an exception to the policy is reasonable. The PI, Department Chair and Associate Dean for Research for the PI(s) of proposals submitted after the internal deadlines will be notified when an exception has been requested and whether it has been allowed. Exceptions guarantee only that all reasonable efforts will be made to submit the proposal to external agencies before the external deadline.

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Definitions

Principal Investigators (PI): A Principal Investigator and co-investigator are Indiana University faculty or staff members who bear joint responsibility for the intellectual leadership of a project. The PI and co-PIs accept overall responsibility for directing the research, financial oversight, and compliance with relevant University policies and sponsor terms and conditions of award.

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History

This policy became effective on 01/01/2011 and was last updated on 01/01/2011.

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