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Research
Office of Research Support

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION PROCESS

Step-by-Step Guide

New policy effective January 22, 2009

All final proposals must arrive at OSP before 12 noon, 2 business days prior to the sponsor deadline (e.g., Tuesday before 12 noon for a sponsor deadline on Thursday). 

Proposals, paper or electronic, arriving at OSP after the 2-day deadline will be returned to the department and will not be submitted.

The current policy for proposal submission to OSP:

  
  • 10 working days for drafts of research plan but the final budget
  • 5 working days for full final proposal (submission guaranteed)
  • final proposal will be accepted by OSP up to 2 business days prior to the sponsor deadline, but OSP cannot guarantee successful submission to the sponsor

  1. As the Principal Investigator (PI) or as sub-contractor (see below), as soon as you decide to submit a grant proposal to any sponsor (e.g., government agency, independent foundation), you should complete a College proposal intake form at a timely moment. This informal form requests information that you will need in planning your project and which will help Grants Manager (GM) Louise Clauss to initiate the important  eGC1 Form that will accompany your proposal to OSP.

  2. Contact Louise (lclauss@u.washington.edu, 616-8291) to arrange a meeting to discuss RFP requirements, the budget (especially indirect cost allowances), and timeline for completion.

    Space. If new personnel (including RAs) will be hired for the project, availability of office space for them needs to be determined at the outset. Any new space requirements should be addressed with your area chair and the college administrator.

    Registration with sponsoring agency. Some sponsors, such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), require the principal investigator to be registered in the agency’s database. This is a simple procedure performed by OSP, but it can take some time, so it’s best to take care of it early in the process. Contact College of Education Grants Manager to arrange for registration via OSP.

    A note about foundations: please let LaraineHong (lhong@u.washington.edu, 543-2238) know if you plan to contact a foundation with an inquiry (letter or phone call) or intend to submit a proposal. The University requires that we maintain a record of foundation contacts, especially to avoid overlapping contacts and submissions from the college or across campus.

  3. GM creates budget spreadsheet based on PI’s information on project requirements.

    Faculty effort (FTE). See below for information about amount of FTE to include in a grant or contract proposal budget.

  4. PI reviews, approves budget.

  5. PI begins writing proposal narrative, completes and submits human subjects application through grants manager (see requirements described below), and begins to gather appropriate supporting documents (e.g., bio sketches, supporting letters).

    PI can contact Laraine (543-2238; lhong@u.washington.edu) for assistance with editing and/or drafting appropriate sections of the proposal.

  6. Grants manager completes the eGC1, attaching necessary documents, and routes to the PI for approval.

  7. PI approves eGC1. eGC1 then routes to area chair and dean’s office for approval. (If faculty from other schools or colleges within the UW are involved, their department chairs and deans must also approve.) After all necessary approvals are obtained, eGC1 routes to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).

    2 weeks (10 working days) before the sponsor’s deadline, the FINAL budget, budget justification, and a reasonably complete proposal narrative (with supplementary documents) must be submitted to the OSP.

  8. OSP reviews the proposal; contacts GM with any questions. When proposal is approved, OSP notifies the GM.
  9. PI completes final version of the proposal narrative. It is recommended that PI contact Laraine (543-2238; lhong@u.washington.edu) for final proofreading (punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.).
  10. For proposals submitted electronically: One week (5 working days) before the sponsor’s deadline, PI forwards to GM the final version of all proposal documents. GM uploads final, complete proposal package to eGC1 and marks as “ready to submit,” allowing OSP to submit to the sponsor before the deadline.
  11. For proposals submitted in hard copy: GM retrieves from OSP a letter of transmittal or application cover page signed by OSP Director. No later than one day before the deadline, PI forwards to GM the final version of al proposal documents. The proposal is photocopied and shipped to the sponsor.

    12. New policy effective January 22, 2009

    All final proposals must arrive at OSP before 12 noon, 2 business days prior to the sponsor deadline (e.g., Tuesday before 12 noon for a sponsor deadline on Thursday). 

    Proposals, paper or electronic, arriving at OSP after the 2-day deadline will be returned to the department and will not be submitted.

    ISSUES REQUIRING EXTRA TIME OR SPECIAL CONSIDERATION

    Human Subjects | Budget Preparation | Faculty Effort | Subcontracts

    • Human Subjects. The University of Washington requires that all research undertaken by faculty, students, or staff involving human participants must be reviewed and approved by the UW Human Subjects Division (HSD) PRIOR to contacting potential study participants or beginning a secondary data analysis. When the research described in a grant proposal involves human subjects, a human subjects application must be on file with Human Subjects Division before OSP will release the proposal for submission to the sponsor. However, if it is not feasible to complete a full application prior to proposal submission, PIs may submit an application for “approval in principle” to the HSD.

      A limited number of sponsors—including NIH—will accept Just-in-Time human subjects review. Human subjects applications for proposal submitted to these sponsors need not be on file at time of proposal submission to sponsor, but may be completed when the PI receives notification from the sponsor that the proposal has scored in the fundable range.  

      More detailed information on Human Subjects policies and procedures »

    • Budget preparation. At your initial meeting with the GM, you will discuss staffing, equipment, travel, and other needs you anticipate for your project. Based on this information, the GM will create an Excel spreadsheet reflecting current rates for salary, benefits, tuition, indirect costs, and other key items. Once you’ve reviewed and approved the budget figures, she will transfer them to the sponsoring agency’s budget forms. These budget figures also will be included on the eGC1 form. For the corresponding budget narrative (jusification), the PI will provide descriptions of personnel roles and responsibilities, details of travel required, specifics about equipment, materials, and supplies. Using that information, the GM can compose the narrative, supplying figures, formatting, and so forth.

    • Faculty Effort. When considering the amount of faculty effort (FTE) to include in a grant or contract proposal budget, you should consult the Effort Reporting Policy for Sponsored Agreements. For the purpose of sponsored agreements, faculty effort is the time faculty spend on their university activities, including research, instruction, administration, service, and clinical activity. Faculty Effort Certifications (FEC’s) are quarterly or semi-annual reports designed to track the effort of faculty who have been paid from and/or committed to sponsored project effort. All faculty who will be paid on a grant or contract are required to complete the online Faculty Effort Certification Training.

    • Subcontracts. Your grant proposal may include a subcontract to another institution (or more than one). If so, the amount of the subcontractor’s total budget is included as a separate item on your proposal budget. The subcontractor’s proposal must be approved by an authorized official of the subcontracting institution. When we submit our proposal to OSP, we must include the following for each subcontractor:

      • budget
      • scope of work
      • letter of approval from appropriate office at the subcontractor’s institution (equivalent to our OSP)
      • forms required by the sponsor as specified in the RFP or guidelines

      You should request this information from the subcontractor as early in the process as possible, since they will need time to have their subcontract proposal reviewed and approved by their institution before sending it to us for inclusion with our proposal for review by OSP.


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Box 353600 Seattle, WA 98195-3600
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