Proposal Review and Submission

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is committed to providing the highest quality proposal submission services to our employees. We do so in an environment of very complex regulations and institutional policies. One of the most important activities is the timely and thorough review of proposals prior to submission to the sponsoring entity. This involves collaboration with the Principal Investigator and closely reviewing the guidelines, along with reviewing the administrative and budgetary components of the Sponsored Program proposal. Engaging ORSP in a timely fashion allows Principal Investigators to submit high quality proposals with a higher probability of success. ORSP’s Service Level Commitment provides additional information on the review services provided by ORSP.

The full policy can be found here.

Proposal Submission Policy Timeline

  • ASAP Before Sponsor Deadline

    Please notify and start working with your Grant & Contract Administrator in ORSP as soon as you become aware of an external funding opportunity (at least one month before the deadline). This allows time for ORSP to provide the following services:

    • Basic review of the funding opportunity, including its guidelines and administrative and budgetary aspects
    • Outline internal deadlines for the proposal submission
    • Hold a proposal kick-off meeting to initiate the proposal process

    When notifying ORSP, please provide the link to the funding opportunity announcement or any other available details for the solicitation.

  • 10 Business Days Before Sponsor Deadline

    Principal Investigators and/or department administrators must setup a proposal record via InfoEd with the following information and notify ORSP by email of their intent to submit the proposal:

    1. Proposal due date
    2. Sponsor/agency name
    3. Opportunity number (and web link, if applicable) or copy of announcement
    4. Estimated total budget
    5. Cost Share Request Form (if applicable)
    6. F&A Cost Waiver (if applicable)
  • 5 Business Days Before Sponsor Deadline

    By 8:00 AM, Principal Investigators and/or department administrators must upload and submit the complete administrative components to ORSP via InfoEd and, if applicable, the required federal submission portal:

    1. Detailed budget
    2. Budget justification
    3. Auxiliary documents
    4. Near-final draft of the technical components

    *If the minimum components required for administrative review are not received, the proposal will be considered a “Late Proposal.”

  • 3 Business Days Before Sponsor Deadline

    By 8:00 AM, Principal Investigators and/or department administrators must upload and submit the completed final draft of technical components to ORSP via InfoEd and, if applicable, the required federal submission portal.

    1. Final draft of technical components (project narrative, bibliography, specific aims, milestones, etc.)

    At this stage, Principal Investigators and/or department administrators should have received feedback from ORSP’s review of the administrative components and must incorporate that feedback.

  • 2 Business Days Before Sponsor Deadline

    Full and complete proposal must be ready for submission to ensure error-free,* on time submission. The appropriate individual, who will be identified after consultation with ORSP, will submit the proposal. All federal proposals are submitted by ORSP.

    *Please Note: Errors are common, and faculty should assume that the submission will have at least one error to address

Consequence for Missing Deadlines

  • Late Proposals

    Definition: Proposals submitted to ORSP for review after the University’s deadlines for proposal submission outlined above.

    In the case of a late proposal, ORSP will provide a minimum review of the proposal to determine if there are any errors that will prevent submission. The Principal Investigator assumes all risk that a Late Proposal could contain errors or omissions and, if awarded, the Late Proposal may not be accepted by the University and may require renegotiation.

  • At-Risk Proposal Submissions

    Definition: Proposals submitted to ORSP less than two (2) business days prior to the proposal submission deadline.

    For At-Risk Proposals, the Principal Investigator (or the appropriate department administrator) is required to receive approval from the Vice Provost for Research (Vice Provost) to submit the proposal after the University deadline. ORSP will not guarantee that an “At-Risk” proposal will be submitted by the Submission Deadline. Nor can ORSP guarantee submission of the proposal will be successful (e.g., submitted via Grants.gov without errors) and fully comply with the sponsor’s requirements.

Service Level Commitment

ORSP is committed to supporting DU Principal Investigators by assuring timely review and submission of complete and accurate proposals, thereby providing them with the best chance of success in the sponsor review process. To provide the greatest possible support for proposals, balance the service and needs of all DU’s investigators and capitalize on ORSP’s expertise, ORSP has defined the following minimum service level commitment for proposal review based on the timeframe of submission to ORSP prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

  • Solicitation Details Received ASAP or 10 Business Days in Advance

    With at least ten business days’ notice, ORSP will ensure an understanding of all requirements for submission. Further, ORSP will note and alert the Principal Investigator and/or department administrator of any unusual, new, or atypical submission requirements to allow ample time to fully address these requirements.

  • Proposals Received by University Deadlines

    For final proposals submitted to ORSP five (5) business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline, and with the final technical components submitted three (3) days in advance, ORSP offers a comprehensive full review which includes:

    • Ensuring the InfoEd record for the proposal has been submitted and all necessary documents uploaded, and forms completed/reviewed.
    • Comparing the proposal to the sponsors’ guidelines, including:
      • Font type and size
      • Margins
      • Page limits for sections and proposal
      • Completeness for inclusion of all required sections and forms
    • Review of budget and budget justification to verify accurate budget calculations, appropriate F&A and fringe rates.
    • Review of auxiliary documents (e.g., biosketch, current & pending, facilities & other resources, formatting, etc.)
    • Review of F&A applicability and waiver requests (if required)
    • Review of cost share provisions, applicability, and approval process (if required)
    • Assistance in gathering and verifying institutional documents (e.g. W‐9 forms, letter of support, audit reports, etc.)
    • Submission via sponsor portal/email/paper. This includes:
      • Setting up access to portal (if required)
      • Ensuring all necessary documents are uploaded
      • Checking and resolving validations/errors in the Sponsor's portal
  • Review of Late Proposals

    In order to appropriately prioritize those proposals that are submitted to ORSP within the defined 5-day timeframe, proposals submitted with the administrative components less than five (5) business days in advance of the sponsor deadline (and/or final technical components submitted less than three (3) business days in advance) will receive a scaled review which will include, at minimum, the following:

    • Comparing the proposal to the sponsors’ guidelines, specifically for any items that may prevent successful submission.
    • Verifying appropriate F&A and fringe rates.
    • Verifying cost sharing is in line with DU policy.
    • Verifying institutional information (e.g., UEI, contact information, etc.)
    • PLEASE NOTE – THIS LEVEL OF REVIEW IS HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON THE VOLUME OF PROPOSALS THAT ARRIVE LESS THAN 5 BUSINESS DAYS IN ADVANCE
  • Review of At-Risk Proposals

    If approved by the Vice Provost for Research (Vice Provost), proposals received less than two (2) business days in advance of the sponsor’s deadline will receive a minimal review:

    • ORSP will assure (to the highest degree possible) that the proposal is not rejected from the electronic submission portal.

     

    PLEASE NOTE - PROPOSALS SUBMITTED TO ORSP LESS THAN TWO BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE THE DUE DATE RISK NOT BEING SUBMITTED, REJECTION BY SPONSORS, OR CONTAINING ERRORS/OMISSIONS THAT WOULD PREVENT THE UNIVERSITY FROM BEING ABLE TO ACCEPT AN AWARD, SHOULD ONE BE MADE.