Grant/Contract Submission Process

FAQ’s
Tips for Avoiding Delays

IMPORTANT NOTICE
ALL proposals must have completed the institutional review and approval prior to submission.
The pre-submission deadline to submit a final and complete grant/contract proposal application,
to the Institute for Research, is 5 working days prior to the sponsor deadline.

  A. Before actually writing the grant, consult with

     1. The Director of Institute for Research
     2. Department/Division to assure that
           a)  the grant is in compliance with the mission of the institution
           b)  the grant poses no conflicts within the school

  B. Write the grant

  C. When your grant is completed you will need to:

1. Provide an electronic copy of the complete grant/contract application to the Institute for Research at least five working days (pre-submission) prior to the sponsor deadline, for internal review and routing for approval and submission.

• The IFR will  review and identify any changes required.
• The IFR will provide institutional review and endorsement of the proposal and return the final submitted copy to the PI.

2. You will need to be available during this time to review the final application and sign off on all internal review forms to initiate the university review process.

3. You will need to be available to answer questions the reviewers may have in regards to your project, budget or any applicable assurances.

Copies of Grants will be housed: In the Institute for Research Office and the Controller’s Office. A copy will be sent to the PI/Grant Writer, if requested.





 

Tips for Avoiding Delays

Signatures
If a PI is also the department or unit head, he/she cannot sign the Extramural Support Transmittal Form (ETF) where a department or unit Chair signature is required. Instead, the individual the PI reports to must sign.

Discuss the Project in Advance
Your unit head and grants accountant should understand any issues or commitments related to projects. Be sure to discuss with your unit Chair and Dean commitments proposed at the university level.

Pre-review Budget & Sponsor Application Forms
Discuss and pre-review the budget and sponsor application forms-especially contract proposals-with your the grants accountant or the IFR. With the various sponsor requirements, the most common delays stem from incorrect application in budgets of IDC rates, fringe benefit rates, employee salaries, and sponsor requirements.

Multiple departments, colleges, or units involved
Signatures from the PI, co-PIs and all unit heads are required on the ETF -allow enough time to obtain them. Be sure to discuss and agree upon the distribution of credit, shared IDC and any commitments at the college level.

Special Clearances
Proposals involving animals, human subjects, rDNA or environmental impact research all require special approvals. Submit forms for these approvals BEFORE submitting your proposal for internal review and approval.

Cost Sharing/Matching Funds
If UW-Green Bay is providing cost sharing/matching funds to the project, this includes faculty or staff time in addition to actual dollars, a signed letter, memo or email from the budget director for the department email must be attached.

IDC Waivers and Variances
While discouraged, you may submit a request to the IFR at least one week before submitting your proposal. It is the authorized representative's prerogative to approve any waiver or variance to the institutions' federally negotiated IDC rate. All request must be accompanied by the funding agency's policy regarding IDC recovery. If no policy exists, the waiver or variance will most likely be denied.

Using Messengers
If you use a messenger to send your proposal to the IFR for a signature, be sure the project contact is available for a consultation by phone in case questions arise.

 

FAQ’s

1) Why do I have to get approvals to submit a proposal?

In most cases, grants are made to institutions, not individuals (i.e., UWGB is the Grantee; you are the Principal Investigator [PI]), and the Sponsor requires the proposal to be submitted with an authorized institutional signature. In addition, you need the approval of your department, division and the university, to assure that needed facilities and resources are available and that accepting an award is not in conflict with your responsibilities.

The Institute for Research will review the proposal to determine if it conforms to UWGB policy, satisfies the Sponsor's requirements, and if the budget contains the correct budget items such as salary, fringe benefits, correct indirect, graduate student tuition, etc..  The Institute for Research has experience with all aspects of awards from federal, state and other government agencies, as well as most foundation procedures for submitting grant proposals, and has access to NSF’s FastLane, Grants.Gov and other electronic filing systems.  Whether your proposal is to be submitted electronically or in paper copy, once your proposal is finished, the Institute for Research can complete the final submission.

2) Do I have to do this for all proposals, even those that are being submitted for reconsideration or continuation?

Yes.  Institutional approval is still necessary for the reasons mentioned above, and also because of the need for accurate record-keeping.

In these instances, the Institute for Research recommends that you discuss your project budget with the Controller’s office first. All continuation grants/contracts are post award issues and may have carry-over funds, salary or other budget related issues not known or retrievable by the Institute for Research. This will ensure a timely review and approval process for all similar resubmissions, and project continuation grant requests.

3) Do I have to request support for grad students?

No.  We encourage you to request (graduate assistantship) support for your grad students, but it is not a requirement of the university.

4) What about the 2 (working) day pre-deadline expectation? 

The Institute for Research requests 5 working days in advance for application processing, the university internal approval process is simply a part of that 5-day process.  If you knowingly supply a penultimate draft or incomplete application, the pre-deadline has not been met and we may be able to only assist you in completing the application process.  

For paper copy submissions only: please account for duplications needed and mailing time. Providing the Institute for Research less than five days to review, route for institutional approval, copy and mail the submission in time to meet a sponsor’s deadline is at the PI’s discretion and will require the PI to assist or assume all responsibility of the routing and submission process. If the application is incomplete, and for the reasons mentioned above, it will likely delay the routing and submission process.   

5) But what about “emergencies” close to the deadline?  

We will do all we can to help in such circumstances.  The favor of advance notice – e.g., an e-mail saying: “I will be working on the final draft of my NSF proposal up to the very last minute, which is 5 PM Friday” – will be appreciated, so we can be sure someone is available.  If multiple grants are due on the same day, we will resort to a ‘first come, first serve’ basis and request your full cooperation and patience.

back to top
return to index