Proposal Process

The Office of Scholarship and Sponsored Projects is your first stop for all investigator-initiated research and scholarly grant applications and any government-related grant, subaward, or contract applications. 

The first step in preparing a proposal for external funding is to notify OSSP of your interest, along with the Dean/Director of your Department, School, and College. OSSP will assist you in developing your proposal and budget, provide you with resources, and help you obtain the required university approvals. Please refer to the Proposal Development Process Guide and the Proposal Development Process Flow Chart for guidance in preparing your grant proposal in the university's Grants Management Policies and Procedures manual. 

Proposals to external sponsors must be submitted to OSSP at least five full business days before the application due date, along with a completed and signed Grant Transmittal Form (available in DocuSign). An application and grant transmittal form that are not received by OSSP within this timeline run the high probability of not being submitted. Proposals requiring matching funds, additional resources or facilities, modifications of space, or any special requirements or resources must be submitted to OSSP at least three full weeks before the application due date.

Developing a Sponsored Project Budget 

OSSP gladly assists applicants in preparing and reviewing budget proposals for grant applications. To help with this, OSSP provides budget templates with auto-calculating formulas. The budget template includes information on fringe benefit costs, annual inflationary rates, and indirect costs (F&A) rates. Contact OSSP for information and assistance in preparing your project budget.

Grant Transmittal Form

The Grant Transmittal Form documents the review and approval of proposed activities, resources, and commitments included in a grant application to an external sponsor. This transmittal form also identifies administrative, regulatory, and financial issues that must be identified or addressed before an application is submitted and an award is received. This form uses the university's DocuSign online system to complete and route for signatures (preview form here).

OSSP must receive this completed and signed grant transmittal form, a copy of the application, and final project budget for review and processing at least five full business days prior to submitting the grant application to the sponsor. Proposals requiring matching funds, additional resources or facilities, modifications of space, or any special requirements or resources must be submitted to OSSP at least three full weeks before the application due date. Applications and grant transmittal forms that are not received by OSSP within the respective timeline run the high probability of not being submitted.

Additional Pre-Award Services

Subawards and Subrecipient Monitoring: OSSP will coordinate with other universities in establishing and administering collaborative research and scholarly projects.

Grant Portal Administration: OSSP manages user accounts and access to federal and other grant application and reporting portals.

Contract and Research Agreements: OSSP negotiates and accepts awards, subawards, contracts, data use and sharing agreements, material transfer agreements, and other research-related agreements and contracts on behalf of PIs and the university.

Institutional and Signature Authority: OSSP staff are authorized representatives of the university with delegated authority to submit, sign, accept, and report on awards and contracts.