Submission Process
Proposal Prep
Initial Stages
- Before beginning the proposal, PI reviews guidelines for the application process and requirements.
- PI works with department and research dean’s office(s) on preliminary aspects of the proposal.
- PI identifies required resources and personnel need for the project.
- PI begins writing the technical/narrative portion of the proposal and develops the budget.
- PI works with the OSP Grant Specialist responsible for budget review to finalize budget.
OSP Submission Deadline Guidelines
- The complete and final proposal, accompanied by the necessary department-level approvals, as well as any other attachments or approvals required by the sponsor or the University, must be received by OSP at least five (5) full business days prior to the sponsor’s due date.
- Sponsor due date is defined as the date and time after which sponsor will no longer accept proposals.
- When UNCG is a subcontractor, sponsor due date determined by the submitting institution.
- For proposals submitted directly through a sponsor’s external web portal (ASSIST, Research.gov, NSPIRES, etc.) the proposal must be released to the AOR (authorized organizational representative) for submission within the sponsor’s web portal BEFORE the funding proposal is routed to the OSP Grant Specialist in Cayuse. Both the funding proposal and proposal must be in the AOR/Grant Specialist state in both Cayuse and the sponsor’s web portal prior to the 5-day deadline. If this does not occur, the Cayuse proposal will be returned to the department.
Review Priority & Timeframes
Proposals OSP receives at least five full business days prior to the sponsor due date are considered green zone submissions.
Proposals OSP receives between 3 business days and 1 business day before the sponsor due date, are yellow zone submissions. Yellow zone submissions are lower priority than green zone submissions, in terms of OSP turnaround for review, corrections, and submission to sponsor.
Proposals received within 1 business day of the sponsor due date are red zone proposals. These will be submitted without review.
If no revisions/corrections are needed, Green and Yellow Zone proposal(s) are reviewed & submitted within 24 hours of receipt by OSP. If there are revisions/corrections, the proposal is routed back to the PI/department.
If a Green Zone final corrected/revised proposal is received at the same time as a yellow and/or red zone proposal(s), the priority is Green – Yellow – Red.
See the table below for more details on the review process according to the green-yellow-red priority system.
Details on red zone proposals
Red Zone Proposals are proposals received by OSP on the same business day the proposal is due to the sponsor. These proposals are submitted without review. The PI/Department Administrator takes responsibility for the information provided within the proposal. The responsibility includes ensuring:
- the information provided in the proposal is in accordance with Agency/Sponsor Guidelines and UNCG/OSP guidelines.
- if the calculation of the budget, MTDC, salary coverage and/or IDC is inaccurate or results in cost share, the Department will address/re-budget when/if the proposal is awarded.
- the information provided in regards to UNCG employees is also accurate.
Red zones received before 12 pm on the sponsor due date are submitted by 3 pm, while red zones received after 12 pm are submitted by 5 pm on the sponsor due date.
Make sure the PI and/or department/grant administrator is available during this period.
It is critically important that once your proposal has been submitted to OSP, you or your staff are available to respond to the questions from OSP to help fix any warnings or errors. The more lead time provided for review, the more time available to make any necessary changes required for OSP to submit an error-free proposal.
There are some circumstances beyond our control. Timeliness helps avoid these situations.
OSP staff will do everything possible to get the proposal to the sponsor on time. However, as the amount of time for processing is reduced, the chance of insurmountable obstacles increases. Please keep in mind, that some proposals require reviews/ input from other departments within UNCG (general counsel, UNCG Launch, Risk Management, etc.). In cases such as these, OSP is subject to the schedules and timelines of those offices. When there is sufficient lead time, OSP staff can compensate for these issues. Therefore, PI’s should make every effort to provide the maximum time possible for OSP to process and adequately review their proposals.
Proposal Finalization
PI works with the Grant Specialist in the Office of Sponsored Programs to finalize the proposal package prior to submitting to funding agency. OSP will review for compliance to university policy, state and federal regulations, budget and fiscal compliance, sponsor certifications and assurances, adherence to regulatory and safety compliance, and potential conflicts of interest.
Proposal Submission
- The Office of Sponsored Programs completes one final review of the proposal to make sure it meets the requirements and guidelines of the sponsor’s RFP
- The Office of Sponsored Programs submits the proposal to the funding agency – either electronically or in paper form. There are instances where the PI submits the proposal directly to the funding agency. When this occurs, the PI should inform OSP that they will submit and provide confirmation once the proposal has been successfully submitted to the funding agency.
OSP Standard Practices: The standard work week for the Office of Sponsored Programs is Monday-Friday, with the office closing at 5:00 pm. Therefore, all items need to be submitted to OSP in enough time to allow for 5:00 pm submission, even if the sponsor’s deadline is later in the day. Any exceptions are only authorized by the Director of OSP. If any proposals are being submitted to OSP on the day of the deadline, to allow for sufficient time and attention to be given to the submission of proposals, individuals will be asked to send an e-mail or leave a telephone message to alert OSP of the Red zone submission. Emails should have “Red Zone Submission” in the subject line and should be sent to the research@uncg.edu inbox
