Research Proposal Preparation

Proposal development and submission

Steps to Developing a Proposal: Roles and Responsibilities

1.) Identify a funding source – State, federal, local agencies will provide announcements and funding solicitation. Privately funded or PennWest Clarion Foundation-funded proposals will need to be run through the Foundation and its corporate relations director.

a. Read the guidelines carefully. Guidelines can specify application qualification, page limits, formatting, budget restrictions, etc. The grants officer will assist in interpretation and clarification, when needed.

b. All proposals that are submitted are on behalf of PennWest Clarion and not the individual researcher (principle investigator). As such, all proposals submitted to an external agency must be signed by an authorized official of PennWest Clarion.

Proposal Preparation

1.) TRANSMITTAL FORM: Before any proposal can be submitted to an external agency, the principle investigator (PI), must complete an authorization to seek extramural funds form to the grants officer no later than one week before the submission deadline. This must be signed by the appropriate chair(s) and dean(s) before being signed by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, or their designee.

Note: The need for additional space, renovated space or cost sharing will require the signature of the VP for Finance and Administration.

2.) GUIDELINES: PIs should read the guidelines completely to ensure appropriate eligibility. The grants officer will help with the interpretation of the guidelines as they pertain to formatting, page limits and budgetary restraints. Many federal sponsors have specific formatting and forms that are required.

3.) PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This is the PI or team science or plan to complete objectives. This should be organized in detailed, clear and concise manner to convey the proposed objectives.

4.) BUDGET DEVELOPMENT: Work with the grants officer to determine the cost to complete the goals outlined in the project description. Budgets are usually computed on a 12-month calendar basis. Sponsor guidelines should be closely followed as some sponsors will prohibit certain cost categories (percentage of faculty time, tuition, indirect costs, etc.). All proposals to sponsors who allow indirect costs must have indirect costs included as part of the proposed budget.

5.) COVER PAGE and CERTIFICATIONS: Applications may require a cover page and certifications to be signed the university authorized official. The grants office will gather the necessary institutional signatures for the proposal.

6.) ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION: Many agencies require applications to be submitted via an electronic submission system. These include:

a. Grants.gov
b. Health Resources and Services Administration
c. National Institutes of Health (NIH COMMONS)
d. National Science Foundation (NSF FASTLANE)
e. U.S. Department of Education
f. U.S. Department of Energy

The university is registered on each of these systems to electronically submit a proposal on behalf of the PI and PennWest Clarion.

7.) USING HUMAN or ANIMAL SUBJECTS: If a proposal will be using human or animal subjects, the study will need to be approved by the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Institutional approval is generally required by the time of award.

8.) SUBCONTRACTING: If a proposed project will require the use of a subcontractor or will be sending some portion of funding to a collaborating institution, letters of support and corresponding cover pages and checklists signed by authorized officials will be required.

Proposal checklist:

Before requesting an authorized institutional signature on a proposal, please make sure that the items below are included in the package:

• Completed and signed Transmittal Form (hyperlink)
• Submitted protocols for animal or human subject use
• Letters of commitment, forms or cover pages from subcontractors
• Cover page signed by PI
• All certifications and assurances
• Complete proposal and table of contents (numbered) in sponsor formatting preferences