SUBJECT: Deadlines for Grant and Contract Proposals to Outside Agencies
SUPERSEDES: GIM 19 (August 1, 2007)
The Office of Sponsored Programs is committed to assuring timely submission of complete, accurate and excellent proposals. In order to achieve this, it is critical that OSP receive proposals in sufficient time to provide adequate review of the applications. With the advent of Grants.gov and other electronic submission systems, it may take up to 48 hours and even longer to process applications once they are submitted by OSP. This policy is revised to assure that applications submitted from the University of Washington are processed in a timely manner and are submitted in compliance with all sponsor and University requirements.
Applies to: All proposal submissions, including subcontract proposals, in both paper and electronic format.
Effective beginning with the January 22, 2009 deadlines, the Office of Sponsored Programs will ensure, using its best effort, the on-time submission of applications to the sponsoring agency when each of the following timelines detailed below is met; it should be noted that individual colleges, schools and/or departments may impose additional deadlines in advance of those cited below.
An approved eGC-1 and the proposal containing all final business elements should be received by OSP at least ten working days prior to the sponsor deadline. Final business-related elements of the proposal include but are not limited to the budget, budget justification, cost share commitments, identification of required resources, subcontracts and significant financial interest disclosures. These elements should be in their final form, though the description of the "Scope of Work" may still be in a draft form. Note, however, that the "Scope of Work" must be far enough along to allow for the accurate identification of any potential compliance issues vis-à-vis export controls or the use of humans or animals in the research. Proposals received ten days or more in advance of the sponsor's deadline will receive a detailed review by OSP to provide greater assurance that the proposal can be submitted error-free.
OSP must receive the final application, in complete form and ready for submission to the sponsor (i.e. "Ready to Submit") a minimum of five business days prior to the sponsor deadline. "Ready to Submit" means a full and complete application in final format.
Proposals received five days or more prior to the submission deadline in a "Ready to Submit" condition will be reviewed by OSP staff for accuracy, completion and compliance with sponsor, university and federal and state requirements.
For proposals received in less than five days in advance, OSP cannot assure that an electronic submission will successfully route through Grants.gov or other electronic systems in a format that will be accepted by the sponsor or that paper copies will meet all of the sponsor's criteria. Also, any proposal sent to OSP less than five days in advance that is in an incomplete form and/or not "Ready to Submit" will be returned to the PI and the department contact.
(Note: 2 Business Days do not include weekends and holidays.)
Any "Ready to Submit" proposal received by 12 noon 2 business days in advance of the sponsor deadline (e.g. Tuesday by 12 noon for a sponsor deadline on Thursday) that has all elements completed (business and science) will be submitted by OSP; however, OSP cannot guarantee a successful transmission via Grants.gov and/or sponsor acceptance when it is received in OSP with insufficient time to review.
All proposals, both paper and electronic, received by OSP after 12 noon 2 business days prior to the sponsor deadline will be returned to the PI and department contact and will not be submitted to the Sponsor.
Waivers to the 2 business day rule will be made only for PI or Co-PI serious illness, injury, or death of a Key Personnel, or if documented notification of the funding opportunity was made less than 2 weeks prior to the deadline. Any proposal received by OSP under an approved waiver will be submitted to the sponsor; however, for those proposals requiring submission via Grants.gov, OSP cannot ensure that the electronic submission will be routed in time to meet the sponsor's deadline.
All requests must be made to Lynne Chronister at lchronis@u.washington.edu or by phone at (206) 543-4043 and must be made by the Director, Chair, or Dean.
