Apply for a Sponsored Project

The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) requires all proposals to be received by start of business (9am) 5-business days prior to the sponsor deadline in order to complete required reviews and obtain institutional approvals as described below. Proposals not submitted to federal sponsors and not including cost share or subawards may be considered for a 3-business day deadline at the discretion of the Director of OSP.

If applicable, please note your college/school/division’s internal deadlines ahead of OSP’s internal deadline (i.e. a college-specified deadline of 5-business days prior to OSP’s deadline is equivalent to a 10-business days prior to sponsor deadline) – consult with your Dean/division leader for this deadline.

Download this 2 page overview: OSP Proposal Review & Deadline Policy

The below outlines the required OSP review, institutional approvals, and document deadlines in order to meet your sponsor’s proposal deadline:

OSP Proposal Review

The OSP review is intended to best position your proposal to be competitive and successful, ensure consistency with sponsor requirements, avoid rejection on the basis of non-compliance, and minimize institutional risk.

Our review consists of the following and must be completed prior to obtaining institutional approval:

  • Administrative Review– OSP provides an administrative review to ensure the proposal meets the sponsor’s guidelines and requirements for content and formatting.
  • Budget Review – OSP carefully reviews the budget for allowability and adherence to sponsor and university policies.
  • Compliance Review - OSP is responsible for maintaining compliance with the sponsor, government laws and regulations, and university policies; and for upholding ethical research practices and reducing institutional risk. OSP will carefully review page two of the Proposal Transmittal Form and the proposal for compliance issues that must be addressed prior to the proposed activities occurring, and in some cases, prior to proposal submission. These include, but are not limited to, responsible conduct of research, human subjects’ requirements, biosafety, animal care, and export controls. At times, this may require consultation from University Counsel and/or other campus partners.
  • Optional copy-edit – As time allows and per investigator’s preference, OSP is available to provide copy editing of the technical/programmatic narrative, reviewing for clarity, checking for typos and formatting issues, inconsistencies, etc.

This review requires a minimum of 2 days.

SU Institutional Approvals

The OSP will facilitate the below necessary institutional approvals within the 5-business day window:

  • Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR; Provost's Office) required review and approval for all proposals (requires a minimum of 2 days)
    • AOR review and approval can only be requested after the above outlined OSP review
  • Controller's Office* required for all proposals including cost share (requires a minimum of 2 days)
    • The controller certifies that the funds obligated are available to be used as cost share.
  • Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) required for all proposals to private sponsors (requires minimum 1 business day)
    • CFR is responsible for managing relationships with private sponsors

*Proposals not submitted to federal sponsors and not including cost share or subawards may be considered for a 3-business day deadline at the discretion of the Director of OSP.

Proposal Document & Upload Deadlines

Due by 9:00am

5 Business Days*

Prior to Sponsor Deadline

Due by 9:00am

1 Business Day

Prior to Sponsor Deadline
  • Proposal Transmittal Form (PTF), signed by PI, Chair, and Dean
  • All required PTF addendums, with required signatures
  • Budget (final)
  • Budget Justification (final)
  • Near-final draft of Technical/Programmatic Narrative**
  • Near-final draft of Abstract
  • Facilities & Resources, if applicable
  • Data Management Plan, if applicable
  • Other required proposal components in final form as required by the sponsor***
  • Letters of commitment(s) from external collaborator(s) (if applicable)
  • All Subaward materials (if applicable), completed and signed by the sub-awardee
  • Letters or any other items requiring AOR signature (if applicable)

If the proposal is submitted through an online portal (e.g. Fastlane, Research.gov, Grants.gov Workspace, private sponsor portals, etc.) the PI must grant access to OSP at least 5 business days prior to sponsor deadline.  

 
  • Final draft of Technical/Programmatic Narrative
  • Final Abstract
  • Final References
  • Biographical sketch or CV
  • Current & Pending Support

If the proposal is submitted through an online portal (e.g. Fastlane, Grants.gov Workspace, private sponsor portals, etc.) all documents must be uploaded at least 1 business days prior to sponsor deadline.

* Proposals not submitted to federal sponsors and not including cost share or subawards may be considered for a 3-business day deadline at the discretion of the Director of OSP, in which case, these documents would be required by 9:00am 3 business days prior to sponsor deadline

**The substance and scope of work of the proposed program should not change after this time and must remain consistent with the budget and budget justification but you may continue to edit/refine your narrative until 1-business day prior to the sponsor deadline.

*** These documents will be reviewed upon receipt of notice of intent to apply and, depending upon each sponsor’s requirements, some may not be required until the 1-business day deadline

Proposals that meet their OSP internal deadline will be given priority review over proposals that do not and the level of additional assistance (copy edits, uploading support, formatting, etc.) is dependent on the amount of time provided to OSP. Any proposal received past their internal deadline will be reviewed accordingly and ability to obtain institutional approvals required for submission may be affected.

Roles & Responsibilities

Applying for external funding is a collaboration between the principal investigator/project director and their department/college, the OSP, and the Office of the Provost. Depending on the nature of the proposal, the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations and/or the Office of the Controller may be involved.