Policy and Procedures Manual for the Submission of Proposals to Outside Funders
(Option to download the manual as a pdf)
The Office of Grants, Contracts and Research Administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield resides in the Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. It is staffed by a Coordinator, who oversees all functions of the office, and a part-time administrative assistant. The Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Education and Research has supervisory authority for this office.
The office is commonly referred to as Pre-award Grants and Contracts in order to distinguish it from the Grants and Contracts Accounting Office, which resides in the Office of Business and Financial Services. The office has primary responsibility for:
This policies and procedures manual applies only to the review and approval of proposals to be submitted to external sponsors, commonly referred to as Sponsored Projects. Policies and procedures for the other areas listed can be found at www.uis.edu/grants.
Pre-award Grants and Contracts provides various services related to proposal development and submission for UIS faculty, staff and students. These services include:
Please note that the Pre-Award Grants and Contracts Office does not normally review the content of the technical part of the proposal that deals with specific areas of knowledge unique to each department and that would require in-depth knowledge of the field. Pre-Award will review budgets, ensure appropriate approvals have been obtained, and check the proposal to make sure that all necessary forms and information have been included.
Any UIS faculty member, staff or student may submit a proposal. Student-generated proposals must secure a faculty or staff member’s written agreement to oversee the project, as well as a home unit that will take fiscal responsibility for any award received. Further information on the items below can be found in the University General Rules, Article II. Section 6.
All proposals to external sponsors by UIS faculty, staff and students require internal approval prior to submission. The process follows these general steps:
Project director prepares proposal narrative and budget (with assistance from Pre-award Grants and Contracts or department staff as needed)
Certifies that the information submitted is true, complete and accurate to the best of his/her knowledge;
Acknowledges that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject the project director to criminal, civil or administrative penalties;
Agrees to accept responsibility for the scientific conduct of the project and to provide progress reports;
Attests to having submitted a report of non-university activities that accurately lists financial and other relationships (and those of one’s spouse and dependent children) that might reasonably appear to be affected by the research being proposed.
All co-investigators/co-directors must also sign the internal clearance form to certify these points.
Project Narrative
Budget
Budget Narrative
A copy of the Request for Proposals (RFP) to which this proposal is responding, or the link where the RFP is available on the web
Requests for waivers of any of the policies in this document (e.g. recovery of graduate tuition, waiver of indirect costs)
Routing proceeds as follows:
For academic departments, first to the Program Chair, then to the Dean
For non-academic departments, first to the Unit Head, then to the Vice Chancellor or Center Director
The proposal is then routed to Grants and Contracts Pre-Award
Proposals involving faculty or staff from multiple units, or faculty with joint appointments, must be routed through all applicable administrative lines
Grants and Contracts Pre-Award, upon receiving the proposal and signed internal clearance form, obtains final approval from the Provost
Proposal is submitted to sponsor
Proposals that are submitted to external sponsors without first completing the internal clearance process may be withdrawn at the discretion of the Provost. A minimum of three business days is required by the Pre-award Grants and Contracts Office to review proposals and obtain the necessary approvals.
Many agencies, both private and governmental, require that proposals be submitted electronically. The submission may occur via email (attaching all relevant documents), or through a specialized online proposal submission system. Regardless of the type of submission, the policy and procedures described in the preceding section, “Requirements for Proposal Submission,” apply. Electronic proposals must be routed and approved in the same manner as hard copy paper proposals prior to submission to an external sponsor.
The Provost serves as the Institutional Official authorized to commit the institution to the budget and scope of work described in the proposal. Only the Provost (or his designee) may sign proposals on behalf of UIS. This policy applies to both hard copy and electronic signatures.
The only exception to this policy is for proposals originating from the Provost’s Office, on which the Provost or Provost’s Office staff member serves as the Project Director. In these cases, the Chancellor will serve as the Institutional Official, and must officially approve the proposal prior to submission.
A proposal to an outside funder normally includes a detailed budget. Both the Pre-award Grants and Contracts Office and the Grants Accounting Office are available to assist with budget development. Sponsor Guidelines should always be consulted for specific directives on budget preparation. The following represents general guidance.
The budget is the financial plan for the project or program. It includes both the sponsor and non-sponsor share of the total project cost. Proposed project costs are comprised of allowable direct costs, indirect costs (also known as facilities and administrative or F&A costs), and cost sharing. Allowable costs are those that are reasonable and allocable to the sponsored project and allowable under University and sponsor policy.
The budget should be subdivided into periods of twelve month duration (unless partial year funding is anticipated). If cost sharing is included, each budget period should include columns for both Sponsor and University costs.
A budget narrative (Narrative) should be prepared to explain how the budgeted costs relate to the project. The Narrative should provide sufficient detail to allow the sponsor to determine whether the proposed costs are reasonable and appropriate. Key elements to include in the Narrative are:
Salaries:
The salary category should include the names of all individuals who will be involved in the project, if known, otherwise use To Be Named (TBN) and job classification. Dependent upon specific sponsor guidelines, either the percent effort or person months that will be applied to the project should also be shown. Depending upon agency limitations, an appropriate inflation rate (e.g., 3% - 5%) should be used to determine salary requirements beyond the first fiscal year.
Guidelines should be consulted for agency-specific salary caps.
The salaries of administrative and clerical support staff are normally classified as indirect costs and are not allowable costs. It may be appropriate to charge these costs to a major project where administrative and clerical services can be explicitly budgeted to a major project, and the time and effort of the staff involved can be specifically identified with the sponsored project. Support for administrative and clerical staff should be detailed in the budget narrative to provide the sponsor with adequate information to evaluate whether these costs are allocable to the project.
Fringe Benefits:
Consumable supplies (with life expectancy of one year or less) are items used exclusively in support of project objectives.
It is generally acceptable to sponsors to provide a breakdown of materials and supplies by broad categories as opposed to the detailed listing of individual items.
When supply items are purchased to support the multiple activities of project personnel, they are considered to be indirect costs and cannot be charged directly to sponsored project funds. Such items often include University stationery, toner, pens, tablets, file folders, staples, paper clips, etc. (office supplies).
Costs for travel, lodging and subsistence may be charged on, a) an actual cost basis or b) a per diem or mileage basis.
Charges incurred by employees for travel, lodging and other subsistence should be reasonable and allowable only to the extent of University policy, which may be viewed online.
Costs should be calculated using current University travel reimbursement rates, which may be viewed online.
The Narrative should provide information regarding destination and names of conferences, if known, number of travelers, duration of travel and estimated total cost.
Foreign and domestic travel should be itemized and justified separately.
Sponsor guidelines should be consulted to verify the allowability of travel costs.
Equipment:
Major items of equipment proposed for acquisition should be itemized by descriptive name and estimated cost, and an adequate justification should be provided in the budget narrative.
Items with a useful life of more than one year and costing $500 or more, but less than $5,000, normally should be included and justified under "Materials and Supplies."
Equipment purchases should not be allocated between sponsor-provided and University-provided funds because of potential future points of contention associated with ownership of the equipment. If equipment is wholly pledged as cost sharing, it must be purchased during the project’s period of performance.
Subawards:
Need to be clearly identified in the text of the proposal.
Need to be included as a line item in the budget.
A formal proposal from the subawardee, including a statement of work, budget, budget justification, and letter of administrative approval from the subawardee’s institution should be provided when the proposal is submitted to Pre-Award Grants and Contracts.
NOTE: subawards that are not documented and justified in the proposal and approved by the Sponsor may fall under the University’s Procurement policy. In such cases, the Purchasing Office will handle the subawards. The substance of the relationship is more important than the contractual mechanism.
Computing Services
Professional Services/Consultants
Other Direct Costs:
Other Direct Costs should be itemized and described in the Narrative.
Telephone service, including monthly service charges, ISDN, calling cards and cellular phone charges typically should not be included as these are classified as indirect costs.
Memberships, postage, and food are typically deemed to be unallowable unless they are going to be main elements of the project.
Tuition:
Unless expressly prohibited by the sponsor, graduate tuition should be included as a direct cost in the budget if the project includes the support of Graduate Assistants.
Any exceptions to this policy must be approved in writing by the Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Education and Research
All proposals must designate a fiscal officer, who will be responsible for administering any funds received.
When a sponsor has approved a proposal for funding, the University will receive notice that an award has been made or a contract is being prepared. This notice may come in the format of a contract, grant, email notification, or award letter. The notice may be sent to the Pre-Award office or to the Project Director (PD). If the PD receives such a notice, s/he must forward it to the Pre-Award Office immediately to become part of the formal record of the award. The Pre-Award Office cannot administratively initiate the project without formal sponsor notification.
When the Grants and Contracts Pre-Award Office receives notice of an award, it forwards the notice immediately to the PD and unit business administrator, even before the award is formally accepted or a fund established.
No award can be accepted until all sponsor terms and conditions have been reviewed and approved. Legal counsel may be consulted. Pre-Award Grants and Contracts will manage any necessary award negotiations and the preparation of any additional documents requested by the sponsor during the course of those negotiations. All contracts must be routed for appropriate signatures and must be accompanied by a Contract Approval form.
On occasion, a sponsor may award support for an investigator without a formal proposal being submitted through the University. In such cases, the Grants and Contracts Pre-Award Office must complete formal approval of the project, as described in the General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure, prior to acceptance of the award.
The Grants and Contracts Pre-Award Office officially notifies all relevant parties when an award has been accepted and fully executed. Many award instruments are received which require both sponsor and University signatures (bilateral agreement) before they become effective. Project Directors, Faculty, Deans, Principal Investigators, or Department Heads are not authorized to sign award documents on behalf of the University.
For all contracts, and for grants that require an institutional signature, the following signature authorities apply:
Contracts must be written in the name of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, with signature lines for the Comptroller and the Secretary of the Board. Only these individuals, or their designees, can sign contracts on behalf of the University.
Grants that require signature by an institutional official will be signed by the Provost or his designee.
The only exception to this policy is for awards from proposals originating from the Provost’s Office, on which the Provost or Provost’s Office staff member serves as the Project Director. In these cases, the Chancellor will serve as the Institutional Official, and must officially approve the award prior to its acceptance by the University.
Once the award is formally executed by both the University and the sponsor as required, copies will be distributed to all relevant units, including Grants and Contracts Accounting. The unit managing the award can then request a Banner Account by filling out the Banner Grant Fund Request form and submitting it to Grants and Contracts Accounting.
Individuals and/or organizations that will be performing work under a sponsored project must be issued a subaward from the University. Subawards may be initiated without further sponsor approval if:
The University and the subawardee have jointly proposed to the sponsor;
The proposed subawardee was included in the University’s proposal, and/or
The subawardee was approved by the sponsor as a condition of award.
If a proposed subawardee was not named in the initial proposal and/or award, further documentation may be required. In all cases, subawards are ultimately governed by the Higher Education Procurement Rules and the Illinois Procurement Code.
Agreements to obtain goods or routine services are purchases, not subawards, and are subject to all relevant University procurement policies.
For further information regarding purchase transactions, contact the OBFS Purchasing Division.
