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Frequently-Asked Questions

What are some Proposal Reminders to help streamline submission?

Proposal Reminders

Here are some proposal reminders and tips to help make your proposal submissions successful.

Draft Proposal Review – 7 day GIM 19 Deadline

The business and administrative components of a proposal should be complete seven business days before the sponsor deadline. The scientific/programmatic portions can be draft versions.

Route to OSP for initial review. OSP will review and provide reviewer comments, as applicable.

In particular, please route draft proposals for federal Contract and Other Transaction Agreements to OSP in SAGE for initial review no later than 7 business days before the sponsor deadline. See: Why should I route an eGC1 for Contracts & Other Transactions to OSP ASAP?

Ready to Submit by the 3 day GIM 19 Deadline

All proposals that are In OSP by the three business day GIM 19 deadline must be Ready to Submit. This should not be the first time OSP has seen the proposal. It is expected that an earlier review of the draft proposal was carried out.

Ready to Submit (RTS) means that the eGC1 has a complete proposal in final format, ready for submission to the sponsor.

RTS proposals must have:

  • Final documents attached in the order required by the sponsor
  • All investigators completed their Significant Financial Interest Disclosures
  • Ready to Submit question on the eGC1 is marked “Yes”
  • The eGC1 is “In OSP” status before 5 p.m. Pacific time
  • The PI has given OSP access to the proposal in the sponsor system, if applicable

TIPS

Many federal sponsors require or will require applicants to use the Common Forms for the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support. Some sponsors, like NSF, require applicants to use SciENcv to prepare these forms. Using ORCID connected to SciENcv will help keep biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support forms up to date.

Use project management tools and timelines and incorporate early steps into the process such as ensuring:

  • Investigators are available and have access in UW systems, such as the Financial Interest Disclosure System (FIDS)
  • Sponsor system accesses/permissions are obtained
  • Limited Submission approval is sought and documented, if applicable
  • Permission from NIH to exceed $500,000 direct cost limit is documented, if applicable
  • Subrecipient materials are received timely to incorporate into UW’s overall proposal
  • Common forms are prepared well ahead of time

For authorized official contact information that is listed on proposal cover pages, such as the SF-424 cover page, please refer to the Institutional Facts & Rates page.

Understand who is reviewing what on the eGC1, as it routes. OSP uses GIM 1 criteria for review once it arrives in OSP.

Run any sponsor system validations or error checking for the draft proposal. This will help “clean up” formatting and other requirements that sponsor systems are designed to catch.

Do not first route a proposal to OSP on the 3 day GIM 19 deadline. Route your draft proposal on the seven day deadline.

Format Reminders

Incorrect formatting can prevent proposal submission to Grants.gov and other sponsor systems. Carefully review sponsor format guidance carefully and don’t forget to flatten your PDFs!

More from Grants.gov: Submitting Special Characters
More from NIH:

UW Resources