Forms, Policies & Procedures

3-Business-Day Internal Proposal Deadline Policy

1. SCOPE OF POLICY

   This policy addresses the internal deadline set forth for proposal review and submission by the Research Office, and applies to all departments, faculty, and staff involved in externally sponsored research at the University of Delaware (UD).

   UD investigators must have their proposals to the Research Office by 8:00am, at least three business days prior to the agency deadline – or they are not guaranteed to be submitted to the sponsor.

   Currently, the Research Office processes over 1,800 proposals per year at UD, and of that number, between 600 and 700 proposals typically are funded by a wide range of sponsoring agencies. Successful proposals account for an influx of more than $161 million in research expenditures each year.

   Depending on the funding agency and program, these proposals, with their required text, cited references, budgets, forms and appendices, may range in size from a few pages for a small proposal to more than a thousand pages for large, multi-institutional efforts. The Research Office conducts a thorough review of proposals prior to submission to increase their funding success rate. Due to the large volume of proposals submitted, the 3-Business-Day Internal Proposal Deadline Policy has been established to facilitate this review and ensure a smooth and successful proposal submission process at UD.

2. DEFINITIONS
   1. Funding Opportunity – A formal request by an external sponsoring agency to request participation in an upcoming project, outlining project-specific goals, deadlines, eligibility, and deliverables.
   2. Proposal – A formal application by UD to participate in an externally-sponsored project, made in response to a funding opportunity.
   3. Sponsor or Sponsoring Agency – A external entity responsible for providing project funding if UD’s proposal is accepted and an official award agreement is subsequently executed.
   4. Proposal Review and Submission – The process by which a proposal is formally reviewed by UD and submitted to an external sponsoring agency.
   5. Internal Proposal Deadline – The deadline by which proposals must be provided to the Research Office for full review prior to the sponsor proposal deadline.
   6. Funding Opportunity – A formal request by an external sponsoring agency to request participation in an upcoming project, outlining project-specific goals, deadlines, eligibility, and deliverables.
   7. Sponsor or Sponsoring Agency Proposal Deadline – The deadline by which a UD proposal must be submitted to an external sponsoring agency for review and consideration, typically outlined via the funding opportunity.
3. POLICY STATEMENT
   The Research Office is committed to facilitating the submission of proposals of the highest quality to increase the probability of research funding success at UD. The 3-Business-Day Internal Proposal Deadline Policy allows the Research Office to conduct a meaningful review of the final proposal package prior to submission. This includes a thorough review for compliance with sponsor and UD rules and regulations, while allowing time for principal investigators and their administrators to finalize the scientific content.
4. POLICY STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES
   1. Internal Deadlines for Proposal Submission
      1. UD investigators must have their proposals to the Research Office by 8:00am, at least three business days prior to the agency deadline – or they are not guaranteed to be submitted to the sponsor. Recognizing that the proposal’s technical content requires maximum time to develop, the Research Office accepts proposal packages for review excluding the final technical component/narrative. This allows the proposal package to be prepared and readied for submission while the technical content is finalized. Final technical content must be provided to the Research Office no less than 9 business hours prior to the agency deadline to ensure all formatting requirements are met and potential submission issues are avoided.
      2. Submitting departments, units, and schools may have their own review timeline that is outside the scope of the Research Office deadline. Both the Research Office and the Principal Investigator’s submitting department/unit need adequate time to review and approve proposal submissions. Proactive coordination is important to ensure all complexities are understood and addressed well in advance of the sponsor deadline, especially for complex awards.
   2. Proposal Packages
      1. Proposal packages must contain all elements listed below for review by the Research Office. If any of the elements below are missing, the proposal will be considered incomplete, and will be returned to the Principal Investigator:
         1. Program Solicitation
         2. Fully-Approved Proposal Webform
         3. Statement of Work (SOW) and/or Abstract.
            1. Final Science/Technical content must be provided to the Research Office no less than 9 business hours prior to the agency deadline.
         4. Detailed Budget
         5. Budget Justification
         6. Subaward Documents (SOW, Budget, Budget Justification, etc.)
         7. Up-to-Date Conflict of Interest Disclosure (per the COI Policy)
         8. Other Components (per Sponsor and UD requirements)
   3. Proposal Review and Submission
      1. Proposals received prior to the 3-Business-Day deadline will take precedence over those received after the internal deadline. After all proposals received on-time have been processed and submitted, the Research Office will review and submit, to the best of its ability, all other proposals.
      2. The Research Office follows a “staggered” review process wherein the date a proposal is received dictates the level of review provided per below:
         1. Full Review if received at least 3 business days prior to the sponsor deadline.
         2. Limited Review if received 2 business days prior to the sponsor deadline.
         3. Minimal Review if received 1 business day prior to the sponsor deadline.

             

            Full Review ≥3 Business Days	Limited Review 2 Business Days	Minimal Review ≤1 Business Day
            PI Eligibility
            Fully-Approved Proposal Webform
            UD, Federal, and State Compliances
            Sponsor Guidelines, Terms, and Conditions
            Consultation with Other UD Administrative Offices
            Proposal Details
            Other Management Plans

             

      3. Proposals received after the 3-Business-Day internal deadline will be submitted to external sponsors with “Minimal” or “Limited” review per above. Any proposal submitted without “Full” review is subject to the following:
         1. If any grave errors are found (i.e. budget and/or compliance) upon full review post-submission, the application will be withdrawn by the Research Office.
         2. The submitting department/unit agrees to assume responsibility for any budget errors/omissions made in the proposal.
         3. The submitting department/unit acknowledges that proposals may contain terms and conditions that may be non-negotiable and, if not resolved, may require UD to decline an award.
      4. Proposals submitted with insufficient review present a greater risk of being rejected/invalidated from the sponsor and/or becoming subject to various adverse scenarios such as:
         1. Risk of proposal rejection due to non-compliance with sponsor guidelines
         2. Risk of proposal rejection due to electronic system failure
         3. Risk of department/unit incurring financial burden due to budget errors or omissions
         4. Risk of UD withdrawal of proposal post-submission or UD rejection of the award