Proposal Submission Deadline

SUBJECT: Proposal Submission Deadline	Effective Date: 02/05/2025	Policy Number: 10.2.10
	Supersedes: 01/08/2018, 3/1/2016, 8/1/2012	Page 1 Of 4
	Responsible Authorities: Vice President for Research Associate Vice President for Research, Office of Sponsored Programs

Background

In August, 2012, due to the increased number of last minute proposal submissions to Sponsored Programs it became necessary for the Division of Research to adopt the Proposal Submission Deadline Policy. Implementation of this policy ensure(s) a timely review and successful submission to the sponsor. The policy provides the Proposal Administrator in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) sufficient time to ensure that the sponsor’s and University guidelines are met, the budget and budget justification are correct, compliance requirements have been adhered to and the proposal is submitted on time.
Purpose

The purpose of the Proposal Submission Deadline Policy is to:
- Facilitate the timely and efficient submission of FAU proposals to external sponsors;
- Implement a method for prioritizing proposals for review;
- Ensure that faculty and research administrators have access to Sponsored Programs personnel services.
General Statement

FAU is committed to the pursuit of increasing the research enterprise. One way this can occur is by the submission of excellent proposals to external funding agencies. Given sufficient time, OSP will assist faculty and will provide the maximum level of service to ensure proposal review and submissions go according to plan.

Policy

All proposals submitted to external sponsors must be completed and routed electronically via FAU’s electronic research administration system and received in OSP no later than five (5) business days before the established sponsor or submission deadline, whichever is sooner. For example, if the sponsor/submission deadline is 5:00pm on Friday, the OSP deadline is 8:00am the previous Monday.

In order for the proposal to be considered on-time, all proposal documents must be complete, in final form, approved by the Chair and Dean’s Office in Novelution, entered into the applicable electronic sponsor system, and received by OSP.

When routing a proposal for approval by OSP, the following documents must be uploaded and included in the proposal file:

All sponsor required forms including letters and supporting documentation
Detailed budget and budget justification
Biosketches, Current and Pending, Resources, if applicable
Copy of the RFP solicitation

If subrecipient is involved, include:

FAU or FDP Subrecipient Commitment Form completed and signed by authorized institutional official
Detailed budget and budget justification
Statement of work (Subrecipient’s portion of the work)
F&A Rate Agreement if applicable (federal projects)

If consultant is involved, include:

Letter of intent signed by the consultant, clearly stating the hourly rate, number of hours, and total costs
Statement of work

DRAFT Documents

To allow more time for researchers to edit and enhance the body of the proposal, the following documents may be submitted to the OSP in draft form with the agreement that the final documents are received by the OSP Forty-Eight (48) hours prior to the sponsor/submission deadline date:

Proposal Narrative,
Project Summary or Abstract,
Statement of Work,
Specific Aims,
Research Strategy,
Bibliography

When routing draft documents to OSP, any draft document files must include the word “Draft” in the file name otherwise they will be treated as the final document and may be submitted to the sponsor.

Final proposal documents must be submitted via email to the Proposal Administrator in OSP Forty-Eight (48) hours prior to the sponsor/submission deadline date.

Proposals submitted electronically through a sponsor’s system requiring the OSP to submit, will be submitted during FAU’s normal business hours.

Authorized Approvers

The role of the authorized approver(s) in the college/institute is crucial during the review and approval process for proposals. It is recommended that faculty stay in close communication with their college/institute during proposal preparation and submission.

Individual colleges/institutes may require additional time to sufficiently review and approve proposals prior to submitting to OSP. Consult with your Dean’s Office regarding internal deadline requirements for your college.

When submitting proposals that involve faculty from multiple colleges/institutes, the authorized approver(s) for each college must also review and approve the proposal. Allow sufficient time for each authorized approver(s) to review and approve the proposal. It is recommended that the business managers or equivalent from each college/institute be notified as early in the process and given head’s up about the proposal submission.

Policy Exception Request

The Office of Sponsored Programs has eliminated the Exception Request from this policy. A request for an exception of the Proposal Submission Policy is no longer needed when proposals do not meet the 5-business day deadline. Instead, we are adopting the following proposal review procedures.

Proposals received by the OSP with all the required documents at least five (5) business days prior to the sponsor/submission deadline date will receive a full review and feedback will be provided. Proposals submitted with less than five (5) business days will receive a limited review or minimal review. A limited review or minimal review may not include a full review of the RFP and sponsor requirements.
Proposals that do not meet the five (5) business day deadline are not given priority just because they arrived late. Proposal review priority is given to those proposals that meet the Proposal Submission Deadline Policy.

The chart below provides the level of review and risk associated with the allotted time allowed for the OSP proposal review and submission process.

FAU OSP Risk Assessment for Proposal Review Time
Risk Factors	FULL REVIEW If provided to OSP >= or = to 5 full business days* before sponsor’s proposal deadline	LIMITED REVIEW If provided to OSP 3-4 full business days* before sponsor’s proposal deadline	MINIMAL REVIEW If provided to OSP < 2 full business days* before sponsor’s proposal deadline
1. Risk of proposal rejection due to non-compliance w/sponsor guidelines	Low	Medium	High
2. Risk of proposal rejection due to system failure	Low	Medium	High
3. Risk of department/unit incurring financial burden due to budget errors or omissions	Low	Medium	High
4. Risk of proposal withdrawal by OSP after submission and/or rejection of award	Low	Medium	High
*A full business day is considered an official FAU workday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Adhering to the policy allows sufficient time to review all aspects of the proposal, work with the principal investigator and college/institute pre-award personnel to correct errors before the sponsor’s deadline and deal with technical issues and error messages from the various electronic submission systems.

Proposals Submitted with Limited or Minimal Review

When proposals do not receive a full review due to a late submission, they are at higher risk of errors and omissions.

OSP reserves the right to withdraw a proposal that is submitted without the full review if it is determined at a later date that there were errors or omissions significant enough to justify the withdrawal.

When a proposal is submitted to the sponsor with an incorrect F&A rate or undocumented cost-share commitment, if funded, OSP will request corrections to the awarded budget prior to FAU accepting the award even when it affects and lowers the total direct costs for the project.

The Proposal Submission Deadline Policy will be reviewed annually and updated on an as needed basis.

POLICY APPROVAL

Initiating Authority

Gregg Fields, Vice President for Research
02/05/2025

Executed signature pages are available in the Initiating Authority Office