Proposal Submission
Principal investigators should initiate their proposals in Summit Proposals at the earliest opportunity. They need to include the request for proposal (RFP) or sponsor submission guidelines and the due date. As the proposal is developed, principal investigators will work within Summit Proposals with their automatically-assigned pre-award associate to develop a budget, obtain required university approvals, and finalize the proposal.
Once the principal investigator has completed the proposal package and is ready to submit to the sponsor, the principal investigator must upload it to Summit Proposals or to the sponsor required submission system. The pre-award associate will be responsible for submitting the proposal on behalf of the university.
The principal investigator is responsible for providing the pre-award associate administrative forms no less than two days before the submission deadline and the final technical proposal no later than 9 a.m. the day the proposal is due to the sponsor.
Roles and Responsibilities in the Submission Process
Principal Investigator Responsibility
- Initiate proposal in Summit Proposals.
- Provide budget details.
- Complete sponsor application and forms.
- Upload completed proposal package, including all internal forms and sponsor application, to Summit Proposals or the required sponsor system.
- Be available by email or phone during the submission process.
- Make any necessary corrections to errors as they arise.
Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Responsibility
- Review all internal approval forms.
- Review completed application and check for errors.
- Work with principal investigator to correct errors before submission.
- Submit to sponsor if electronic submission (i.e., Cayuse, Grants.gov, Research.gov, etc.).
- Submit if hard copies or email submission is required.
- Work with principal investigator if errors arise after submission.
Internal Forms
| FORM REQUIRED FOR | SIGNATURES REQUIRED |
|---|---|
Non-federal sponsors who do not have a specifically required cover sheet. THIS IS AN OPTIONAL FORM. |
Principal Investigator(s) and Dean |
| FORM REQUIRED FOR | SIGNATURES REQUIRED |
|---|---|
Special indirect distribution between departments |
Dean |
Overhead (sometimes called indirect or F&A costs) refers to the administrative costs of performing as a research university and includes such costs as electricity, equipment maintenance, and salaries and benefits of departmental, college, and university administrative personnel. Overhead costs are distributed to various organizations within Virginia Tech in the following manner:
| Earned Overhead Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Organization | Percentage |
| Research Division | 8.57% |
| Central Capital Account | 11.14% |
| State of Virginia | 30% |
| College/Department | 40.29% |
| Capital 2 | 10% |
This distribution gives the receiving college/department discretionary funds to offset costs related to the conduct and enhancement of research and research-related requirements. The FORM C is needed when the overhead distribution for the responsible department, college, or institute on a project (each OSP fund) differs from the above default distribution.
For example, if a principal investigator from electrical engineering applied for a grant from The National Science Foundation the indirect rate applied to his/her budget would be 61% (the federally negotiated rate). If the direct costs of the proposal were 100,000, indirect costs would be charged at 61%, and the indirect cost of the project would be $61,000, for a total project cost of $161,000. Once the direct costs of the project are expended, each of the various organizations within Virginia Tech that are part of the indirect distribution chain would receive their share of the indirect costs of performing the funded work: the Office of Research and Innovation would receive $5,228; the Central Capital Account would receive $6,795; the State of Virginia would receive $18,300; the college or department would receive $24,578; and Capital 2 would receive $6,100. The principal investigator should contact the departmental business manager or fiscal manager to determine if a FORM C is necessary. The principal investigator must upload the FORM C Cost Accounting Exemption Request into Summit Proposals before routing for approval.
Modes of Submission
Most sponsors use some type of electronic system to receive and manage proposals and awards. The federal government uses systems such as Grants.gov, Research.gov, and FedConnect; universities, including Virginia Tech, often use the new web-based front-end software service called Cayuse to submit many types of federal awards; and other sponsors such as American Heart Association have their own specialized online system.
The Request for Proposal (RFP) should detail the submission method preferred by the sponsor. If submission is through an electronic system, it is principal investigators’ responsibility to familiarize themselves with the submission process; however, there are pre-award associates with expertise in certain electronic systems who can offer various tips and warnings during the submission process.
Electronic systems usually require some sort of registration. Registration may take several days or steps, so it is essential to begin that process immediately. Sometimes the principal investigator is required to register and submit the proposal, and sometimes it is the university or OSP associate who must register in the system. The principal investigator must read the guidelines carefully to determine who should register and must forward the guidelines to the pre-award associate as soon as possible. When an electronic system requires the principal investigator to submit the proposal, Virginia Tech still requires the usual internal budget and forms to be completed and approved before the principal investigator submits.
Some sponsors require a hardcopy of the proposal to be submitted. In these circumstances, the principal investigator must mark in Summit Proposals that a hardcopy is required and indicate how many copies (in addition to the originals) must be sent. If color copies are required, the principal investigator must provide them to OSP. The pre-award associate will prepare a transmittal letter to accompany the proposal and will obtain the necessary university signatures. OSP will make copies (not in color) and send the proposal to the sponsor using United Parcel Service (UPS) overnight service to the address the principal investigator provides on the proposal approval form.
Principal investigators must have the completed proposal to OSP at least two business days before the proposal is due in order for it to be reviewed and sent to the sponsor by the deadline. Hard-copy proposals that are not ready at that time, will have to be submitted by the principal investigator directly after review and approval by the pre-award associate. Sponsors commonly request an email copy of the proposal that is being sent hardcopy. If this is the case, the principal investigator must indicate the email requirement in Summit Proposals.
Sponsors may require only an email of the proposal to be sent. In this case, the principal investigator must indicate email submission in Summit Proposals. The pre-award associate will prepare a transmittal letter to accompany the proposal and will obtain the necessary university signatures. Once all necessary signatures and cover letters are obtained, the pre-award associate will email the proposal to the address provided by the principal investigator in Summit Proposals.
A final complete copy of the proposal is uploaded to Summit Proposals and the proposal details are entered into Banner. If the principal investigator receives notification of a decline, they should advise their pre-award associate.
Occasionally circumstances require that a proposal be withdrawn after it has been submitted to a sponsor. Please advise the pre-award associate if this situation occurs to ensure that a formal written university withdrawal can be provided to the sponsor.