Agency Submissions
Once the University reviews and approves the completed proposal, the packet requires submission to the sponsoring agency. Agencies may differ in how they wish to receive the principal investigator’s grant or contract proposal.
Electronic Submissions
Many grant agencies are conducting their business electronically. Most federal grant proposals require electronic submission, and subsequently management of post-award business through an online portal.
Faculty and staff should check the grant program guidelines closely to determine if the agency requires an electronic proposal submission, if so, contact ORSP as soon as possible to allow time for the necessary administrative preparations. Each proposal submission offers unique challenges that ORSP can assist in resolving, saving you time and effort.
Questions! Call the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at 251.6476.
Electronic System Registration
A majority of sponsors have moved to electronic research administration (eRA) portals for cradle to grave grant management. Depending on the agency, they may require institutional and/or individual account set up. ORSP has created a nifty handout to assist you with which systems require individual registration and sponsors where the University is already registered. Click here for a list of the most used sponsor portals and their registration requirement.
If your sponsor is not listed, please contact us to determine how best to proceed.
Paper Submissions
While many agencies have converted from paper submissions to electronic submissions, not all agencies have done so. In addition, some agencies accept certain grants electronically, while requiring paper submissions for others. For these agencies, paper applications should be prepared in accordance with the agency’s instructions. This will often take the form of either an Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word document. For paper submissions, the principal investigator must provide a completed application at the time of routing. This is especially important if the sponsor requires institutional endorsement (i.e., signature) on the proposal. ORSP may complete agency certifications but it cannot sign for the University so plan accordingly. Upon receiving University endorsements, ORSP will contact the principal investigator to notify them of the signature/approval. It is the principal investigators responsible to send the paper application to the sponsor.