Good Afternoon,

Below are some frequently asked questions related to proposal submission and award administration.

Q1: How are Pre-Proposals, Letters of Intent and White Papers handled as Compared to Full Proposal?

SPA’s matrix to assist units in choosing the correct routing process
Is Institutional Signature Required?	Yes - Budget Detail or Cost Sharing is being provided	No - Budget Detail or Cost Sharing is NOT being provided
Yes – Sponsor requires Institutional Signature	Route through UVMClick - Grants	Route through UVMClick - Grants
No – Sponsor does not require Institutional Signature	Route through UVMClick - Grants	PI may submits directly to sponsor

Q2: What Circumstances Add Complexities to the Proposal Process and Require Additional Time for Development and Review?

There are many aspects of a proposal that can add complexities, some of them would include: adding a subaward as part of your submission, need for multiple project budgets or components (example: program projects, Cobras, Training Grants), Cost Share Requirements, International Collaborations, and International Sponsors.

Q3: What are some of the Common Problems to Avoid in the Proposal Process?

Waiting too long to involve SPA in the Proposal Process:

Leaving administrative issues until the end could result in delay approving the proposal and ultimately delay in submission with the need for last minute updates to budget, justification and scope of work.

Finalizing subawards too close to the proposal deadline:

It is the Principal Investigator/Unit Administrator’s responsibility to upload complete and accurate subaward material to UVMClick for review. Any PI/UA submitting a proposal with Subawards should work with his or her RA early to understand the requirements for Subawards at time of proposal development. This enable that all subaward documents are following UVM and Sponsor requirements prior to submission.

Cost Policy and Cost Category Mistakes:

SPA’s website has extensive information on direct cost categories, and your SPA RA can help you clarify whether you are using the correct cost categories. Some of the most commonly misused categories are:

Participant/trainee support costs, Equipment, Research subject costs, Patient care costs, Honoraria.

Missing Graduate Student Requirements:

Proposals must follow the requirements established for including graduate students on sponsored projects found here: http://www.uvm.edu/spa/?Page=budgetdevelopment.html#graduatestudentsupport. In particular, PI/UA should include the correct salary used in his or her business unit for graduate students

and include at least the minimum required tuition remission allowed by sponsor guidelines.

Providing Redundant Cost Information in Budget Justification:

The best practice is for PI/UA to provide the least amount of specific dollar amounts in the budget justification to meet sponsor requirements in order to prevent inconsistencies between proposal budgets and budget justifications.

Q4: What Level of Personnel Effort Should be Attributed to a Sponsored Project?

Personnel costs are likely going to be your biggest expense. Typically, personnel will come in at about 80 percent of your budget, with equipment, travel, and supplies at around 20 percent.

Budgeting Salary: Include as a direct cost line-item appropriate salary amounts for all project personnel corresponding to the amount of time they are devoting to the project.

Effort Commitments: Unless sponsor regulations or directions state otherwise, Principal Investigators and key personnel are expected to commit a level of effort to the project in proportion to the size and scope of the project.

UVM employees, faculty, and staff, committing time to the project should be listed in the personnel section of the budget with their Institutional Base Salary (IBS), committed time or effort devoted to the project, and the amount being requested from the sponsor.

In cases where there is no time commitment identified for the Principal Investigator, and the project is not exempt from UVM's minimum PI effort rule, a 1% minimum time commitment will be entered at time of award.

Q5: What Type of Cost Share is Allowed on Sponsored Projects?

Cost sharing is limited to mandatory cost sharing; however, voluntary committed cost sharing is allowed if the academic unit has determined that such a contribution is necessary to ensure a competitive proposal.

When cost sharing is mandatory, a copy or web link to the funding opportunity, regulations or guidelines must be submitted to SPA with the proposal.

When cost sharing is not mandatory or necessary for the competitiveness of a proposal, PIs and departments should refrain from making such commitments voluntarily.

In all situations, the use of cost sharing should be kept to a reasonable level because of the burden that cost sharing places on institutional or departmental resources.

Q6: Do I Need to Route Proposals Submitted to RFPs Hosted by UVM Entities?

If you are applying to an RFP hosted by a unit within UVM that is open to applicants outside of UVM, for example NESARE or Lake Champlain Sea Grant, then the application must be routed in UVMClick. If you are applying to an RFP that is only open to UVM applicants, for example a pilot research project for an

NIH COBRE award or a SPARK-VT award through OVPR, then you should not route a proposal through UVMClick.

Q7: What is the Importance of PI Certification for a UVMClick Funding Proposal Record?

The Principal Investigator has an overall responsibility to assemble a submission-ready proposal which meets all sponsor guidelines and UVM requirements. They may delegate components of proposal preparation to others, but must review all funding proposal records submitted for which they are listed as Principal Investigator as one of the four required levels of review (PI, department, college, SPA). All funding proposals must be PI Certified prior to submission to a sponsor. The submitting PI may certify at any time, from anywhere, once a funding proposal record is started in UVMClick.

Certification includes agreeing to the following:

That all statements and information provided within the proposal are true, complete, and accurate to the best of my knowledge.
I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims may subject me to criminal, civil, or administrative penalties.
I agree to comply with any resulting award terms and conditions and manage the project in accordance with University and Sponsor policies and procedures.
I accept responsibility for the conduct of the project and agree to provide all required progress reports and the final report in any resulting award.

Have a great weekend.

Julie Macy | pronouns: she/her

Assistant Director | Team Lead | Signing Official

Proposal Submission | Award Administration

University of Vermont