Proposal Guidance

• Compliance with sponsor guidelines
• Compliance with university, state, and federal policies
• Budget accuracy and proper assessment of negotiated rates
• Cost sharing
• Thoroughness of the budget justification
• Required approvals (IRB, IACUC, etc.)

How to Submit Your Proposal to SPA

To revise a previous submitted proposal that has not yet been awarded, please submit a Proposal Update eForm. If the update includes a budget change of 10% or greater, a revised Statement of Work or a Budget Impact Statement is required. The Budget Impact Statement should address how the scope of work has changed due to the budget revision.

Exceptions to the University's federal or state negotiated rates are granted only for special circumstances. Approved exceptions include:

• Sponsor has a published rate less than our negotiated rate and is a federal agency, state agency, or non-profit
• For non-profit foundations or charitable organizations without a published rate, 10% TDC may be used

Exceptions are granted only rarely for other circumstances. In order to request a lower or 0% F&A rate, seek approval from your unit executive officer to submit a waiver request to a college dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer. The waiver request should include:

• Name of the Principle Investigator, sponsor, and project title
• Brief description of the project, period of performance, and budget
• Reason that a reduced rate is necessary
• Any evidence of a sponsor policy or practice to support the request

If the academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative office approves the request, the request and approval should be submitted to SPA for approval at least 7 business days prior to the proposal deadline. SPA will review the request and send notification of the final determination.

Waiver requests are unlikely to be approved if the sponsor is a for-profit entity.