Proposal Administration

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) is committed to supporting the University community in proposal development through value-added, high-quality service and professional partnerships with Principal Investigators (PIs) in order to facilitate innovative research and creative programs.

ORSP will work collaboratively with PIs and the sponsored program administration to prepare grant applications, serving as a dedicated central resource in all matters related to University and sponsor policies for proposal development and submission.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs provides the following services in the support of PIs:

• Review sponsor guidelines, identify key requirements
• Assist with budget preparation, related documentation and proposal submission forms
• Establish principal investigator accounts within a sponsor’s electronic submission portal
• Provide instruction on how to use a sponsor’s electronic grant administration system / portal
• Prepare required sponsor administrative forms
• Ensure that all university information included within the proposal is accurate and complete
• Serve as the University’s administrative contact and proposal manager for multi-institutional proposals (pre-award only)
• Contact and collaborate with partner institutions to secure all necessary subcontract documentation
• Review the final proposal package to ensure all administrative requirements have been met
• Obtain supervisory approvals and provide institutional approval for the proposal
• Complete the final submission package, upload final documents and forms, and submit to the sponsor

Proposal Routing & Approvals

All sponsored project proposals and/or applications must receive a review and approval by the University of North Carolina at Asheville (University) administration prior to the principal investigators submission of the project to the sponsor.

• The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) assists the principal investigator (PI) by reviewing the proposal for compliance with sponsor guidelines and University requirements.
• ORSP has the legal and fiduciary responsibility to ensure compliance with University, sponsor, state and federal regulations, laws, and policies.

The full proposal must arrive at Sponsored Projects a minimum of five (5) full working days prior to submission deadline. This lead-time allows University administrators adequate time to review the sponsor’s requirements and the proposal. Further, any revisions to a previously submitted proposal must also receive a review by ORSP (and possibly others) prior to its submission to the sponsor.

Click here to open our matrix of pre-submission proposal review activities performed by ORSP and the appropriate University administration.

Proposals Arriving Late to Sponsored Projects

In the event that a proposal arrives to ORSP on the deadline day, pre-award will perform a modified review process. This review typically involves examining the proposal’s budget and regulatory compliance to mitigate major concerns. With key issues either unaddressed or mitigated, the principal investigator will receive a notification from ORSP to submit their proposal provisionally to the sponsor. Following submission, ORSP will conduct an official review and route the proposal to the University administration for consideration. As this is a provisional proposal, University administrator may recommend the withdrawal of the project or revision of proposal elements (e.g., budget, scope of work, commitments, etc.). Based on reviewer’s recommendations, the principal investigator will need to contact the sponsor and request the appropriate action to take place (e.g., withdraw proposal, revise budget, change scope of work, etc.) before considering the project for funding.

The principal investigator will provide all updated materials to ORSP for incorporation into the official pre-award record.

Proposal Review and Routing Process

The University utilizes electronic email for its internal approval routing process. Principal investigators initiate this process by emailing their proposal packet and all supporting documents to ORSP (ltoms@unca.edu). Upon receipt, ORSP will conduct a review of the proposal packet and identifying any concerns or major considerations (e.g., faculty release, major equipment purchases, new unit creation, etc.) using a compliance matrix. Upon completion of the review, ORSP will route the entire packet via email to the project team and their supervisory authority for approvals and/or mitigation (see Routing Process Flow Chart – under development). ORSP is available to answer any questions regarding proposal requirements, budget preparation, and other concerns that University approval authorities may have regarding the sponsored program. ORSP will officially notify the principal investigator when a proposal receives University approval for submission. Principal investigators should not submit a proposal to a sponsor until the University endorses the sponsored program.

Proposal Submission

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.

The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs reviews each award document to determine its acceptability under federal and state laws, sponsor guidelines and terms and conditions, and state and University policies and procedures.

Awards can be bilateral (both parties must sign) or unilateral (no UNC Asheville signature is required). Both types of awards undergo the award review process.

Negotiation

Bilateral agreements include terms and conditions specific to the funded project. ORSP works with University General Counsel, the principal investigator and sponsor to negotiate terms and conditions that are acceptable to both parties.

Terms that may be subject to negotiation include but are not limited to:

• Statement of Work
• Budget
• The reporting requirements, both technical and financial
• Start and end dates
• Confidentiality
• Export control
• Audit requirements
• Invoicing requirement
• Indemnity and liability
• F&A (indirect) costs
• Ownership of technical developments
• Limitations on publication
• Requests for secrecy
• Intellectual property issues
• Payment schedules
• Subject injury
• Termination
• Governing law

Unilateral agreements generally contain standard terms and conditions that do not require negotiation; however, unilateral agreements may require negotiation if the sponsor includes special terms, conditions, restrictions, or specific project requirements.

Acceptance

The Chancellor has delegated signatory authority for accepting sponsored program awards to specifically designated individuals within Academic Affairs. UNC Asheville is the recipient of all sponsored program awards. Once all parties (e.g., ORSP, principal investigator, General Counsel and sponsor) agree to the terms and conditions of the agreement, ORSP will seek the endorsement from one of the administrators having signatory authority. No other individuals may endorse these awards without prior approval from the Chancellor.

Notification

The award document is an official agreement that governs the conduct of the project. Upon endorsement of the agreed terms and conditions, ORSP will provide a copy of the award notification to the principal investigator and Office of the Special Funds Accountant for account generation. The Office of Grants and Research Development will initiate a meeting to familiarize the principal investigator with post-award management activities (e.g., compliance requirements, invoicing, departmental management, sub-recipient agreements, etc.). This typically occurs within the first couple of weeks of the award but it largely driven by the principal investigator’s schedule and interest.

Limited Submission Proposals

Some agencies limit the number of applications a single institution (or components of the institution) may submit. UNC Asheville refers to these types of programs as Limited Submission Programs. Agencies may vary on how they impose such a limitation, for example, limiting an institution to 1-3 applications for the entire institution, only allowing 1-3 applications per major unit or division within the institution, or by limiting the number of applications a department within the institution may submit. At UNC Asheville, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) coordinates such Limited Submission Programs.

ORSP employs the following process in coordinating such programs:

• In the months prior to a program deadline, the Office of Grants and Research Development will provide an announcement summarizing the program to the appropriate units or campus community. These announcements outline the procedures by which interested applicants can apply, including an internal deadline for submission of required materials.
• Required materials usually involves the University’s Limited Submission Application as well as any additional information requested by the administration.
• After the internal deadline has passed, ORSP will provide all submission materials to the appropriate office(s). ORSP works with the Chief Research Officer, Office of the Deans and the Office of the Provost, as appropriate, on such programs. These Offices will select an internal review panel to choose a project(s) for development and submission
• Once final selections are made, ORSP will notify all candidates of the outcome of internal reviews. Applicants should note that written feedback or summary statements are not available from such reviews.

While the Office of Grants and Research Development makes every effort to proactively identify all Limited Submission Programs well in advance of their deadline, many new programs are added by agencies each year. Investigators who identify such programs directly should immediately contact the Office of Grants and Research Development so that the appropriate internal review process can occur. Approval for submission to such programs is not granted on a first-come, first-served basis.