TAMRF - Preaward

Proposal Preparation and Submission

YOUR PROPOSAL ADMINISTRATOR

The Preaward Department is staffed with Proposal Administrators who will work with you on your proposal from the beginning stages to final submission. Proposal Administrators (PAs) are assigned by university departments or colleges.

To find your PA, please select this link: http://rf-web.tamu.edu/preaward/PAList.pdf.

The Research Foundation asks that proposals are logged in at least 14 days prior to the due date. This will allow time to process the budget and prepare the proposal for routing (the internal approval process). TAMU System policy requires for proposals to be completely routed for required signatures prior to submission.

When you notify the Research Foundation of your intention to submit a proposal, you will be asked a series of standard questions pertinent to that proposal. These questions allow us to log in your proposal and start working on it while you continue to work on the scientific text. If you would like to log in via e-mail, click here for a log in sheet.

E-mail the log in sheet to: preaward@rf-mail.tamu.edu. The following information will be needed, whether you choose to log in by e-mail or by telephone:

Sponsor and program name

Due date at agency

Program guidelines, if applicable

Names of Co-Principal Investigators

Title of proposed project

Preliminary budget information including project dates, information on any subcontract agreements that will be budgeted (including their contact information) - it is critical that we receive information on subcontracts early in the process; revisions or lateness of such information delay the preparation and submission of your proposal

Routing (draft) text

Protocol for special considerations (animal, humans, or rDNA)

Whom to contact if you will be absent during the proposal preparation

A Research Foundation number will be assigned to your proposal for monitoring and follow-up.

ASSURANCES

You will also be sent a “Required Assurances” sheet to complete and return to your Proposal Administrator. Assurances are required for each proposal and must be returned to your PA before the proposal can be submitted. You will be asked if you will have any significant financial interest in the planned project. You will also be asked to check compliance items: human subjects, lab animals, rDNA, infectious biohazards, etc.

There are additional assurances for Health Science Center faculty and for proposals going to NIH. These will be sent to you by your PA and must be returned prior to routing.

BUDGET PREPARATION AND ROUTING

Since budget numbers must be finalized before the internal routing process can begin, the budget is usually the first step in the proposal process. Your PA will review the program guidelines and prepare a draft spreadsheet for you from preliminary budget information you provide (personnel percent effort, funds needed for travel, supplies, etc.). The draft budget must conform to sponsor and TAMU requirements. Once you approve the budget, your PA will prepare the sponsor budget forms and internal forms to begin the routing process.

The Research Foundation uses an electronic system for internal routing. You will receive an e-mail notifying you that you have a proposal to review and approve. Instructions for approving will be available as well as your log-in information. When you approve the proposal using your unique log-in, you have officially approved the proposal. Once you approve, it moves to the next person on the list. The “Routing Package” will be electronically circulated to the Principal Investigator, and Co-Investigators, Department Head(s), Dean(s), and System Member(s) for approval. Completed routing is required before any proposal can be submitted. This may take four days or longer so please allow time for this process.

COST SHARING

Cost sharing is defined in the federal regulations as project costs not borne by the sponsor. Any cost sharing on a project must be documented at the proposal stage. Therefore, when preparing the budget, if you do not request funds from the sponsor to cover your time, any time for other personnel, or other expenses, please discuss this with your PA. Some projects require “matching” funds. These, too, must be documented at the proposal stage.

FACILITIES & ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (Indirect Costs)

Indirect costs, or Facilities and Administrative costs, are charged on all proposals if allowed by the sponsor. The current rate agreement information for the TAMU System and the Research Foundation is:

Dated: January 4, 2008
Negotiated with: DHHS
Effective for dates: 9/1/07 – 8/31/11

Indirect Cost Rates:
On-campus: 46.5% MTDC (Modified Total Direct Costs)
Off-Campus: 26.0% MTDC (Must have prior approval to use this)

Others: contact your Proposal Administrator

** Items Currently exempt from the MTDC base:

Equipment (over $5,000)

Capital expenditures

Charges for patient care

Tuition remission

Rental cost of off-site facilities

Scholarships

Fellowships

Subcontracts – excess over first $25K of each subcontract

INDIRECT COST RETURN

The Research Foundation returns the Facilities and Administrative Costs received from sponsors to the awarded System Member. The Research Foundation charges a flat fee based upon the awarded direct costs (see “TAMRF Project Administrative Rates”). We do not manage the process of returning indirect cost funds to individual investigators or departments. Questions regarding indirect costs return policies of System Members should be addressed to your department or unit head.

SUBMISSIONS

The final text must be forwarded to the Proposal Administrator at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to the mail or submission deadline. Final text and other related forms can be submitted to us by e-mail, in PDF format if final proposal submission is required to be PDF. When the final text is received, a Proposal Administrator will:

Review the final text for compliance with the sponsor’s guidelines

Assemble the proposal into the specified format

Submit the complete proposal to the Preaward Coordinator for a final quality check

Send the final text in PDF format for the P.I. to approve

Submit proposal according to sponsor guidelines

Note: Grants.gov proposals are submitted one week early in order to avoid last minute submission problems. While this is not a mandatory deadline, last-minute submissions are prone to error and Grants.gov’s busy web servers sometimes have trouble handling high volumes of proposals on busy deadline days. Last minute submissions will be handled on a case-by-case basis, to the best of our ability.

COPIES OF SUBMITTED PROPOSAL

Copies of the submitted proposal are prepared and e-mailed to the researcher and other signature authorities approximately one week after submission to the sponsor.

EXECUTIVE REVIEW SIGNATURE FORM

Specific instructions: If your proposal requires the signature of the Provost, President or Chancellor, please complete the attached form and submit in advance to the Preaward office of the Research Foundation. We will need this completed form with a draft version of your budget and text, ONE WEEK prior to the normal routing period.

The offices named above will need to review your proposal draft and the submitted form before they sign it, and the extra time allocated to this process is to give them time for this review.

Click here for the Executive Signature Review Form.

If you have any questions regarding this process, please call the Preaward office at the Research Foundation, at 845-8652.