ROWAN UNIVERSITY POLICY 

Title: Internal Deadlines for Proposals to External Funders       
Subject: Office of Sponsored Programs      
Policy No: OSP:2015:07                                                            
Applies: University-wide                   
Issuing Authority: Vice President for Research
Responsible Officer:  Director, Office of Sponsored Programs
Adopted: 08/28/2015
Last Revision: 01/18/2019
Last Reviewed: 01/18/2019

I.     PURPOSE

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is committed to the timely submission of complete, accurate, and fully compliant proposals. In order to achieve this, it is critical that OSP receive proposals in sufficient time to provide adequate review. This policy is in place to assure that proposals submitted from Rowan University’s Office of Sponsored Programs are processed in a timely manner and are submitted in compliance with all sponsor and University requirements. These deadlines do not override departmental or college deadlines in advance of those cited below.

II.    ACCOUNTABILITY

The Office of Sponsored Programs shall implement this policy starting September 1, 2015 under the oversight of the Vice President for Research. The Deans, Associate Research Deans, and the respective Department Chair/Unit Heads shall enforce compliance with this policy.

III.    POLICY

1. OSP is the only office vested by Rowan University with the authority to sign and submit research proposals on behalf of Rowan University. OSP must verify that a proposal is current, complete, and accurate. Therefore, OSP must review, approve, and sign/electronically sign all proposals, including those when Rowan will be a subcontractor prior to submission to the funding agency. Faculty members are not authorized to submit proposals without prior College, Department, Center, Institute, and OSP review and approval, as relevant. This is done using Rowan’s Cayuse SP web-based grants management software.
2. OSP office hours are from 8:30-4:30. All business must be conducted during these hours unless advanced arrangements have been made with your assigned Proposal Specialist. Only exceptional circumstances will be considered.
3. The following deadlines apply to proposals submitted via OSP staff:
   1. Internal approvals – 5 business days in advance
      1. Internal approvals via Cayuse SP should be received by OSP no later than five business days prior to submission. This provides adequate time for all parties involved to review the proposed project information. Each electronic signature indicates the signer believes that the proposed research or sponsored activity will be beneficial to all concerned and that his/her unit assumes responsibility for commitment of resources or persons under the unit’s jurisdiction as indicated by the proposal.
      2. For multi-disciplinary projects, all associated investigators, chairs, and deans must endorse.
         1. Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD) – Your endorsement of the proposal certifies that you are the author of the proposal and determined that the requested time, facilities, equipment, and funding are sufficient to accomplish the proposed project or task. Further, you agree to be responsible for the proper conduct of the proposed program and to abide by all applicable laws and the policies and regulations of Rowan and the proposed funding source
         2. Department Chair – Your endorsement certifies that you reviewed the proposal and concur with the representations of the PI or PD. It also certifies that the PI/PD’s teaching load will be compatible with the proposed time requirement of the project and that adequate space, equipment, and facilities are either already available or required modifications/new additions have been approved and the funding source identified.
         3. Dean – Your endorsement certifies that you concur with the representations of the PI/PD and Department Chair and attest that the proposed activity contributes to the attainment of the goals for the college. Further, your endorsement signifies approval of any identified college funding commitments.
         4. OSP – Our endorsement certifies that the budget is complete and accurate and that the proposal meets the requirements of the sponsoring agency as well as Rowan. OSP’s endorsement also certifies that the proposal is, to the best of OSP’s knowledge, complete and accurate. Finally, OSP’s endorsement ensures that Rowan is recovering the maximum allowable Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs except in those cases where F&A rates are being limited by the sponsor.
   2. Final budget – 5 business days in advance
      1. The final detailed budget should be provided to OSP no later than five business days prior to submission. This provides adequate time for OSP to review and approve the budget, as well as to transpose the budget into the required sponsored format or template.
   3. Final proposals - 3 business days in advance
      
      1. A final proposal consists of completed science and business components including, but not limited to, a final research plan, all investigator biographical information, an OSP-approved budget and justification, and relevant research compliance documents.
      2. Final proposals require significant time to review and are required 3 business days in advance. OSP will provide comprehensive review of the proposal and relay any issues/concerns to the Principle Investigator (PI) prior to submitting. Note that submission may be unexpectedly delayed by grants.gov server congestion during peak deadlines or Rowan network outages, so earliest submission is encouraged.
      3. OSP encourages the use of FastLane/Research.gov for National Science Foundation proposals and Cayuse 424 for all other federal submissions.
   4. Submissions that do not meet the above deadlines will be added to the queue for review. Proposals may be submitted by OSP without review of required components or formatting. Further, the deadline may be missed if OSP staff are working on proposals that met the above deadlines. Completed proposals will not be submitted unless OSP has had sufficient time to review and approve the budget.
   5. Waivers to the above deadlines will only be made for the following reasons:
      
      1. Official university closure (e.g. inclement weather)
      2. Due to PI or Co-PI serious illness, injury, or death of family member
      3. If documented notification of the funding opportunity announcement was made less than two weeks prior to the deadline
      4. Due to sponsor complications or sponsor system technical issues experienced prior to the above deadlines, with documented support
   6. Limited submission opportunities are funding opportunities that place a limit on the number or types of applications Rowan can submit, either as a pre- or full proposal. Such restrictions are included in the grant announcement. 
      1. Interested teams should notify the Office of Proposal Development (OPD) prior to the internal deadline. If more teams are interested in submitting than permitted per the announcement, OPD will facilitate an internal competition to determine which proposal(s) move forward.