Proposal Submission

OSP Proposal Submission Deadline Policy

To provide the highest quality service, the OSP has revised its internal proposal submission deadline policy. Adherence to this policy will help to ensure that each proposal is carefully reviewed for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with sponsor guidelines and university policies. Additionally, the revised deadlines are in place to mitigate the negative impacts on other faculty and staff as a result of OSP pre-award staff having to pivot to address late/last-minute proposal submissions.

• STEP ONE: Advance Notice Requirements – The following are OSP’s expectations for advance notice by the PI/PD to OSP of a pending proposal to an external sponsor:
  ● A minimum of ten (10) business days advance notice prior to the sponsor deadline for single institution submissions (MSU only).
  ● A minimum of fifteen (15) business days advance notice prior to the sponsor deadline for multi-institution submissions (MSU as lead, with one or more collaborating institutions).

Applicants are required to begin the Institutional Processing Form (IPF) in CAYUSE SP in order to be assigned an OSP Pre-Award Specialist.

• STEP TWO: Internal Proposal Application Review and Approval Deadlines – Applicants MUST provide their assigned OSP Pre-Award Specialist with FINAL DRAFTS of all required proposal application sections (including all budget documents and attachments) a minimum of three (3) business days prior to the sponsor deadline in order to conduct a full review of the proposal. MSU faculty and staff may continue to perfect their proposal abstract/summary and narrative, however, the administrative components of the proposal—e.g., budget, budget justification, bio-sketch, current/pending support, subcontractor documentation etc., must be in final draft format (in particular, the project budget as changes in the project budget very often impact other proposal sections).
• Workload and staffing levels considered, OSP will not be able to guarantee the review, approval and/or submission of any proposal application out of compliance with this internal deadline policy. Additionally, proposals that are received outside of the deadline policy will not receive a full review. They will receive a limited review for compliance with institutional policies and guidelines.
• Finally, proposals must be fully routed and approved in CAYUSE SP prior to submission.

OSP’s review of proposals consists of much more than a budgetary review. Many sponsors prescribe extremely specific content and formatting requirements that in some cases, if not followed, may result in a proposal being returned without review. The above guidelines are in place to prevent that occurrence and as noted, assist proposal applicants in submitting a complaint, high-quality proposal.

OSP thanks you for your cooperation and we look forward to working with you on your submission!

To view the entire proposal submission policy, to include OSP’s advance notice guidelines, please visit: Proposal Submission Deadline Policy

Tracking Time and Effort

A PI’s time and effort picture is a snapshot in time and can easily change from one day to another. For example, a proposal that was submitted six months ago may be funded tomorrow and therefore change the PI’s time and effort picture.  Consequently, to assist PI’s in tracking their committed time and effort on active sponsored awards, OSP has developed a Time and Effort Map (T&E Map).‌

Proposal Development Resources

• Writing a Grant Proposal 101, National Organization of Research Development Professionals
• Proposal Writing Short Course, The Foundation Center
• How to Prepare a Winning Government-Funded Proposal by Karen M. Marking
• Contacting a Program Officer