Proposal Submission - Grants
Application Process
Writing and submitting a grant requires a significant commitment of time both from the Principal Investigator (PI) as well as the the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) staff. Our goal is to work collaboratively with Appalachian staff and faculty to assist with the submission process; to that end, we have developed a list of responsibilities for each party.
Principal Investigator (PI) Responsibilities
The PI is responsible for the following tasks:
- Reading the grant guidelines and being familiar with all required application documents. The PI is responsible for insuring that all submission guidelines are adhered to for the following: technical requirements for the narrative, bio-sketch information, publication lists, and resume/vita details.
- Providing ORSP with a URL or a hard copy of the guidelines for the program or sponsoring agency.
- Checking to insure that the particular program does not have a limited submissions policy. If it does, the faculty or staff member should contact the Office of Proposal Development immediately.
- Writing and assembling the narrative. It is the PI or Project Director’s responsibility to insure that formatting guidelines have been followed.
- Creating a working budget and entering all budget figures into the Appalachian budget template, if required, and/or the sponsor budget form.
- Abiding by all state and federal laws regulating how grant funds may be spent and adhering to Appalachian policy when developing the grant budget.
- Communicating with all appropriate parties both within and external to the University.
- Completing all application forms, with the exception of the federal assurances and certifications, and signature pages requiring an Authorized Official Representative (AOR) signature.
- Uploading all documents for an online submission.
- Requesting and obtaining required letters of support from Appalachian or other partners.
- Completing the Internal Processing Form (IPF), obtaining all approvals, and submitting IPF to ORSP prior to proposal submission.
- Submitting the grant proposal in a final and completed state to the ORSP no less than five working days prior to the sponsor deadline. A final proposal has all the required documents in final draft status with all required appendices and/or letters of support.
Office of Sponsored Programs Responsibilities
The Office of Sponsored Programs is responsible for the following tasks:
- Insuring all costs have been calculated properly including Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs.
- Insuring that Time and Effort of faculty or staff time on the proposed project is accurate and will not create a conflict.
- Providing assurance to the University that all proposed costs are allowable, allocable, and reasonable.
- Reviewing potential subcontractors to insure they meet the same compliance standards as Appalachian.
- Reviewing the proposal for compliance considerations such as Internal Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) review, Conflicts of Interest, Export Controls, and safety concerns.
- Completing all federal assurances and certifications and signature pages requiring an Authorized Official Representative (AOR) signature.
- Checking for application completeness prior to submission. The ORSP staff will review all applications to insure they adhere to the technical requirements of the sponsor. However, ultimately, PI or Project Director is responsible for insuring that the application addresses all the required criteria, is in the required format and meets any page restrictions, and that supplemental materials or appendices are formatted properly.
- Submitting the grant application to the sponsor on behalf of the University.
