Office Of Research
College of Arts & Sciences
Start a Proposal
Once you have identified a potential funder and are ready to begin a new proposal, follow these steps. The College of Arts & Sciences Office of Research (CAS OOR), in collaboration with the university’s Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), is here to help. More proposal development resources can be found in OSP’s PI & Scholar Toolkit and on OSP’s Proposal Submission Process page.
- Fill out the CAS Intent to Submit Form (online). It takes less than 4 minutes! Notify us as soon as possible, preferably at least 6 weeks prior to sponsor deadline.
- If you are applying to a foundation, also submit the OSP: Applying to a Foundation Form. (online)
- If you are not sure where to start, contact us!
- Course Buyouts or Fellowships: if you plan to use external funding to reduce your teaching load, please review the CAS Policies on Research Assignments, Fellowships, and Off-Campus Assignments. This document discusses eligibility and procedures for fellowships, supplemental salary support, research assignments, off-campus assignments (and JOCA), and course buyouts. The document also contains examples of fellowship budget justifications.
- If your proposal involves a course buyout, you must complete the CAS Course Buyout Form (PDF), get your dept. head’s signature, and send to our office.
- If you are seeking a fellowship, please complete the CAS Fellowship Notification Form (PDF), get your dept. head’s signature, and send to our office.
- Subcontracts: Will you work with organizations or individuals outside of UNCG on the proposed project? Depending on the nature and extent of their involvement, these could be subcontractors, consultants, or a contracted service provider. (What’s the difference?) In many cases, collaborative proposals involve one or more subcontracts (aka “subrecipients” or “subawards”). Subcontracts involve the closest collaborators and require the most documentation. Whether UNCG will be a lead institution or a subcontract, the proposal must go through the Cayuse review and approval process before submission. CAS OOR can help communicate with external grants contacts. Learn more about subawards. In general, subrecipients will have to provide standard proposal documents (see Step 5) as well as:
- Interdisciplinary project: Proposals that involve investigators from different departments, colleges or schools can take more time to prepare and approve.
- The Cayuse IPF (“internal processing form”) collects key information and documents related to the proposal, delivers that info to different units for review and approval, and archives the proposal for future reference.
- Either the PI or the Pre-Award admin can create the IPF in the Cayuse Sponsored Programs (SP) System. If PI begins the IPF, please add the Pre-Award admin. To do this, on the “Investigators/Research Team” screen, search for “James Fogleman” and add as a “Proposal Editor” with 0 person months, 0 effort, and 0 credit.
- Do not “route” the IPF until all the required documents are attached and the form has been reviewed by CAS Pre-Award. Once the IPF is routed, only OSP can make changes or corrections.
- For more info on working in Cayuse, OSP has created FAQs, a PI certification guide, and other helpful resources.
- Depending on the sponsor, either the PI or Pre-Award admin may begin the sponsor application.
- For NSF proposals, the preferred system is Research.gov, and the PI must initiate the application. For NIH proposals, the preferred system is ASSIST, and the Pre-Award admin can start. For most other federal grants, Grants.gov is used.
- Basic institutional information you may need for filling out applications:
- UNCG Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) C13DF16LC3H4 (new UEI as of 3/29/22)
- UNCG DUNS Number 616152567 (Note: After April 1, 2022, nearly all federal grants now require UEI number, not the DUNS.)
- UNCG US Congressional District: NC-006
- Federal Employer ID (EIN): 56-6001468
- IACUC Assurance Number: D16-00414 (A3706-01)
- Authorized Institutional Signatory:
Joy Dismukes, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
1111 Spring Garden St., Suite 2601, Room 2702 MHRA Building
Greensboro, NC 27412-5013
Phone: (336) 334-5878
Email: [email protected] - Fiscal Officer / Fiscal Agent:
William Walters, Director, Office of Contracts & Grants
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
1111 Spring Garden Street, 2511 MHRA Building
Greensboro, NC 27412-5013
Phone: (336) 334-5091
Fax: (336) 256-2599
Email: [email protected]
- For more, visit OSP’s Institutional Info and Common Documents.
- For the IPF, we need a project title, start/end dates, an internal abstract, budget, and other info.
- Once the PI provides a spending plan, the CAS Pre-Award admin can prepare budget documents, including the internal budget spreadsheet, budget justification, and sponsor budget. The Pre-Award admin will also enter budget info into the IPF and sponsor application.
- Even if the sponsor does not require a detailed budget and budget narrative, OSP will!
- Check out our Budget Basics to find key info for your budget, or learn more about budget planning on OSP’s Budget Preparation page.
- Depending on the funder/funding opportunity, your proposal may include some/all of the following:
- “Business documents” such as: Budget, Budget justification, Facilities, Equipment, Personnel docs (such as Biosketches or Current & Pending Support), Data Management Plans, Letters of Support or Collaboration, etc.
- For links to required NSF and NIH personnel documents, see our Federal Grants resource page.
- For data management plans, UNCG Libraries has created a helpful DMP resource page.
- Subaward documents: Statement of Work, Letters of Intent, Subrecipient Commitment Form, Subrecipient Budget and Personnel docs, etc.
- Proposal documents: Abstract or Summary, Proposal Narrative, Project Description, Specific Aims, and Bibliography or References.
- “Business documents” such as: Budget, Budget justification, Facilities, Equipment, Personnel docs (such as Biosketches or Current & Pending Support), Data Management Plans, Letters of Support or Collaboration, etc.
- For more, visit OSP’s collection of Templates & Boilerplates.
- Only “final” documents should be uploaded to the IPF.
- The IPF should be routed after all proposal documents are finalized and uploaded to Cayuse and the sponsor application.
- Our goal is to route the IPF at least 8 business days before the sponsor deadline. This will allow for full review and timely submission.
- The IPF routing chain is: PI and Co-PIs > department head(s) > college (unit) approver(s) > Office of Research Integrity (for COI) > Office of Sponsored Programs.
- The PI and Co-PI’s must certify the proposal in Cayuse SP. For guidance, check out this certification guide how to.
- The PI, Co-PI’s and Co-Investigators must complete a research-based COI (conflict of interest) disclosure for this proposal in the Cayuse Outside Interests system. Here is a great video explaining this “Research-based disclosure” process. After filling in the form, remember to scroll up and click “submit.”
- A research-based COI disclosure must be completed for each Cayuse IPF that is routed. UNCG faculty must also complete an annual COI disclosure. If an annual disclosure has not been completed, the IPF will not move forward.
- In addition to the research-based COI disclosure and the annual COI disclosure, faculty on funded research projects must complete a COI training every 3 years. An expired COI training will not hold up the IPF, but if the proposal is successful, failure to complete COI training can delay award set-up.
- CAS OOR cannot answer questions about COI. Please contact the COI office for more info or to learn the status of your disclosures.
- Only UNCG faculty and staff must certify the IPF and complete COI. External collaborators do not have access to our Cayuse system.
- After the IPF is certified and approved by the department and CAS and COI disclosures are complete, the IPF moves to Budget Review. The OSP Budget Reviewer will checks internal and sponsor budget docs against the sponsor budget guidance. If errors or questions arise, OSP will contact the Pre-Award admin who can often resolve the issue. If significant budget changes are required, we will consult the PI.
- Once the proposal passes budget review, it moves to the Grant Specialist Review or “GS Review.” narrative, and other documents. The Grant Specialist reviews the full application package to be sure it complies with sponsor guidance. The IPF with finalized documents should reach the GS Review stage at least 5 business days before the sponsor deadline.
- Find your department’s OSP and CGA contacts here.
- Depending on the sponsor, the application could be submitted by the Grant Specialist, Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), or the faculty member. Check with the Pre-Award admin or Grant Specialist to clarify who will submit.
- Before submission, the Grants Specialist will confirm with PI the proposal is ready to submit. If the PI will submit, the Grant Specialist will give approval for submission.
- OSP’s standard work week is Monday-Friday, with the office closing at 5:00 pm. Therefore, all items must be submitted to OSP in time to allow for 5:00 pm submission, even if the sponsor’s deadline is later in the day. Any exceptions must be authorized by the Director of OSP. If a proposal reaches OSP on the day of the deadline, the proposal will be considered a “Red Zone” submission.
Need more help?
Contact CAS OOR Staff:
For other inquires:
College of Arts & Sciences Office of Research
The CAS Office of Research is located on the first floor of the Foust Building, Office Suite 100.
call or fax us
Phone: 336.334.4757
Fax: 336.334.4260
Mailing address
The College of Arts and Sciences
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
100 Foust Building
PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
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