Chapter
5-
Coordinating Grant Approvals And Submissions
On Campus
Faculty
and staff projects usually involve committing some part of the
University--its facilities, faculty offices, Business Office time,
equipment, or state departmental or Endowment Association funds.
These commitments have to be coordinated with the university's
other responsibilities. Therefore, before an external proposal
can be submitted, it must have the approval of all offices and
units of the university that will be affected if the project is
funded, as well as offices and units that normally sign off on
a proposal.
The university, therefore, requires
that applications for externally supported projects be processed
through and submitted to the Grants Office for review and to various
other offices that may require prior review and approval. The
principal investigator or the program coordinator, department
chair, Dean, and individual faculty members are not authorized
to submit proposals directly to granting agencies or to sign contracts
with outside organizations on behalf of the university. Only an
authorized officer (the Vice President for Administration and
Finance, Provost, or the President) can sign a grant or contract
for the university. In certain instances, only the President can
serve as the required signator.
You should allow at least five (5)
working days for the completion of the reviews and approvals on
campus. Although the process can sometimes be accomplished more
quickly, the "real world" is not always flexible. Please
consider that when you contact the Grants Office, staff time already
may be committed to other faculty members or to other activities
within the Graduate School. Unusually large proposals or proposals
with elaborate institutional commitments of time, equipment, funds
and/or personnel will require more lead time for review at each
level. Any changes required by the on-campus signatories will
take even more time before the grant can be approved locally.
Signed compliance forms are required,
so plan your schedule to include the official signatures on all
forms. The various compliance forms are contractual, i.e., when
they are signed, they are viewed as correct and commit the university
to a certain program or action. You will note a variety of forms
as each federal agency has its own forms. Among these will be
forms such as for disbarment, problems with loans or lobbying
activities, or conflict of interest. Be sure that you understand
what each form means and what is being committed to or certified.
Your proposal will move through
the approval process faster if you do as many of the following
things as possible:
- Discuss
the proposal in advance with your chair, your dean, and any
service centers (Computing Center, Physical Plant, librarian,
Virtual College, etc.) that will be heavily involved if the
grant is approved. Be sure they are willing to make the commitments
you want them to make. You will be able to improve your proposal
by getting their advice, and they will be able to review your
proposal more quickly when it comes to them for approval.
- Be sure the Grants Office staff has a copy of the sponsor's guidelines
and forms well in advance of the deadline so that staff may
check the guidelines, assist in providing information for forms,
and determine if all key elements are in place while you are
still writing and editing. Be sure to tell the Grants Office
staff whether the deadline is for the sponsor's receipt of the
proposal or merely for getting the proposal postmarked. Note:
Agencies appear to be moving more to deadlines which state that
the proposal is due in the sponsor’s office by a specified
time, i.e., 2:00 p.m., September 1, 1997. This means that the
proposal may have to be sent Federal Express or other services
about two to three days prior to the deadline. Remember to read
the deadline section carefully.
- Be sure the Grants Office staff has your office and home phone
numbers so that you can be contacted quickly if any questions
or problems arise while your grant application is under campus
review.
- Prepare the text as thoroughly as possible on a word processor.
- Discuss the budget in advance with the Grants Office staff. Information
about fringe benefits, travel, and other budget items is available
in the Grants Office, or you will be advised of the appropriate
contact person.
Two
Important Forms Must Accompany The Proposal While It Is Being
Routed:
1.
Project Proposal Sign-off Sheet (pink sheet). For all proposals,
a sign-off is required with signatures from your chair, your Dean,
the Grants Officer, the Provost, and the Vice President for Administration
and Finance. Other approval signatures may be necessary, depending
on the nature of the project, such as the Director of the Computing
and Telecommunications Center or the Director of the Physical
Plant. The Proposal Sign-off Sheet must be completed with all
necessary signatures before a grant application is forwarded to
the sponsor.
2. Preliminary Notice
of Grant Proposal (yellow sheet). This form provides summary
information for the university reviewers on what facilities, services,
and personnel are being proposed for the project and who will
pay for them. The project director needs to complete and sign
this form, check the items that apply, and add any needed explanatory
comments in the blank spaces. Campus reviewers can then investigate
the details in the text and budget. If matching contributions
from Fort Hays State University or other organizations are being
promised to the sponsor, be sure to specify which unit or person
is making the commitment, and from which account (by account number)
the funds are promised. The individual providing the matching
funds must sign the forms.
The campus Grants Office personnel
and other reviewers who sign off on the proposal must have the
final form of the budget and a "near-final" form of
the text for review. The text should be complete and readable
except for detailed adjustments of format and phrasing. These
final polishing touches can be applied to the text while the proposal
is in circulation. The budget must not be changed after the signatures
are acquired.
There are two circumstances that
the full approval process through the Grants Office may not be
necessary:
- An
application for an individual consultancy or fellowship, when
absolutely no use of the university services or any facilities
will be made, may not need review prior to submission. However,
someone will have to approve your time off and/or approve your
replacement. Note: Consultant activities
must be approved by the Dean, Chair, and Provost on the approved
consultant forms. Also, review the Regents Policy manual statement
on consulting.
- An
application for a gift or donation, rather than a grant or contract
for the performance of some work or service, must be approved
through the Endowment Association.
Note:
Obtaining and processing gifts and donations is the responsibility
of the Endowment Association. In some instances, it may be unclear
whether the proposed funding should be considered a gift or should
be considered a grant. There are many issues involved in the distinction
between a gift and a grant or contract revolving primarily around
what the sponsor expects in return for the support given. Handling
the situation in one way if the sponsor expects the other creates
confusion and delay, so if you are in doubt, please consult the
Grants Office and the Endowment Association.
Note:
Proposals are not exempt from the full approval process
merely because the deadline is too close, or because the sponsor
initiated the idea, or even because the funding has already arrived.
Every proposal must have full campus approval before a
grant is formalized; no proposal should be submitted without the
appropriate signatures on the approval form.
The
signatures of approval become the university's expression of commitment
to your project. You and the sponsor then have the assurance that
the university approves of the submission and will honor its commitments.
Note: The university and the Grants Office reserve the
right to withdraw proposals that have not been properly approved
or to return funds granted for proposals that have not been properly
approved.
All
Funds Are Maintained On Campus:
All
grants and contracts are processed through Fort Hays State University
and Not through any external agency, bank, or through the
Endowment Association. All funds will be processed through
the Business Office and come under state and university rules,
regulations, and policies. If you have a specific circumstance
where you believe that the funds should be maintained in a place
other than the university, the President of Fort Hays State University,
the Provost, the Vice President for Administration and Finance,
and your College Dean must approve the maintenance of the funds
elsewhere, including designating where the funds will be maintained.
Federal and state funds probably will never be approved for any
place but the campus.
Memorandum
To:
FHSU Faculty Member
From:
Dr. James L. Forsythe - Grants Officer
Subject:
Preliminary Notice Form And Project Sign-Off Sheet
Please use the attached form when
you begin the planning process of submitting an application for
extramural funding. Additional copies may be acquired from the
Grants Office of the Graduate School, Picken #202.
Please complete the form, obtaining
the necessary approval signatures for cost-sharing commitments
well in advance of the submission date. It is important for administrative
and academic units to understand the extent of their obligations
to the proposed grant project.
The use of the form should allow
any questions regarding space, budget, assigned time, etc. to
be resolved ahead of time. Please let me know if you have questions
or need assistance in its completion.
It is our intent to eliminate the
"4:30 p.m. flurry" that precedes the rush to the Post
Office on the mailing deadline or the "2:30 p.m. hurry"
for Federal Express or other carriers. Therefore, the Preliminary
Notice Form and the Project Proposal Sign-off Sheet should
be routed at least five working days prior to the date earmarked
for submission.
The Grants Office appreciates your
cooperation, and we welcome your suggestions for further development
and improvement in our university grant procedure process.
Thank you.
Checklist
For Submitting Proposals
Fort
Hays State University
____1.
Has the entire proposal been proofread before it is to be submitted
for review? Prior to this step, a colleague should read and review
the document for clarity.
____2.
Has the final proposal and budget been discussed with:
__your
department chair?
__your
dean?
__the
Grant’s Office?
____3.
Have you double checked to make certain that all the assurances
have been included? Have you submitted all the necessary vitas
and letters of support?
____4.
Have you obtained the necessary on-campus approvals?
___Obtained
the Proposal Sign-off Sheet and Preliminary Notice
of Grant Proposal?
___Completed
the portions of these two required forms?
___Obtained
approval of your department chair and dean?
___Obtained
the Human Subject or Animal Welfare certification or approval
(if applicable)?
___Insured
that a current Conflict of Interest form is on file?
___Submitted
the complete proposal, guidelines and sign-off sheets for review
to the Grants Office?
___Obtained
the signatures of the Provost and Vice President for Administration
and Finance?
___Obtained
the signature of others on campus who would be affected by the
grant (i.e., Physical Plant, Computer and Telecommunication
Center, etc.)?
____5.
Have you made corrections as indicated by the internal (on-campus)
reviewers?
____6.
Have you made the appropriate number of copies? (Remember these
should be of good quality and clean). The following will aid you
in determining the number of copies needed:
a.
Required copies for the funding agency. (Should be specified
in the application guidelines).
b.
Grants Office
c.
Department Chair
d.
College Dean
e.
Human Subject or Animal Review Board (if applicable)
f.
Vice President for Administration and Finance
g.
Copies for the proposal writing team and/or for any other appropriate
persons/agencies.
____7.
Have you made certain each copy has all pages in the correct order
and that each page is right side up? Have you double checked all
budget figures?
____8.
Have you allowed adequate mailing time?
____9.
Have you supplied the original sign-off documents and the final
proposal version to the Grants Office of the Graduate School?
