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, Grants Officer or the President) can sign a grant or contract for the university. In certain instances, only the President can serve as the required signatory.

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, 2000. This means that the proposal may have to be sent by special delivery 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 Officer. Information about fringe benefits, travel, and other budget items is available in the Grants Office, or by contacting personnel in the Business office.

THE PROJECT PROPOSAL SIGN-OFF FORM MUST ACCOMPANY THE PROPOSAL WHILE IT IS BEING ROUTED:

Project Proposal Sign-off Form (pink and gold sheets). 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. Also, a sign-off with signatures from your chair, your Dean, the Grants Officer, and the Provost or Vice President for Administration and Finance is required. 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 Form must be completed with all necessary signatures before a grant application is forwarded to the sponsor.

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:

1. 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.

2. 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 something different, creates confusion and delay, so if you are in doubt, please consult the Grants Office and the Endowment Association.

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.

 

M E M O R A N D U M

TO: FHSU Faculty Member

FROM: Dr. Tom Jackson
Grants Officer

SUBJECT: PROJECT PROPOSAL SIGN-OFF SHEET

Please use the attached form, Project Proposal Sign-off Sheet, 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 your grant 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 or electronic submission on the mailing deadline or the "2:30 p.m. hurry" for Federal Express or other carriers. Therefore, the Project Proposal Sign-off Form should be routed at least five working days, if not sooner, to the date earmarked for submission.

The Grants Office appreciates your cooperation.

Thank you.