A. Types of sponsored projects
B. What constitutes a proposal?
C. Who may serve as a Program Director or Principal Investigator on an ETSU sponsored program?
D. Finding funding for your research, scholarship, and other creative activities
Determine Eligibility
Develop Your Budget
Direct Costs
Consortium Proposals
Facilities and Administrative Costs
Cost Sharing
F. Proposal authorization and submission
Internal Review & Approval Procedures
Internal Deadlines
Submission Procedures
Electronic Submission
Hardcopy Submission
Just-In-Time Submissions (NIH)
A. Types of Sponsored Projects
- Research
Any programs or project (including research training) that is meant to expand the scientific or scholarly knowledge of a discipline through rigorous inquiry, experiment, or investigation. - Training and Instruction
Any teaching and / or training activity (other than research training) that is part of the University’s organized instruction program, whether offered for credit (toward a degree or certificate) or not-for-credit, including agreements that support curriculum development. - Public Service
Any academic, non-instructional activity that provides services that utilize the University’s professional knowledge, expertise, and resources to provide a practical benefit to individuals and groups external to the institution. - Other Sponsored Activities
Any program or project financed by an external organization that involves the performance of work other than instruction, public service, and organized research, including, for example, a travel grant or support for a conference or seminar.
B. What constitutes a proposal?
For the purposes of this guide, the term "proposal" can refer to any of the request types listed below:
- Letters of intent, white papers, and other forms of preliminary proposals. These provide, at most, an overview of the proposed work. Many sponsors do not require detailed budgets or workplans at this stage, but may use these initial descriptions as the basis for decisions on whether to solicit a full proposal.
- New proposals. These provide a full description of the proposed work, including detailed budget and project plans, information on personnel, and appendices if required.
- Continuation and renewal proposals. These request support for ongoing funded work. Continuations request support for the next year of a funding cycle already approved by the sponsor, e.g., for the third year of a five-year award. Renewals request additional support after a funding cycle has been completed, e.g., for an additional five years.
- Supplemental proposals. These request additional funding for work under way, e.g., for inclusion of undergraduates in a laboratory-based research project.
- Revisions of elements of proposals and/or budgets. These are responses to requests by prospective sponsors prior to making a funding decision.
- Transfers of proposals or awards. These occur when a faculty member with active funding changes their institutional affiliation. Certain sponsors require action by both the forwarding and new institutions and the faculty member in order to affect a transfer.
C. Who may serve as a Program Director or Principal Investigator on an ETSU sponsored program?
The terms "Project Director" (PD) and "Principal Investigator" (PI) indicate the individual responsible for the oversight of the sponsored program. PD/PI management responsibilities include:
- Compliance with the sponsor regulations that govern the performance of the program and special terms and conditions of the award;
- Compliance with applicable ETSU policies and procedures during the conduct of the sponsored research, including the ETSU policies on Responsible Conduct of Research and Objectivity in Research;
- Compliance with ETSU financial policies and procedures, including procurement, travel, and compensation policies;
- Oversight of the staffing and performance of the sponsored program;
- Approval of expenditures as budgeted for personnel, goods, or services which directly benefit the sponsored program;
- Disclosure of any inventions resulting from the sponsored program to the Vice Provost for Research and Sponsored Programs;
- Submission of all interim and final progress reports according to the terms and conditions of the award.
ETSU's PI/PD Eligibility Policy outlines the position types and/or level of institutional authority required to be named as the PD/PI on an ETSU sponsored program and the conditions under which exceptions may be made.
Fellows and students may be named as the "Principal Investigator" on a Fellowship or Training grant application, but must have a faculty sponsor/mentor assigned within the institution's financial system to the Banner index.
Requests for PI status should be submitted with sufficient time to allow a decision in advance of a sponsor's deadline.
D. Finding funding for your research, scholarship, and other creative activities
External Funding
ORSPA manages the institution's subscription to InfoEd-SPIN, a funding opportunity
database. SPIN offers active searching, automated opportunity matching, and daily
opportunity notifications. The SPIN service may be accessed two different ways:
- Anyone with access to an ETSU computer can perform a quick search simply by visiting https://spin.infoedglobal.com/.
- To take full advantage of the SPIN product, users are encouraged to request a profile.
The SPIN service is capable of delivering individualized funding opportunity information via weekly emails according to parameters determined by the end user. For personalized training, you may contact ORSPA at research@etsu.edu.
Upon identifying a funding opportunity and deciding to apply for funding, please begin communications with our office by initiating a record in ETSURGe.
Internal Funding
There are several internal funding opportunities for which ETSU faculty are eligible
to apply. A comprehensive listing with links to additional information, including
the unit that administers the opportunity, can be found on ORSPA's Internal Funding Opportunities page.
E. Preparing your proposal
Determine Eligibility
Each sponsor sets its own application requirements, including the required content, format specifications, budget allowances, submission procedures, submission due dates, and eligibility both for the applicant and often for the PD/PI. It is critical to review and follow all program guidelines, ensuring a complete application in accordance with sponsor requirements. Failure to follow program guidelines is the most common cause for rejection without review, but, with care, can be avoided. It is ultimately the responsibility of the PD/PI to ensure the proposal packet is fully completed and adheres to sponsor guidelines.
One question that comes up frequently regarding applicant eligibility has to do with
ETSU's tax status. ETSU is a state institution of higher education and, as such, is
eligible to receive charitable contributions under Section 170(c)(1) of the IRS Code.
It is also exempt from state and federal taxes. However, ETSU does NOT have 501(c)3
status under the IRS Code and therefore is ineligible for opportunities which are
limited only to 501(c)(3) organizations. If you run across this limitation, please
contact ORSPA at research@etsu.edu to explore alternative paths.
One of the major roles of the ORSPA in the preparation of proposals for both intramural and extramural funding is in providing budget development support. Accuracy and completeness are critically important in project budgeting, whether it is for a small internal grant, a major federal application, or for ETSU's participation in a proposal submission by another institution or university. A detailed description of the various cost categories that comprise a typical sponsored program budget, including indirect costs, can be found in the ETSU Policy on Sponsored Project Costs.
ETSURGe's Proposal Development module has a comprehensive budget building tool which our staff will help you prepare.
If your project will include hiring personnel for grant-funded positions, please see the Human Resources Guidelines for Creating Grant-funded Positions. Questions concerning grant-funded positions may be directed to hr@etsu.edu or ericksol@etsu.edu.
"Direct Costs" are those costs that can be assigned directly to a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. They include such costs as:
- Salaries for personnel directly engaged in the activity charged
- Employee Benefits
- Travel
- Operating Expenses
- Consulting Services
- Lab Supplies (not Office Supplies)
- Animal Care Charges
- Subcontracts/subawards
- Graduate Assistant Tuition and/or Fee Remissions
When a portion of the project is going to be carried out at another institution or
organization, a subaward or subagreement between ETSU and the consortium institution
is required in order to ensure compliance with sponsor requirements. Documentation
from each subrecipient's authorized official, including an itemized budget and budget justification, a statement of work to be
performed, and qualifications to do that work should be incorporated into the proposal.
Details regarding the documentation required to propose and establish a subaward are
outlined in the ETSU Subrecipient Policy.
Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A; also called "indirect costs", "IDCs", or "overhead")
F&A costs are those project or program-related costs that cannot be directly assigned to a specific project. Instead, they are calculated as a percentage of the direct costs of the project or program based on rates determined by the institution's cognizant federal agency through a complex financial application and negotiation process.
ETSU negotiates its federal IDC rates with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and enters into an IDC rate agreement with DHHS. This agreement obligates ETSU to consistently apply these negotiated rates to all like sponsored projects, independent of the sponsor type. Therefore, the same IDC rates apply to local, private, state, and federal awards. The exception is when a sponsor has a written policy that it either limits or disallows IDC on its awards.
Separate IDC rates are negotiated for organized research, training/instruction, and
"other sponsored activities." The definitions for each of these activity types are
included in the ETSU Policy on Sponsored Program Costs. It is important to accurately categorize the proposed activity to ensure the assignment
of the appropriate IDC rate.
Cost sharing is sometimes required by the funding sponsor and ETSU policy allows proposals to include cost sharing only when required by the sponsor as part of the eligibility criteria. Cost sharing under a federal grant is subject to certain federal regulations, which stipulate that cost-sharing must come from non-federal sources. Proposals listing cost-sharing must explain how the cost-sharing commitments will be met and PIs are advised that cost sharing will be proposed only in accordance with ETSU Policy on Cost Sharing.
F. Proposal authorization and submission
Internal Review & Approval Procedures for Proposals
All proposals for "sponsored projects" submitted to external sponsors by ETSU employees must be reviewed and approved internally before they are submitted to the sponsor. ETSURGe will electronically route your proposal to obtain these approvals.
Because the internal review and approval process can be time consuming, we highly recommend that PD/PIs begin routing grant proposals at least 5 business days prior to the date the documents need to be submitted to a sponsor. PD/PIs (and any key personnel) should check with their respective department/college/division regarding additional internal approval procedures that may be required prior to routing the final documents to ORSPA, and plan accordingly. See the ORSPA Proposal Timeline.
ORSPA cannot ensure the successful submission of an error-free proposal if the final,
corrected application materials are not received by ORSPA at least 3 business days
before the proposal deadline. ORSPA will not be responsible for deadlines missed as
a result of the submission of proposals received less than 3 business days prior to
the deadline.
Each sponsor establishes its own application process, be it electronic and/or paper,
so it is critical to review and follow the sponsor-specific guidelines. Some systems
require the PD/PI to complete the submission once obtaining institutional approval,
while others require the sponsored programs office to complete the submission following
review, signifying the institution's approval.
ORSPA will submit applications to grants.gov utilizing ETSURGe's system-to-system
capabilities.
If the sponsor allows the PD/PI to submit a proposal, the PD/PI must first create
a record in ETSURGe and route their proposal for institutional approval prior to submission.
If the proposal is submitted via email, the PD/PI should copy the ORSPA (research@etsu.edu) on the email.
Some sponsors still utilize a hardcopy proposal submission mechanism. In the case
of a hardcopy submission, it is the PD/PI's responsibility to make the necessary copies
and mail or hand-deliver the proposal to the sponsor.
Just-In-Time Submissions (NIH)
In some cases, a sponsor may require additional information after a proposal has been reviewed and before a funding decision is made. Typically, this information includes updated "other support" information and evidence of approval from one or more research compliance committees. Applicants will be notified (primarily by email from NIH) when this "Just-in-Time" (JIT) information is needed. This notification is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding. Applicants should only submit this information when requested. In most cases, JIT information must be submitted by staff in the ORSPA.