Large Proposal Guidelines

For large proposals greater than $3M and with three or more subs:

  1. A pre-submission organizational meeting will be held a minimum of one-month prior to the sponsor’s submission deadline.
    1. Required attendees and a draft agenda have been developed
  2. The Michigan Tech PI will contact the PI(s) at the sub-award entity(ies) to:
    1. Input current and pending support and biographical sketches early
    2. Explain what is needed in the SOW (i.e. start and end dates, bottom line requirements, and cost share requirements)
    3. Inform the sub-award PI that the SOW and budget are due to Michigan Tech two weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline
    4. Determine the sub’s internal proposal deadline for any final changes
    5. Inform PI at sub-award entity that Sponsored Programs (SP) will contact their authorized representative to coordinate submission
  3. The analyst in SPO will contact their sub-award entity(ies) counterpart to:
    1. Explain budget details and sub-recipient commitment form details
    2. Inform that the budget and SOW are due to Michigan Tech two weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline
  4. A conference call will be held eight (8) working days prior to the sponsor’s deadline. Sponsored Programs, Research Development, and the SP sub-award entity(ies) will discuss the following:
    1. Resolve any misunderstandings,
    2. Address any paperwork issues, or
    3. Inform the sub-award entity(ies) that the paperwork is satisfactory

Please note that a large, multi-tab budget spreadsheet is available for use. 

Large Proposal Submission Pre-Submission Meeting between PI and Sponsored Programs

Draft Agenda

Attendees:
Required: Project PI, assigned Sponsored Programs (SP) analyst, SP director, Research Development representative
May be invited by the PI if desired: Co PIs, department chair(s), proposal/departmental coordinator, other key personnel.

  1. Confirmation of Basic Information
    1.  Program name
    2. Current version of the solicitation (if available)

    3. Contact person at sponsor

    4. PI/Co PI’s involved

    5. Sub-award points of contact

  2. Budget Discussion
    1.  Start and end date
    2. Required cost share, plan for meeting cost share, what role Sponsored Programs or Research Development will play in cost share

    3. Sub-awards - determine:

      1. Amounts

      2. Start and end dates

      3. Cost share requirements

      4. Scope of Work (SOW) requirements, i.e. one paragraph summary or one-page The information in the SOW is not the same information that is combined in the large proposal.

      5. Which Michigan Tech PI or Co-PI is the primary technical liaison with each sub?

  3. Responsibilities
    1.  Outline information required for submission (internal and sponsor requirements) and identify a timeline for each
    2. Communication: Who will communicate with technical contact (the PI of the sub) at each of the subs? Who will communicate any changes in amount or dates to subs? Will communication go through PI/Co-PI at Michigan Tech or should Sponsored Programs analyst work directly with contacts at the sub?

    3. Please copy Sponsored Programs on relevant correspondence (budget, date changes, sub changes, etc)

  4. Timeline
    1.  When should Michigan Tech budget draft be complete for SP review?
    2. When should all cost share information be submitted for SP review?

    3. Sub-award information (due to Michigan Tech two weeks prior to the sponsor deadline)

    4. At what point will “non-narrative” information (bios, current & pending, etc) be gathered and ready for SP review?

    5. Michigan Tech’s SP analyst will contact a counterpart (in the sponsored programs office) at each sub-award entity

    6. Pre-submission conference call with SP and counterparts at each collaborating institution

    7. Michigan Tech’s internal deadline

  5. Common issues in large proposal submission
    1. Sub-award information not in on time

    2. Start & end dates on sub awards do not match Michigan Tech’s start & end

    3. Cost share sources not specifically identified

    4. Support/cost share letters don’t arrive in time

    5. Internal deadlines at collaborating institutions

    6. PI information (bios, current & pending, ) not gathered in advance

    7. Some submissions (e.g. gov) require the budget to be manipulated again prior to upload. Who will do this? When?

  6. Other questions or concerns