Frequently Asked Questions: Proposal Development

Who is eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI)?

Please see the Principal Investigator Eligibility section of the URA website.

As the Principal Investigator (PI), am I the applicant and award recipient, or is it the University of Chicago?

Applications to most external sponsors are submitted as University of Chicago as the applicant. Please consult with your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) with questions concerning sponsor guidelines.

Do I need to apply for a DUNS number or register with the Central Contractor Registry?

No, the university serves as applicant and is registered in these systems.

What do sponsors mean by PI, Co-PI, Co-I, Senior Personnel, etc.?

The Principal Investigator (PI) is the lead scientist on a research project and has primary responsibility for the design, execution and management of the project.

Co-PI (Co-Principal Investigator) and Co-I (Co-Investigator) designations may be used when multiple Investigators are permitted on a project. Co-PIs/Co-Is are typically considered Senior/Key Personnel and play a central role in the project.

Sponsor definitions vary; carefully read the guidelines for each proposal before assigning project roles.

What are the responsibilities of a PI? And other units involved in proposal development?

Please see the Roles and Responsibilities Matrix for detailed descriptions.

What are the different types of applications?

NEW: An application that is being submitted to a direct sponsor for the first time.

RESUBMISSION: An unfunded application the applicant has modified following the initial sponsor review and resubmitted for consideration. (NIH allows a maximum of one resubmitted application.) 

RENEWAL: An application requesting additional funding and/or time, over and above what was originally proposed, for a period subsequent to that provided by the current award.

REVISION (SUPPLEMENTAL): A supplemental application requesting additional funding for an active award. The project period will typically overlap with the parent award.

Does my proposal need to go through URA?

Most proposals, especially to federal sponsors, require URA involvement, and you should contact your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) as early as possible to help develop your budget and guide you through the submission process, as well as check to ensure that your proposal complies with sponsor guidelines and any other relevant policies and regulations. Many sponsors also require that an Authorized Organizational Representative (or Signing Official) submit your proposal.

Even if the sponsor allows the Principal Investigator (PI) to submit the proposal, if funding will come through the University, URA will still need to review the full proposal prior to submission. Submitting without URA assistance can result in detrimental budget errors and delays in processing your award.

Here are two situations in which you may not need to involve URA:

Preliminary proposals (or similar – such as white papers or concept papers) do not require URA involvement unless a budget is included or if the sponsor requires that an Authorized Organizational Representative submit the pre-proposal.

Fellowships that do not require an institutional endorsement and the funding will go directly to the student may be submitted directly by the student without URA involvement.

When do I contact my Grants and Contracts Administrator?

As soon as you have identified a funding opportunity for which you intend to apply; no later than 5 business days prior to the sponsor deadline. They will assist you with budget and proposal development, obtaining necessary approvals, creating required documents, review and internal approvals, and proposal submission.

What is required for URA to review, approve, and submit a proposal?

Please see the Preparing a Proposal section of the URA website.

What is a statement or scope of work?

A Statement of Work or Scope of Work (SOW) is a document that outlines the project activities, deliverables, and timeline for completion. The SOW should clearly explain what tasks will be completed and by when. UChicago does not currently have a required template, but the document should be in narrative format. A Statement of Work Template is available for your information and use. 

The program announcement, RFA, or NOFO limits the number of submissions from our institution. Who should I contact?

Limited opportunities are managed by the Office of Research Development. University of Chicago uses InfoReady Review for these opportunities. Please visit the Limited Opportunities section of the URA website.

How do I locate internal funding opportunities for the university?

A variety of databases and search engines are available, please visit the Funding Opportunities page.

Can I submit the proposal and send a copy to URA? 

Generally, no. Only URA is authorized to submit proposals. There are some foundations which require a PI to create an account and submit directly; these submissions need to be coordinated with URA and receive internal approvals prior to submission.

When should I obtain IRB, IACUC, biohazardous materials, and/or other compliance approvals?

Most approvals, such as Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), and biohazardous materials, are generally not required at proposal stage but should be obtained as soon as possible. If awarded, no project award funds may be used until all approvals have been obtained from the appropriate compliance offices. NIH requests IACUC and IRB approvals at the JIT stage. Contact the appropriate unit begin the approval process.

Who do I contact for NIH Just-in-Time (JIT) requests?

Contact your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) for all JIT requests. As an example, for NIH the Principal Investigator or other authorized user will need to upload JIT information in eRA Commons according to the instructions provided by NIH. When the files have been uploaded, URA will review and submit the information to NIH. Processes differ between agencies and program officer requests.

What should I do if I receive a notice of award?

If you receive notice of an award, send this to your grant administrator or proposal@uchicago.edu as soon as possible. If the notice of award requests further documentation and/or a revised budget before the award may be issued, then please contact your grant administrator.

 Please do not sign the award, as only certain individuals in the University are authorized to sign awards and an unauthorized signature could render the agreement null and void.

If your project requires any approvals, such as for the use of animals, human subjects, controlled substances, or biohazardous materials, and you do not yet have approval, we highly recommend starting the approval process as soon as possible. 

What do I do if I receive an award for the university I did not submit through URA?

All sponsored funding applications must be submitted through URA. If you did not work with URA at proposal stage and you receive an award, contact your grant administrator as soon as possible; they will work with you to develop a proposal “after the fact,” which is required in order to review and approve for award stage.

Your proposal must include, at a minimum: budget (Excel format), Budget Justification (narrative format), Statement of Work, link or communication to sponsor call or request, and any proposal documents submitted.

If an award will be issued to me directly and I will not use university resources, do I need to involve URA in my proposal?

If the award will be made directly to the Principal Investigator and not to the University, URA does not typically need to be involved. This occurs most frequently with fellowships and consultant agreements. For consultant agreements, it is important that the University’s resources are not being used.

I want to complete a no-cost extension, budget revision, or other post-award activity. Who should I contact?

Your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) managing your post-award activities can assist.

Who is responsible for preparing and submitting progress reports?

The PI is responsible for preparation and submission of progress reports, with the assistance of a grant administrator or post-award grants specialist. URA, in collaboration with IT Services, has developed several reporting resources for faculty and departments to use to manage sponsored awards. 

Why is the budget important?

The budget and budget justification present a financial picture of your project to the reviewer and helps the reviewer understand your project.  It can also help you more accurately determine the scope of your project.  Funding caps and indirect costs often result in more narrowly focused projects to meet smaller funding opportunities.  It is important that the scope of the project align with the needed support.

How do I develop my budget?

First, consider your project’s resource needs. Read the sponsor’s guidelines and note any limitations.  Use the online resources to generate a draft budget and budget justification.  Also, watch for professional development opportunities.  Finally, your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) can assist with specific questions, as needed.

Do I have to use the templates to develop my budget for the internal approval process?

No, you do not have to use the internal budget templates. You should use the template that makes the most sense for your final submission; however, the templates have embedded calculations that will allow you to more accurately generate a draft budget.

Why do I need a budget justification?

The budget justification allows the PI to fully explain the need/alignment for specific expenditures within the scope of the project and demonstrate how total amounts were determined.  Transparent, well-aligned budgets and budget justifications indicate the ability to manage a project and are less likely to result in significant cuts at the award stage.  Note: The budget justification should align with the budget categories in the budget.

How do I accurately budget salaries?

Budgeting for salary and benefits takes careful planning so that your account will not run out of funds. Because we do not know from year to year what the state will allocate for raises, your budget is really a “best estimate.” The university does not charge the grant account more than the actual salary and fringe benefits expenses.  Your grant administrator or sponsored development manager can assist you with needed base salary information; the budget templates have embedded calculations for fringe benefits and annual estimated raises.

I understand that the University has a federally approved Facilities and Administrative (F&A) or Indirect Cost Rate. How is that applied in my budget?

The university’s approved on-campus F&A rate (also known as Indirect Cost Rate) is 64% of a modified total direct cost basis.  Additional information on the F&A rate is available here.  Budget templates will automatically calculate the F&A rate, excluding any appropriate categories.

F&A costs are charged to all sponsored programs (grants and contracts) under the requirements of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and consistent with the University’s federally-negotiated rate determined by the Department of Health and Human Services.

If you believe that you will have a different indirect cost or F&A rate (e.g. funding opportunity limits indirect costs), share that information with your grant coordinator as soon as possible so that appropriate approvals can be secured.  Obviously, the F&A rate will significantly impact your overall budget and the feasible scope of work, so you want to ensure that you are generating a draft budget using the correct percentage.

If I want to ask for one course reassigned time in both the spring and fall semesters to work on my project, how do I calculate the cost of the reassigned time?

Know your current salary. If you are requesting a starting date for your project after the new fiscal year begins, you need to add 3% inflation to the current figure, as well as in subsequent years (it is understood that this will be an estimate). A course release is calculated as a percentage of your salary. Ask your grants and contracts administrator (GCA) for assistance to calculate the correct amount.

If I need to work on the project in the summer, how do I calculate the salary for that period?

A simple way to calculate: If you plan to work one month on the project, use 11.11% of your academic salary.  Using $60,000 as a salary estimate, you would request $6,666 in summer salary; fringe benefits would also be added to the budget.  At a maximum, faculty on 9-month appointments can secure up to 33.33% of their academic year salary. 

How do I figure fringe benefits on academic year and summer salaries?

There are two methods to calculate fringe benefits: (1) see the Fringe Benefits section for rate tables and (2) use the budget templates with built-in calculations based on employee categories.

The funding agency requires matching funds from the University. What does this mean?

A funding agency may require that the University contribute a specific percentage of the total project costs. For example, some agencies require a 1-to-1 match (if your total project sponsors budget is $50,000, the university will be asked to contribute $50,000 as a match). Any cost-sharing or matching arrangement requires prior institutional approval; see Cost Sharing.

What is considered equipment (rather than supplies)?

Equipment is defined by the federal government and the university as tangible, nonexpendable property having a useful life of more than one year and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit (including tax, shipping and installation). However, when the terms of an award set a lower dollar threshold for equipment – $1,000 for example – the department must track it as if it falls under the university’s definition of equipment.

Are there special considerations for purchasing equipment on a sponsored project?

Yes, there are some special considerations.

• Equipment purchased on a sponsored project should be directly linked to the needs of the project.  General-purpose equipment is unallowable as a direct cost, except with the prior written approval of the sponsor.
• If a piece of purchased equipment will benefit more than one sponsored agreement or activity, the cost should be distributed to all benefiting activities using a reasonable and documented method of allocation.
• Maintenance and repair costs to keep project-specific equipment – whether existing or purchased with project funds – in operating condition may be allowable within the time frame of the project performance period.  If the maintenance agreement or repair cost benefits more than one sponsored agreement or activity, the cost must be allocated to the various projects and activities proportionately based on the benefit directly received by each.
• Budgeted equipment is generally purchased in the beginning of a project unless the scope of work is such that the equipment is essential during a later period of performance.