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Processing Proposals
- Proposal Approval Form (PAF)
- Administrative Shell
- DRDA services
- Conflict of Interest Disclosures
- Materials Transfer Approvals
See also: Processing Deadlines
Proposal Approval Form (PAF)
The PAF must be completed and routed with each proposal. The person submitting a proposal must obtain approval of the appropriate Department Head and Dean or Unit Director before sending the proposal to DRDA. More detail is available for filling out and routing the PAF.The Proposal Approval Form is filled out online. See: ePAF [takes you to the login screen] More about signatures
Administrative Shell Options
Administrative shell is generally defined as the sponsor forms, including- signature pages
- budget
- budget justification
- the completed and signed PAF
- sponsor guidelines
- abstract or draft of the proposal text.
For Grants.gov, DRDA's administrative shell requirements for are:
- Proposal Approval Form (PAF) signed by all appropriate unit officials.
- ALL Grants.gov Forms, including the budget. All the forms in the Mandatory Section and all the forms used from the Optional Section.
- only the following attachments:
-- budget justification
-- abstract - Agency specific pieces; check with your Project Representative
Note that your department or college may have additional requirements.
Also, DRDA needs the administrative shell in paper. (Do not Fax or upload the shell to the dropbox.)
Services provided
DRDA Project Representatives:- review the proposed budget to ensure accuracy and completeness
- check that all sponsor requirements are fulfilled
- route the completed proposal, the PAF, and necessary accompanying documents to the appropriate University offices for the required endorsements, signatures, and certifications,
- ensure that all documents are returned promptly to DRDA so that
- sufficient copies can be made for
- mailing to the potential sponsor or
- electronic version submitted.
Please review the Proposal Processing Deadlines
Deadlines vary depending on the method and whether DRDA or the PI is responsible for the final submission.
Submitting Proposals
In most cases -- including all Grants.gov applications--, DRDA submits the proposal to the intended sponsor, either electronically or in a paper version.
PI Electronic Submission Directly to Sponsors
To protect the interests of UM faculty and staff who submit proposals and the interests of the university, on-line or other electronic versions of proposals must be submitted first to the Division of Research Development and Administration. The investigator may then follow the sponsor's submission procedure. If any changes are made to the copy being sent, the new version must be forwarded to DRDA.
Order of Launch for electronic submissions: DRDA staff will review and launch the proposals in the order they are received. Once DRDA has processed and launched all proposals that arrived at DRDA within the specified deadline, proposals that arrive later will be handled to the best of the staff's ability. Note that problems beyond DRDA control, such as corrupted files or Internet interruptions, may result in proposals not being launched in a timely fashion. It might well be possible that DRDA staff cannot correct or even send a late proposal.
DRDA staff will do everything possible to get the proposal to the sponsor on time. However, as the amount of time for processing is reduced, so the chance for insurmountable obstacles increases. Certain parts of the review process are subject to the schedules of other offices. When there is sufficient lead time, DRDA staff can compensate for these problems. Therefore, faculty should make every effort to provide the maximum time possible for DRDA to process and adequately review their proposals.
As always, DRDA staff are available for questions, budgetary review, and other administrative help during the proposal preparation period in the weeks prior to the deadline.
Conflict of Interest Disclosures
When the PAF is first submitted for approval, the project director must determine if a financial conflict of interest disclosure is required. The conflict of interest disclosure asks about management or financial interests in outside entities held by key investigators or by their spouses or dependents that may impinge upon the proposed sponsored agreement. To assure full disclosure, this requirement should be interpreted broadly. See Conflict of Interest and Commitment for further instructions.
If the disclosures are negative (that is, if it is determined there are no "significant financial interests" related to the proposed project), the Project Director will so certify by signing the Proposal Approval Form (PAF). The proposal and the PAF will then be further processed in the ordinary way.
Disclosures that may trigger State Law or are otherwise above the threshold of significant financial interests must be forwarded, along with a copy of the PAF, for review by the relevant Conflict of Interest Review Committee. Proposals may be submitted to external sponsors in order to meet established deadlines with the understanding that the review process must be completed satisfactorily before a sponsored award can be accepted.
Materials Transfer Approvals
Providers of materials to be used in research projects--biological materials, compounds, equipment, protoytpes and so forth--may be willing to transfer these materials without charge to the University. A materials transfer approval form should be submitted to secure the approval/endorsement of appropriate university officials.