Administrative Review and Approval for Pre-Proposals

Policy Approval Authority President
Responsible Division Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships
Responsible University Office Sponsored Programs Administration
Responsible Officer(s) Associate Vice President for Research/Executive Director Sponsored Programs
Contact Person Dara Little, dlittle@niu.edu
Primary Audience Faculty
Staff
Date Submitted to Policy Library 03-04-2022
Status Active
Last Review Date 05-06-2024
Policy Category/Categories Sponsored Funding/Grants and Contracts

Purpose

To expedite the pre-proposal submission process.

Reason for Policy

Sponsors may require that applicants submit a pre-proposal (aka Letters of Intent, White Papers, Concept Papers, Pre-Applications, etc.) for review prior to submitting a full competitive proposal. The pre-proposal typically includes a summary of the project, list of personnel, and budget amount. If selected, the Principal Investigator then submits a more formal or full proposal.

NIU is committed to the pursuit of increasing the research, scholarship, and artistry enterprise. One way this occurs is through the submission of pre-proposals to external sponsors. Sponsored Programs Administration’s (SA) process supports the need for Principal Investigators to submit pre-proposals as expeditiously as possible to solicit interest in their respective programs. This policy identifies when Principal Investigators may submit their pre-proposal directly to the sponsor and when it must come through SPA (or in limited situations the Office of Research Development) for review and approval before submission.

Intended Audience

  • Deans
  • Senior Administration – Vice Provosts, Associate Deans
  • Directors, Department Heads, Division Heads
  • Faculty and Staff
  • Departmental/Divisional Business Administrators
  • Sponsored Programs Administration Personnel
  • Research Compliance Personnel

Policy

When a sponsor requires the submission of a pre-proposal, the Principal Investigator (PI) may need to submit the pre-proposal through the Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) proposal routing system for review and approval. InfoEd is SPA’s proposal routing system.

Pre-Proposals that Need SPA Review and Approval

SPA will review and approve pre-proposals through the proposal routing system when the following are required:
  • The pre-proposal includes a detailed line-item budget that cannot be altered when submitting the full proposal.
  • The pre-proposal requires a firm commitment of NIU cost-sharing/matching that cannot be altered when submitting the full proposal.

These pre-proposals will follow normal SPA policy for Administrative Review and Approval of Proposals.

Pre-Proposals that Do Not Need SPA Review and Approval

  • Pre-proposals that do not require any of the conditions listed under number 1 above may be submitted to the sponsor without receiving SPA review through SPA’s proposal routing system.
When submitting the pre-proposal to the sponsor via e-mail, the PI should copy the appropriate SPA Proposal Coordinator.  If submission is not through email, a copy of the pre-proposal should be emailed to the Proposal Coordinator, after it has been submitted to the sponsor.

SPA will submit pre-proposals for the PI when the sponsor’s electronic system requires submission via the Authorized Organizational Representative (i.e., SPA). No review and approval are necessary unless the pre-proposal meets this policy’s conditions for doing so. PIs should complete a Proposal Intake Form to notify SPA of the need to submit.

PIs should check with their department/unit to verify any review process they may have prior to submitting the pre-proposal to the sponsor.

  • Indirect Costs (i.e., F&A, or Overhead)
It is the PI’s responsibility to ensure that the pre-proposal budget includes proper indirect costs. PIs must include the correct NIU Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate in pre-proposals unless the solicitation expressly states differently. Any deviation from the Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate must have prior approval of the Associate Vice President for Research/Executive Director Sponsored Programs prior to submission.

If the appropriate indirect cost rate is not included in the pre-proposal budget (including preliminary cost share budgets), Sponsored Programs Administration will include the indirect costs at full proposal submission, even if it affects and lowers the total direct costs for the project or requires a change in scope.

Only the Vice President for Research and Innovation Partnership or their designee are authorized to negotiate indirect cost rates. Any negotiations done by the PI or anyone besides those authorized will not be honored and may result in the full proposal not being submitted to the sponsor.

Limited Submissions

If the Program Announcement (PA) or Request for Proposal (RFP) limits the number of pre-proposal submissions from an institution, the PI must  contact the Office of Research Development and follow applicable limited submission guidelines.

The Office of Research Development will submit pre-proposals requiring institutional authorization (i.e., Authorized Organizational Representative signature/submission) for limited submission purposes only when SPA review and approval is not required.

Contact Us

Policy Library
815-753-5560
policy-library@niu.edu 

Back to top