UNCG Sponsored Programs

Facilitating Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity

The UNCG Proposal Preparation and Submission Process.

Initial Stages

  • Prior to beginning the proposal, the PI reviews the guidelines for the application process and the requirements.
  • PI works with department and research dean’s office(s) on preliminary aspects of the proposal.
  • Identify required resources and personnel need for the project.

Proposal Routing

  • PI begins writing the technical/narrative portion of the proposal and develops the budget.
  • The complete and final proposal, accompanied by the necessary department-level approvals, as well as any other attachments or approvals required by the sponsor or the University, must be received by OSP at least five (5) full business days prior to the sponsor’s due date. The sponsor’s due date is defined as the date and time after which the sponsor will no longer accept proposals. In cases in which UNCG is a subcontractor, the sponsor’s due date will be determined by the submitting institution.
  • Keep in mind regarding the 5-day deadline, for proposals which are submitted directly through a sponsor’s external web portal, i.e. ASSIST, Research.gov, NSPIRES, etc., the proposal must be released to the AOR for submission within the sponsor’s web portal before the funding proposal is routed to the Grant Specialist (OSP) in Cayuse. Both the funding proposal and proposal must be in the AOR/Grant Specialist state in both Cayuse and the sponsor’s web portal prior to the 5-day deadline. Going forward, if this does not occur, the Cayuse proposal will be returned to the department.
  • PI works with the Grant Specialist responsible for budget review in the Office of Sponsored Programs to finalize budget.
  • If UNCG’s internal deadlines are not met and OSP does not have sufficient time for a thorough review, the proposal will be considered a Red Zone submission and will be submitted without review.

Red Zone Proposals

Red zone Proposals are proposals received by OSP on the same day the proposal is due to the sponsor. These proposals are submited without review. The PI/Department Administrator takes responsibility for the information provided within the proposal including; the information provided in the proposal is in accordance with Agency/Sponsor Guidelines and UNCG/OSP guidelines; that if the calculation of the budget, MTDC, salary coverage and/or IDC is inaccurate or results in cost share, that the Department will address/re-budget when/if the proposal is awarded; and finally that the information provided in regards to UNCG employees is also accurate. Red zones received before 12pm on the Proposal Due Date are submitted by 3pm while Red Zones received after 12pm are submitted by 5pm on the Proposal Due Date.
Example: If the proposal is due on Friday, OSP should receive the proposal(s) no later than 12pm on Monday.


Review Priority and Submission Timeframe

Reviews occur in the order the proposals are received, in the appropriate color zone. If no
revisions/corrections are needed, Green and Yellow Zone proposal(s) are reviewed & submitted
within 24 hours of receipt by OSP. If there are revisions/corrections, the proposal is routed back
to the PI/Dept. If a Green Zone final corrected/revised proposal is received at the same time as
a yellow and/or red zone proposal(s), the priority is Green – Yellow – Red.

Availability of PI and/or Department/Grant Administrator

It is critically important that once your proposal has been submitted to OSP, you or your staff are
available to respond to the questions from OSP to help fix any warnings or errors. The more lead
time provided for review, results in more time available to make any necessary changes required
for OSP to submit an error free proposal.

Circumstances Beyond our Control

OSP staff will do everything possible to get the proposal to the sponsor on time. However, as
the amount of time for processing is reduced, the chance of insurmountable obstacles
increases. Please keep in mind, that some proposals require reviews/ input from other
departments within UNCG (general counsel, UNCG Launch, Risk Management, etc.). In cases
such as these OSP is subject to the schedules and timelines of those offices. When there is
sufficient lead time, OSP staff can compensate for these issues. Therefore, PI’s should make every effort to provide the maximum time possible for OSP to process and adequately review their proposals.

Proposal Finalization

  • PI works with the Grant Specialist in the Office of Sponsored Programs to finalize the proposal package prior to submitting to funding agency.  OSP will review for compliance to university policy, state and federal regulations, budget and fiscal compliance, sponsor certifications and assurances, adherence to regulatory and safety compliance, and potential conflicts of interest.

Proposal Submission

  • The Office of Sponsored Programs completes one final review of the proposal to make sure it meets the requirements and guidelines of the sponsor’s RFP
  • The Office of Sponsored Programs submits the proposal to the funding agency – either electronically or in paper form.  There are instances where the PI submits the proposal directly to the funding agency.  When this occurs, the PI should inform OSP that they will submit and provide confirmation once the proposal has been successfully submitted to the funding agency.
  • OSP Standard Practices: The standard work week for the Office of Sponsored Programs is Monday-Friday, with the office closing at 5:00 pm. Therefore, all items need to be submitted to OSP in enough time to allow for 5:00 pm submission, even if the sponsor’s deadline is later in the day. Any exceptions are only authorized by the Director of OSP. If any proposals are being submitted to OSP on the day of the deadline, to allow for sufficient time and attention to be given to the submission of proposals, individuals will be asked to send an e-mail or leave a telephone message to alert OSP of the Redzone submission. Emails should have “Red Zone Submission” in the subject line and should be sent to the research@uncg.edu inbox