SPON-001 Grant Application Policy

Grant Application Policy

I. Policy Statement

The following steps must be followed for all grant proposals submitted to external sponsors by College faculty and staff.

1. Eligibility:  Only permanently budgeted faculty are eligible to submit proposals. Neither adjunct faculty nor visiting faculty are allowed to submit proposals. Any exempt staff member is eligible to submit proposals. Students and student groups are not eligible to submit proposals unless sponsored by a faculty or staff advisor.
2. Planning and Internal Approval: Prior to submitting a grant proposal to an external sponsor/agency, the Principal Investigator (PI) is required to submit the proposal to the Office of Sponsored Research through the electronic grant management system, Cayuse 424. All grant applications must be approved by the appropriate College authorities. In order to ensure the appropriate cost estimates are included in the grant proposal, any proposal that includes a request for space, IT equipment or services, or equipment purchases in excess of $5,000, must be vetted by the appropriate office and committees.
3. Budget:
   1. The budget for the grant request will be developed in consultation with the Office of Sponsored Research, the appropriate Dean or Vice President, and other administrative offices as needed. The budget must have approval prior to completion of the grant proposal to the external sponsor/granting agency.
   2. Indirect costs should be included in the grant budget using the College’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate (F&A rate), or the sponsor’s identified rate, if the federally negotiated rate is not acceptable. Indirect costs cannot be waived in the grant budget nor can indirect costs be used towards matching requirements.
   3. For any proposal that includes time release (also known as credit buyout or course release), the PI is required to get approval from the Department Chair and Dean prior to submitting the grant application. Faculty members can receive wages from a grant or receive time release during the academic year, but not both. College administrative staff are not eligible for time release arrangements through grants. Staff who are full time employees for a twelve-month period cannot receive additional compensation from sponsored projects.
   4. For any proposal that includes funds to pay a faculty or staff member wages, appropriate benefit charges should be included in the budget. Benefit charges cannot be waived in the grant budget without prior approval from the Budget Office.
4. Notification of Award: A Project Data Sheet (PDS), with appropriate signatures, must be completed upon notification of award. Grant funds cannon be spent until the PDS has been approved by the appropriate departments and supervisors. Note that a PDS is a paper form and is not done through Cayuse 424.

III. Responsibilities 

For following the policy: All faculty and staff serving as Principal Investigators/Project Directors.

For enforcement of the policy: Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs

For oversight of the policy: President

For notification of policy: Policy Librarian

For procedures implementing the policy: Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs

V. Procedures

Faculty and staff who are planning to submit a grant proposal as the Principal Investigators must:

1. Enter the proposal and appropriate information including the final proposed budget, budget narrative, and draft proposal narrative, into Cayuse 424,
2. Route the need of new office space, purchases of new computers/servers/devices, or purchases of equipment > $5,000 included in the grant proposal, through the appropriate college offices and committees (such as Physical Plant Services, IT, or the Facilities Space Committee) prior to routing the proposed project for approval to ensure that the appropriate cost estimates have been included.
3. Route the proposal for all appropriate signatures through Cayuse 424, which will enable the College to efficiently assess the impact of your proposed project on the institution and to allow appropriate resource planning to support your project.
4. Receive approval before submitting the grant proposal to the external sponsor/granting agency.
5. Upon notification of award by the external sponsor or granting agency, the Principal Investigator must complete the Project Data Sheet (a paper form), attach the award notification documentation (a copy of the grant agreement, award letter, contract, or other document indicating approval), and route the Project Data Sheet for signatures (Principle Investigator, Dean/Supervisor or appropriate Vice President, Director of the Office of Sponsored Research, and the Provost).
6. The Project Data Sheet will then be processed by the Office of Sponsored Research where the grant will be set up in the College’s accounting system for use as proposed.

VII. Consequences of Non-Compliance

Grant proposals submitted without following the procedures outlined above may not be supported by the College, if awarded.  In this case, all monies will be refunded to the sponsoring agency.  Faculty and staff members may incur personal liability if they agree—verbally or in writing—to contractual terms and conditions that are not acceptable to the college or state.