Proposal Preparation & Submission

For assistance with identifying funding, proposal review and editing, collaborator identification, facility and resource description, or other proposal development needs, contact the Proposal Development Office. 

The OSPA Proposal Preparation Checklist are general guidelines to assist you in proposal development, in terms of required forms and processes. Individual sponsors may have additional requirements.

Many grant proposals require a letter of support from an institutional signing official, typically provided by the Vice President for Research (VPR). For letters of institutional support towards grant applications that (1) require an official signature from the VPR, or (2) commit the Office of Research financially to an award, follow the Procedure for Obtaining Institutional Support Letters. This streamlined process ensures that leadership within Colleges and Centers are aware of the request, and that these relevant university offices have been involved in decisions of financial support towards the application.

• Procedure for Obtaining Institutional Support Letters

Budget Review: Prior review of the budget and justification must be conducted by your College Grants Officer or other college pre-award resource. 

The information provided here should be used as a general guide in all instances. When an agency provides specific budgetary directions those directions should be followed or when UK Costing Guidelines for Sponsored Project provides more specific guidance than outlined here that guidance should be followed. For determining assignment of item as a direct cost or indirect cost pool item see the expenditure object codes in the UK Business Procedures Manual E-17-8 and the FRS Handbook.

• Salaries, Tuition, Intra-University Consultants 
• Travel and Equipment
• Consultants & Contractual  
• Other
• Indirect & Total Costs, Cost Sharing, Income

Applicant Organization: 

• University of Kentucky Research Foundation
• Federal proposal Address:
  500 South limestone
  109 Kinkead Hall
  Lexington, KY 40526-0001
• Non-federal proposals, USPS, or Courier:
  109 Kinkead Hall
  Lexington, KY 40506-0057
• Email, Fax and Phone:
  Ph: 859-257-9420
  Fax: 859-323-1060
  ospa@uky.edu

For Grants.gov packages, use the Federal Address in the Applicant Organization and Authorized Official sections. For NSF, use the Federal Address in the Place of Performance section.

For additional information, including Official Authorized to Sign, payment/remittance address, Sponsored Projects Account/Fiscal contact, and ACH remittance information, see the full Frequently Needed Information page. 

eIAF:

• Electronic IAF (Internal Approval Form) must be completed and certified by all parties at lease 3 business days prior to the sponsor's deadline. See instructions for completing the eIAF under Tools and Resources.
• Online Financial Disclosure statement must be up to date.
• Sponsor Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Guidelines, if F&A costs are less than the UK full rate, are attached. 

Protocol Review: When applicable, regulatory approval has been sought and is indicated on the IAF: Human Subjects, Animal Subjects, Hazardous Materials, and/or Radiation Safety. 

Cayuse 424 Proposal Preparation & Submission System now allows for easier proposal preparation and submission. See the Cayuse 424 section under Electronic Resources for more information about the system. 

Other Proposal Submissions

Proposals that cannot be submitted through Cayuse 424 should be submitted to OSPA as directed by the Research Administrator and Sponsor requirements. 

• Cost Sharing/Grant Matching guidelines
• eIAF Instructions
• University Financial Services page on setting up accounts, transferring funds, cost sharing, and audits
• UK's Industry Partnering Guidelines
• The PI and all faculty, staff, and students working on a project must have completed the sponsor and/or university required research education. Approval for human and animal subjects and Responsible Conduct of Research training is available through the Office of Research Integrity. 
• Example SF424
• NIH resources:
  • NRSA Stipend Rates
  • Person Months
  • Salary Cap
• NSF resources:
  • Consultant Rate

To support the success of UK’s research enterprise, Office of Sponsored Projects Administration (OSPA) staff work collaboratively with you, as a Principal Investigator, and others across campus to provide client-centered professional support and administrative expertise in sponsor requirements, budget development and proposal submission. OSPA is committed to the timely submission of complete, accurate and fully compliant proposals.

Over the last several months with input from Associate Deans for Research, OSPA has been exploring how to ensure the best delivery of services and facilitate submission of the highest quality proposals with the highest probability of success.  We recognize you spend a great deal of time and effort preparing proposals and are committed to helping lessen the risk of a missed deadline or rejected proposal. To that end, OSPA is putting into effect a new submission deadline for sponsored project proposals to external funders. Starting on October 8, 2019, a complete and final proposal, accompanied by a fully approved Internal Approval Form (IAF), must be received by the Research Administrator (RA) in OSPA at least three (3) business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline. The new 3-day deadline supports the timely submission of error-free, compliant proposals and facilitates discussions with your RA and others after review of the proposal so any necessary revisions or corrections can be made prior to the sponsor’s deadline.  

The new proposal deadline goes into effect after the NIH October 5^th deadline to allow sufficient time for you and your department to make any corresponding internal adjustments to proposals, instructions or deadlines.  Please note that colleges may impose additional deadlines or other requirements for review and approval of proposals. 

OSPA is committed to assisting you and providing the maximum level of customer service to ensure proposal review and submission go smoothly and, at its core, this new proposal deadline policy is intended to ensure both.