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• Request a Pre-Award Administrator by sending an email to��preaward@odu.edu.
• Identify the program applying to and forward program solicitation information to the Pre-Award administrator
• Ensure ODU and/or PI are eligible to apply to program per any eligibility guidelines provided in program solicitation
• Ensure PI is eligible to apply per the ODU policy and procedure #5302, “Qualifications for Service as a Principal Investigator.”
• When program solicitation or other information provided by the sponsor has language related to intellectual property, contact Office of Research for assistance before developing/submitting the proposal.
• When applying to an NIH program for the first time, obtain assistance from Pre-Award administrator to acquire an eRA Commons user name
• When applying to an NSF program for the first time, obtain assistance from Pre-Award administrator to acquire an NSF login ID
• Note the sponsor’s proposal submission deadline and time and also the mechanism for submission
  Electronic ____���� ����Due date:_______________������ Time: _________��or��
  Hardcopy ____�������� Received by: ____________������ Postmarked by: ____________
• Identify period of performance, budget items and their appropriate costs/cost share, and contact Pre-Award administrator to begin the proposal preparation process.��Note:�� this step should be completed at the very beginning of the proposal preparation process.
• Inform Pre-Award administrator if there is a consortium and/or contractual arrangement (involving colleagues from other organizations and/or institutions) and provide Pre-Award administrator appropriate contact information.
• Once budget is finalized, obtain Proposal Transmittal Form (PTF) from Pre-Award administrator and obtain appropriate approvals of the co-PI(s), chair(s), and dean(s), as required.
• Prepare the proposal per the guidelines stated in the program solicitation and assure proposal is in compliance with content and form for required proposal components
  – ��any limitations and restrictions on font size, font style, margins, number of pages
  – ��any special instructions on section headers
  – ��(if electronic submission) any required file labels/names for file uploads
  – ��(if electronic submission) file platform requirements (.pdf, .doc, xls, etc.)
  – (if hard copy submission) signature pages and/or letters of support obtained and provided to Pre-Award administrator with original signatures
• Forward approved PTF, plus full proposal to Pre-Award administrator for submission��at least five (5) full work days before the sponsor’s deadline.

The Proposal Transmittal Form is the legal document with which the Research Foundation is authorized by the 91����Ƶ to process funding applications and awards. Any investigator applying for funding is REQUIRED to complete a Proposal Transmittal Form.

Assigned Pre-Award administrator will provide the principal investigator with form.

Provide the requested basic information (name, title, etc.) and attach an abstract of the proposal. Your Pre-Award administrator will complete the “budget data” portion. Also, complete the “Investigator(s) Disclosures and Assurances” section. This is where investigators are required to disclose any significant financial interest that would reasonably appear to be affected by the research proposed.

For more information, please contact your assigned Pre-Award administrator

If the project involves human subjects, animals, radioactive substances, hazardous wastes, biohazards, etc., then the Investigator must design the proposal to comply with the laws governing such research.

Intellectual Property generally refers to patent, copyrights, trade secrets, etc., that might be utilized in or result from research activity. If the proposal includes the use of or development of an existing intellectual property, or the likely creation of a patentable invention or software, mark the Intellectual Property box on the Non-Standard Proposal Transmittal Form and contact the Office of Research Associate Vice President for Innovation and Commercialization, for assistance. In addition, if the solicitation for research proposals or any documents provided by the sponsor contain language related to intellectual property, contact the Office of Research AVP for Innovation and Commercialization for assistance before developing/submitting the proposal. Some solicitations or sponsorship agreements contain clauses that contravene state law.

Required Signatures for Proposal Transmittal Forms include the Principal Investigator(s), the Department Chair(s), the College Dean(s) and the Vice President for Research, when applicable.

The Investigator is responsible for obtaining all signatures prior to submitting the Proposal Transmittal Form to their Pre-Award administrator. Completed and signed Proposal Transmittal Forms are required before the proposal packet can be submitted to the sponsor.��PLEASE ALLOW ADEQUATE TIME FOR DEPARTMENT/DEAN OFFICE REVIEW AS WELL AS ODURF PROPOSAL PACKET FINAL REVIEW AND SUBMISSION TO SPONSOR.

The ODU Research Foundation is the authorized official for the submission of all electronic and hardcopy proposals to the funding agencies.�� If hardcopy proposal, the Research Foundation will make the appropriate number of copies of the proposal (when necessary) and submit them to the sponsors per their instructions.

Funding Sources:
The ODU Office of Research subscribes to����so that all ODU faculty, students and staff can search for funding opportunities. Links to databases and many funding agencies are maintained on the ODU Office of Research’s����webpage. For assistance in identifying funding opportunities or for additional information, please contact Dan Campbell, Research Development and Outreach Coordinator, at��dcampbel@odu.edu.

Narrative Preparation:
The Office of Research currently offers assistance through Grant Development Specialists (GDS). Contact information for the GDS may be found on the��Office of Research Directory.��The Grant Development Specialists’ services include: developing an initial proposal outline based on solicitation or agency-specific requirements; reviewing the proposal to assure required components are addressed; specific guidance in proposal writing and editing; drafting and obtaining letters of support, and coordination of grant teams and related resources. They also serve as a liaison between the colleges and the Office of Research in identifying funding opportunities and networking for collaborative research projects. To request assistance, fill in the����For additional information regarding proposal narrative preparation, visit the ODU site��here.

Budget Development, Subcontracts:
The ODU Research Foundation Pre-Award administrator assists Investigators in creating budgets, writing budget cost detail justifications, and completing the Proposal Transmittal Form. The Pre-Award administrator also works with Investigators in obtaining the necessary materials from prospective sub-recipients for inclusion in the proposal budget.

Human Subjects, Radiation Safety and other areas of Research Compliance:
Wayne Hynes��(whynes@odu.edu), Interim Research Compliance Coordinator is the liaison to the 91����Ƶ’s research protocol review committees (human subjects, animal subjects, radiation safety, & biosafety). He ensures compliance with federal regulations governing research risks and he reviews research proposals for adherence to federal and internal procedures and guidelines. Also, he coordinates training and education regarding research ethics and professional development. For more information, please go to the��

Intellectual Property:
Kevin Leslie��(kleslie@odu.edu) is the Associate Vice President for Innovation and Commercialization. His primary responsibility is to evaluate and market ODU intellectual property and technology, including the prosecution of patents and copyrights and the negotiation of licensing agreements. For more information, please go to the��Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer webpage

For each person involved in the project, list name (if known), position and percentage of time on the project. Include annual salary increases, effective each year. When projects are charged for personnel salaries, the associated fringe benefits are also charged in the same proportion.

Faculty
Most faculty members are on a ten-month contract with a nine-month performance-period. Others are on contracts of differing lengths, such as twelve months or eleven months. The nine-month, also referred to as academic year, performance period is from August 16 through May 15. In computing salaries for proposal budgets, amounts charged per project period are calculated as follows:���� base salary divided by 9 gives the rate per month; rate per month multiplied by number of months in period times percent effort in period equals charge per period; and the percent increase in salary for nine-month faculty is decided annually and is effective each January 1st of the project’s duration. Currently, we use a rate of three percent in budget projections. The maximum that can be paid in the summer for full-time work is calculated by multiplying the academic year base amount by two-thirds, in other words, dividing the academic year rate by 9 (to get a monthly rate), multiplying by 2 (to bring 50% to 100%) and then multiplying by 3 (three month period).

Graduate Research Assistants
A Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) is a Master’s or Ph.D. candidate meeting criteria set by ODU. During the nine-month academic year, graduate students generally have 50% appointments and usually may not work more than twenty hours per week. During the summer, GRAs may be appointed for up to 100% effort. GRA compensation during the summer is based upon the rate in effect for the academic year. Pay rates for GRAs are determined by each department. Please check with your department chair for the most current rates.

Another consideration is whether tuition and fees for GRAs should be budgeted on the sponsored program or paid from another source.

Full-time Research Foundation Employees
(Research Scientists, Other Professionals)
Research Scientist is a professional level assignment and must be recruited following the same procedures as for other hires at the Research Foundation. All full-time Research Scientist positions are eligible for the full complement of benefits available to regular full-time Foundation employees. Individuals in this category are usually compensated solely from sponsored programs. Salaries are established by the Research Foundation Human Resources Director in consultation with the principal investigator. The usual performance period is 12 months.

Postdoctoral Associates
“Postdocs” are employees who, having completed the doctoral degree, are appointed to a project to enhance research proficiency or for additional training. Appointments as a Postdoctoral Associate are for a limited term, approximately one to two years, and are not intended to be a permanent or continuing position. As this is an academic appointment, the salary is based on competitive salaries for the particular field and set by the individual department. While the primary employment activity for this position is research and research-related tasks, some teaching assignments may be allowed. This category of employee is entitled to all “regular status” employee benefits EXCEPT contribution in lieu of retirement and education assistance program.

A Postdoctoral Fellow or Trainee is an individual appointed to a specific type of funding mechanism, unlike the more general Postdoctoral Associate category. Fellows are supported by individual fellowship awards. Frequently these awards are made directly to the fellow rather than to the institution. Trainees are supported by training grants. The sole obligation of a trainee is his or her education.

Other Full-time and Part-time Employees
(Technical, Clerical, Etc.)
Pay rates for these positions vary with requirements. These positions normally are budgeted for on an hourly basis. Contact the Research Foundation Human Resources Director for current hourly and salary rates.

Secretarial, clerical, and administrative salaries and wages should normally be treated as indirect cost. The direct charging of these costs may be appropriate where the nature of the work performed under a particular project requires an extensive amount of administrative or clerical support that is significantly greater than the routine level of such services provided by academic departments, centers and institutes. The costs would need to be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy, and the special circumstances requiring direct charging of the services would need to be justified to the satisfaction of the awarding agency in the grant application or contract proposal.

Fringe benefit rate for ODU faculty during ODU-contracted time (10 or 12 months contracts): 33.7% .

Benefit rates vary for non-ODU faculty and for ODU faculty outside of contracted time. Contact a Pre-Award administrator for assistance.

Materials and supplies are items consumed in the course of accomplishing a particular project’s objectives that can be documented as relating to that project. A subdivision of this category is “Small Equipment”. Small Equipment is any tangible item with an acquisition cost of less than $5,000, the current equipment threshold, and a useful life of at least one year. General supplies or small equipment items that will be used more broadly than for one particular sponsored program are generally considered part of indirect cost and not appropriate as charges to a project.

“Equipment” means tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-Federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $5,000. The cost of equipment generally includes needed accessories, installation, and delivery costs.

“General purpose equipment” means equipment which is not limited to research, medical, scientific or other technical activities. Examples include office equipment and furnishings, modular offices, telephone networks, information technology equipment and systems, air conditioning equipment, reproduction and printing equipment, and motor vehicles. Capital expenditures for general purpose equipment are only allowable as direct charges with prior written approval of the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity.

“Special purpose equipment” means equipment which is used only for research, medical, scientific, or other technical activities. Examples of special purpose equipment include microscopes, x-ray machines, surgical instruments, and spectrometers. Capital expenditures for special purpose equipment are allowable as direct costs, provided that items with a unit cost of $5,000 or more have the prior written approval of the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity.

Subawards are agreements with other entities (“Subrecipients”) for substantial programmatic contribution to the projectin which an assistance relationship is created with the subrecipient. Subawards require specific approval of the sponsor, thus a proposal must include, at minimum, a work statement, budget and subrecipient institutional official’s endorsement for the services to be performed. Subaward arrangements are shown in the proposal to provide a clear delineation of the work to be performed by each organization and its cost. There also must be a complete budget itemizing the direct and indirect costs for each subrecipient. Upon award to the Foundation of the grant or contract, a subaward will be awarded to the subrecipient institution.Characteristics which support the classification of an entity as a subrecipient include when the entity:

1. Determines who is eligible to receive what Federal assistance;
2. Has its performance measured in relation to whether objectives of a Federal program were met;
3. Has responsibility for programmatic decision making;
4. Is responsible for adherence to applicable Federal program requirements specified in the Federal award; and
5. In accordance with its agreement, uses the Federal funds to carry out a program for a public purpose specified in authorizing statute, as opposed to providing goods or services for the benefit of the pass-through entity.

A contract is for the purpose of obtaining goods and services for our own use and creates a procurement relationship with the contractor. Characteristics indicative of a procurement relationship between the non-Federal entity and a contractor are when the contractor:

1. Provides the goods and services within normal business operations;
2. Provides similar goods or services to many different purchasers;
3. Normally operates in a competitive environment;
4. Provides goods or services that are ancillary to the operation of the Federal program; and
5. Is not subject to compliance requirements of the Federal program as a result of the agreement, though similar requirements may apply for other reasons.

Consultants are experts outside the 91����Ƶ and Foundation who bring a particular expertise to a project that is otherwise not available within the institution. 91����Ƶ faculty members are normally not eligible to receive compensation from the Research Foundation for consulting services on sponsored projects. Federal cost principles do allow consultation in unusual cases, and in those instances the faculty should be listed as project personnel. Federal agencies specifically prohibit the payment of consultant fees from federal monies to persons employed by the federal government. The Internal Revenue Service provides guidelines for determining if an individual should be categorized as a consultant or employee.

Describe who will be traveling, where, and for what purpose. The Foundation’s Travel Policy includes considerations for planning travel and provides information on reimbursement rates for mileage, meals, lodging, and other expenses. When computing travel expenses, include transportation, lodging, per diem, registration, and other allowable expenses. This travel calculator from the Federal General Services Administration can help estimate travel expenses:��.

Indirect costs, also called Facilities and Administrative (F&A) or overhead costs, are real expenses that cannot be readily identified with certain activities. Examples include library costs, utility costs, the costs of operating and maintaining the 91����Ƶ’s buildings and grounds, and the costs of administering sponsored projects. Indirect costs are associated with maintaining the infrastructure of the 91����Ƶ that supports its research, public service, and instructional functions.��

The current indirect cost rate agreement for the ODU and the Research Foundation is negotiated with the Office of Naval Research and is dated June 27, 2022. The procedure for determining an educational institution’s indirect cost rate is promulgated by the federal Office of Management and Budget.

The rates listed below are valid until the next rate agreement goes into effect:
On campus rate for research projects: 60 percent of MTDC
Off campus rate for research projects: 26 percent of MTDC
On campus rate for instruction projects: 46.7 percent of MTDC
Off campus rate for instruction projects: 26 percent of MTDC
On campus rate for other sponsored activity projects: 30.3 percent of MTDC
Off campus rate for other sponsored activity projects: 26 percent of MTDC
Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) rate: 10 percent of MTDC

DOD contracts and subcontracts have different rates depending on where research is performed. Contact your assigned GCA for assistance.

Rates are applied to modified total direct costs (MTDC). MTDC is the sum of all budget categories except: individual equipment items costing $5,000 or more; subcontract amounts in excess of $25,000; graduate student tuition; rental costs; and participant support costs.

In addition to funding from the sponsor, cost share or matching funds may be required. This requires a contribution toward the total costs of a project. The amount may vary from less than 5% to greater than 50% of the total project cost. Common sources of matching funds include a portion of the faculty member’s project time for which no support funds are being requested��(“Contributed Release Time”)��or cash to fund project costs contributed from the Department or College. Cost sharing should be included��only if it is absolutely required by the sponsor. If cost sharing is included in the proposal then the sponsor will hold the institution accountable for contributing to the project the funds committed in the proposal. Documenting cost sharing imposes a substantial burden on the Principal Investigator to provide supporting documentation.

Pre-Award services had developed a number of useful tools and guides to assist faculty and other qualified investigators through the process.

Each Proposal is not only unique, the requirements of funding agencies frequently vary. Some sponsoring agencies have requirements that must be completed before a proposal may be submitted

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Public Health Service (PHS) require compliance with PHS Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) regulations.

Other sponsors may require completion of the ODU Significant Financial Interest(SFI) Report form by all investigators in order to submit a proposal

����

Consult the FAQs if you have questions or contact Pre-Award.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Pre-Award

Contact a specific Pre-Award administrator

Assistance with funding opportunities is provided by the Office of Research.

Funding Opportunities

• Inform Pre-Award of your intent to submit a proposal. Please attach to your email any guidelines, program announcements, request for proposals (RFP), etc., related to the proposal. After contacting Pre-Award, you will receive an email stating which Pre-Award administrator has been assigned to assist you.

  Contact Pre-Award
  ��

• The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Public Health Service (PHS) agencies and some other sponsors require completion of the ODU Significant Financial Interest (SFI) Report form by all investigators BEFORE a proposal can be submitted to comply with PHS Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) regulations.

• Inform Pre-Award of your need for assistance preparing a budget.

  Contact Pre-Award
  ��

• Use the Budget Development Form to communicate your budget needs to Pre-Award.

Consult the FAQs if you have questions or contact Pre-Award.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact Pre-Award

Contact a specific Pre-Award administrator

Call����757-683-4293��and ask to speak with a Pre-Award administrator.

ODU has a centralized approach to proposal development, review and application submission processing, in that all sponsored program application activities are channeled through the Office of Research and Research Foundation for processing. Starting work on developing a proposal only a week or two before a sponsoring agency deadline impacts both the substance of the proposal as well as the workload of the department and college officials, and ODURF and ODUOR staff members involved. Investigators are not well served when work on their timely submitted proposal materials is delayed in favor of another proposal that was submitted late and needs to be processed first in order to meet the sponsor’s deadline.

To avoid this increasingly common situation, investigators should notify the Research Foundation as soon as they know they intend to submit a proposal and provide a copy of or web link to the sponsor’s guidelines, if any. When the funding announcement allows, investigators should start working on their proposal at least one month before the sponsoring agency’s submission deadline. The period needed for proposal preparation would increase as the complexity of the project increases. This pro-active approach allows time for proper document and budget development, department and college reviews and application submission processing.

Department chairs and deans are often requested to obligate resources in connection with proposed sponsored programs. Evaluating these requests requires time to review how the proposed research fits the 91����Ƶ’s mission and strategic plan and consider the impact of obligations asked of the college or department, such as covering instructional time, meeting new space requirements and committing cash or in-kind resources as cost share. To make informed decisions, these administrations need information. Thus all proposal submission forms should be completed or in finalized form before handing off to department chairs and deans. PIs will need to notify department chairs and deans early enough to ensure that finalized and signed proposal packets make it to ODURF five (5) working days before the agency deadline to guarantee submission.

It is becoming apparent that simple one document, hard copy submissions are a thing of the past. Over the last several years, the researchers and the ODURF have been working with Grants.gov, the federal government’s mandatory electronic proposal submission system. Some types of proposals have long required use of Grants.gov and now Grants.gov has become a requirement for submission of nearly all applications for federal grants.

Grants.gov electronic submissions are quite different from the paper processes they replaced. Particularly significant is the unforgiving nature of deadline enforcement. Initial processing upon receipt of applications by Grants.gov includes error-checking routines that prevent acceptance of an application by the system and forwarding it to the funding agency until all errors are corrected. Our experience, and that of other institutions, indicates submissions can be significantly delayed due to the error checking followed by sometimes several iterations of correction and re-transmittal. To ensure proposals clear the Grants.gov system in time to meet agency deadlines, most universities have established internal submission timetables.

It is important that availability of principal investigators working on proposals be required throughout the document development, department/college review and application submission stages.

To accomplish these objectives, starting October 1, 2008 a complete proposal package consisting of final versions of all documents and materials required by the funding agency must be received by ODURF at least five (5) full working days before the agency’s deadline. In addition, the Proposal Transmittal Form must be complete, including signatures of investigators and their departments’ and colleges’ chairs, deans, or other authorized representatives. Five days of processing time will allow ODURF time to process the proposal internally and through the agency’s electronic or hard copy submission systems and give the needed flexibility during high volume time periods.

–Guaranteed submission – proposals with deadlines five or more working days from ODURF receipt of the complete proposal package (ODURF will work with the principal investigators concerning proposal text changes up to 3 full working days prior to the sponsor’s deadline, on a case by case basis, as long as those changes will not impact the budget).

–Proposals with deadlines fewer than five working days from ODURF receipt of the complete proposal package will be handled as resources permit.

–Proposals without firm deadlines will be submitted as soon as practical and prioritized in order of receipt. “As soon as possible”, without additional guidance or no due date, will be prioritized within this category.

ODURF seeks to submit proposals both on time and in compliance with funding agencies’ submission requirements. Additional information on the proposal submission process is available at��.

This change calls for planning by principal investigators and grant and contract administrators. On the other hand, continuing business as usual could jeopardize submission of a significant number of proposals. Over the last few months, we have had several near misses and this will need to be avoided at all costs. It seems likely that electronic processing will improve as problems with funding agencies’ individual systems are identified and corrected and as funding agencies and applicant organizations adjust. The objective is to enhance the probability that all proposals will be received and accepted prior to their stated deadlines.