The Office of Research and Technology Management maintains a formal deadline policy for all sponsored projects submissions at Case Western Reserve University. You can familiarize yourself with the policy below.
Sponsored Research Projects: Internal Submission Deadlines for Submission of Funding Proposals and Letters of Intent (LOI)
Date Approved: 5/25/2021
Effective: 7/1/2021
Responsible Official: Vice President for Research
Responsible University Office: Office of Research and Technology Management
Revision History: 01/2011
Related Legislation and University policies:
Review Period: 3 years
Date of Last Review: 2/2024
Relates to: This policy relates to all Case Western Reserve University faculty, staff, and trainees who are submitting Sponsored Projects for external funding.
Exclusions: There are some proposals that are excluded from this policy; a list is included at the end of the policy.
Policy Statement
All proposals and (LOIs), except the limited exceptions described, must be received by the Office of Pre-Award Services and Agreements (PASA) three (3) business days prior to the sponsor's deadline.
The university requires that all proposals and LOIs for sponsored projects must be reviewed and approved for submission by the Office of Pre-Award Services and Agreements (PASA). This policy is designed to provide sufficient time for thoughtful consideration and review to ensure each proposal/LOI complies with University and sponsor policies and procedures prior to submission. PASA is the only office with delegated authority to submit proposals for sponsored projects to external funding agencies on behalf of CWRU. Proposals and LOIs may not be submitted directly to the funding source without the prior approval of these offices.
This policy does not include proposals or LOIs submitted by CCLCM and MHMC. The submission guidelines of our affiliates should be followed.
Reasons for Policy
In signing and submitting proposals and LOIS to sponsors, the university is accepting fiduciary responsibility and is confirming that the university is in compliance with all applicable requirements and regulations, including but not limited to those set forth in unspecific solicitations, sponsor guidelines, the OMB Uniform Guidance and the CWRU institutional policy, As a result, these offices require dedicated time to review proposals prior to submission to ensure they meet all requirements. This policy is designed to allow for the review of outgoing proposals and LOIs by the appropriate pre-award office so that potential administrative, financial, or programmatic issues can be addressed and corrected prior to the submission deadline.
Common Reviews
The following list details the most common reviews completed by PASA prior to submission, but it is not all-inclusive.
- The proposal/LOI is compliant with CWRU and sponsor policies and specific proposals/LOI guidelines
- The accuracy and validity of the administrative, fiscal and programmatic information included in the proposal/LOI
- All key personnel have a current FCOI disclosure
- All foreign components and conflicts of commitment have been clearly identified and disclosed
- IBC, human subjects, and animal sections are complete and attached
- Letters of support match the title of the grant proposal and are current
- Any appendix material conforms to the specific proposal/LOI guidelines
- The type of proposal/LOI being submitted is allowed by the sponsor and/or sponsor's funding opportunity
- All attachments are in the current sponsor format. For example, biosketch, current and pending support, resources, etc.
- Required signatures and approvals as appropriate
Additional justification for electronic submissions:
- Federal agency servers routinely crash during peak demand times that occur when hundreds of institutions submit proposals at the same time.
- Grants.gov has a stated processing time of 2 - 4 days with no tolerance if errors exist and cannot be corrected before the deadline.
Individual schools may impose additional requirements in addition to this policy.
Policy Details
The sponsor's due date is defined as the date and time after which the sponsor will no longer accept proposals within CWRU's normal business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. In cases in which CWRU is a subcontractor, the sponsor's due date will be determined by the submitting institution.
| Type of Proposal/LOI | Deadline for Submission to PASA (Pre-Award) |
|---|---|
| Submission to all Federal funding agencies (NIH, NSF, DOD, NAS, etc.) | 5 p.m. three business days prior to the submission deadline |
| Submission where CWRU is the subcontractor | 5 p.m. three business days prior to the pass-through entity's deadline |
| Submission to state and local governments | 5 p.m. three business days prior to the submission deadline |
| Submission to foundations | 5 p.m. three business days prior to the submission deadline |
| Submission to industry | 5 p.m. three business days prior to the submission deadline |
| If the sponsor's due date is: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The proposal is due to PASA on: | 5 p.m. the preceding Wednesday | 5 p.m. the preceding Thursday | 5 p.m. the preceding Friday | 5 p.m. the preceding Monday | 5 p.m. the preceding Tuesday |
If the internal deadlines are not met the proposal or LOI will not be submitted.
Exceptions
There will be no exceptions granted for same-day submissions. A same-day submission is anything received after 5 p.m. EST the day before the proposal or LOI is due.
Limited exceptions to this policy due to extenuating circumstances may be granted on a case-by-case basis. Exceptions are not anticipated. Exceptions must be submitted according to the instructions and approved by the submission deadline to PASA.
Exception requests must be prepared by the PI utilizing the Grant Submission Deadline Exception Request form. The exception request will be routed to the Vice President for Research or his/her designee for institutional approval.
For example:
- Non-federal funding opportunities that are presented to the university with less than one week lead time. Documentation of initial contact with the sponsor will be required as part of the exception process
- Official CWRU closure (e.g. inclement weather)
- PI or Co-PI serious illness or injury
- Death of key personnel
- New Sponsor Set-up.
Exclusions
- Sponsored Project support from all sources that do not have a published due date.
- Federal annual progress reports (NIH, NSF, DOD, Non-Competing continuations, etc.) Regardless of the date received these reports will be reviewed three days prior to submission.
- Offers of funding from established community partners or foundations that have pre-existing relationships with the university. Generally, these opportunities are facilitated through Foundation Relations/Development and do not require a proposal.
- Non-Federal progress reports for incremental funding. These will be submitted upon appropriate review.
- Faculty with permission for continuous submissions. Regardless of the date received, applications will be reviewed for three days. If there is a final deadline for a continuous submission that deadline will be treated as if it were a posted deadline and the three-day submission requirement will be enforced.