Proposal Development
Review & Approval Timeline
The Office of Research must review and approve every proposal before it may be submitted to a sponsor, even if you choose not to request grant writing services. In order to adequately review every proposal, researchers must submit their proposals to the Office of Research via the Proposal Routing form well in advance of the sponsors' deadlines.
Minimum Lead Time for Proposal Routing Form
- For complex and/or multi-institutional proposals: 10 business days
- For proposals with cost share: 10 business days
- For any proposal from a PI with little or no funding history: 10 business days
- For standard, single institution proposals from experienced PIs: 5 business days
See the below Minimum Lead Time Policy for more information.
Ideally, PIs should submit their proposals and proposal routing forms 1-3 months in advance of the sponsor's deadline. Enter your sponsor's deadline into the calculator below or into the detailed Interactive Proposal Submission Timeline worksheet to get a sense of our recommended timeline.
Proposal Timeline Calculator
Enter Agency's Submission Deadline:
| Timeline | Deliverable | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| ASAP | Request Office of Research services | |
| Three Months Out | If applicable, request external review | |
| Two Months Out | Provide rough draft of proposal to grant writer | |
| Four Weeks Out | Submit Proposal Routing form | |
| Agency Deadline | All work must be completed and submitted to sponsor |
Minimum Lead Time Policy
Lead time is counted from the moment a Proposal Routing form is signed by the dean. Proposals which are not approved by the chair/dean/director have not received institutional approval for submission.
All deadlines represent the amount of lead time necessary before the document is to be transmitted to the funding agency or private entity. In order to serve faculty members from all departments in a professional manner, the Office of Research must require that PIs follow the rule that all proposals be given to the Office of Research for review according to this schedule. PIs must submit a completed and fully signed Proposal Routing Form with the proposal narrative or contract scope of work, the budget, and the budget justification attached. Staff cannot guarantee that late documents will be reviewed in time to meet required agency deadlines. Proposals for a particular deadline will be reviewed in the order in which the college-authorized routing forms are submitted.
The Office of Research is responsible for obtaining the appropriate institutional signatures for documents that are submitted within the established policy.
UNO requires a proposal review because the University makes commitments for personnel resources, institutional resources, and cash. The University reserves the right to refuse any award resulting from a proposal which was not fully reviewed and/or which does not support the mission of UNO.
Resources
Proposals that follow individual funding agencies' standards and style guidelines receive funding at a higher rate. Principal investigators should always check the funding agencies' websites and confer with their pre-award team.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Proposal Preparation Checklist (PDF) or Proposal Preparation Checklist (Webpage)
- Biosketch Templates
- Current & Pending Support (CPS) Template
- Collaborators and Other Affiliations (COA) Template