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Notification of Intent and Proposal Timelines

The Principle Investigator (PI) is responsible for notifying their pre award associate a proposal to an external funder is in progress. The table below shows a general breakdown of responsibilities for the PI and pre award associate as they navigate the beginning stages of proposal development and submission.   

Principal Investigator Responsibility Pre Award Responsibility

Common requirements to look for in a solicitation or RFP:

Eligibility

  • Virginia Tech or the principal investigator may not be eligible to submit certain proposals.
  • Some solicitations are small business set-aside (only small businesses may apply), targeted for local government agencies, or only 501(c)(3) agencies may apply. Some also are limited to specific types of universities or colleges such as Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUI) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) for which Virginia Tech is not eligible. Some solicitations are limited to researchers who are just beginning their careers. Please check the solicitation for eligibility.

Limited submission

  • Limited Submission Funding Programs: Introduction
  • Solicitations that allow a limited number of proposals from each institution must be reviewed internally.  An internal competition will be held to determine which proposal Virginia Tech will submit.

Letter of Intent

  • Some solicitations require a letter of intent to be submitted before the full proposal can be submitted.

Method of submission

  • Determine if the sponsor requires an electronic submission of the proposal or a paper copy shipped through ground mail.

Budget Requirements

  • Cost Share may be required and must be approved by principal investigator’s and co-principal investigator’s department and college.
  • Some solicitations have limitations on allowable costs that can be in the budget.
  • Indirect limitations may apply.

Proposal Timeline

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) recommends that principal investigators create schedules and deadlines for each of the major proposal components and notify your pre award asslciate of this schedule. 

For example, set a deadline for completing the budget, OSP forms, technical proposal, etc.  OSP is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., except for days the university is officially closed.  Principal investigatorshould keep this in mind when developing proposal schedules. Principal investigators should also allow for additional administrative review time when scheduling proposal development and submission dates.  OSP 20002 Proposal Submission requires principal investigators provide their pre-award associate with proposal forms, budgets, and other required documentation at least two (2) business days prior to the deadline.

The SUMMIT system is the university's official research administration system and should be used to submit proposal information and documentation to the principal investigator's pre-award associate.

The technical narrative is EXCLUDED from this deadline and should be sent to the pre award associate, along with the completed and final proposal package, by 9 a.m. the day the proposal is due.