Pre-Award
To offer our constituents efficient communication and a continued high level of service from the college pre-award team, we have established a general email account preaward-coe@ncsu.edu which is monitored by the entire research office pre-award team during business operating hours 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, except for University holidays. Also, below is a link to our COE Pre-Award Shared Google Folder that houses a lot of useful information.
Sincerely,
Laurinda Perez,
Assistant Director
Office: 919.515.7011
Email: preaward-coe@ncsu.edu
Administration Share Folder:
- College budget template
- COE Common Request Guide
- Potentially Problematic Terms Questionnaire (“Standard Questions” for red-flag terms)
- The new COE Pre-Award Guide
- Frequently requested university business information
- University Center/Consortium/Institute information and templates
- College and SPARCS policies and processes
- Sponsor information
- College training material
College’s Pre-award Process
It is advantageous to have a PINS record in place because it enables us to better monitor and track all activity. This also allows the Principal Investigator (PI) to have a record of those initiatives in which they have expressed an interest and to monitor and track cost share that may have been committed.
It will also be beneficial in the event the PI is invited to submit a full proposal, making the internal paperwork task straightforward since we can simply clone the pre-proposal/white paper PINS record and make updates as needed.
Additionally, the PINS record provides an alert to our office as to the forthcoming activity, which is always welcomed so that we may prioritize and staff accordingly.
Rush Proposal Policies
College 8-DAY/4-DAY Rush Policy
8 business days prior to the due date (Calendar)
The PI or department administrator should initiate the PINS record eight (8) days before the sponsor’s deadline. Once the record is initiated, it is at this point the PINS record is added to the college workflow by assigning it to a college consultant. Keep in mind, that the pre-award team is deadline-driven; therefore, PINS assignments are based on the college consultant’s workload. Though the PINS should include the full proposal, the College of Engineering will accept the minimum requirements:
- All required tabs were completed (no errors) and PINS was initiated
- Documents:
- Solicitation/RFP/BAA/RFA
- Budget Breakdown (mirroring WRS with account codes)*
- Budget Justification (narrative). *
- Documentation for F&A when it deviates from the federally-negotiated rates
- Common sources for lower F&A documentation: Solicitation
- Sponsor website, including FAQs
- An official letter on letterhead from someone with proper authority with the sponsor; i.e. president, CEO
- NC State’s Pre-approved Justification Codes
- F&A waiver approved by Dr. Gilligan and SPARCS
- Cost Share commitment documentation, when applicable
- Limited submission endorsement, when applicable
*Required by CRO and SPARCS, even when it’s not required by the sponsor. Exception: LOI/Pre-proposal
Some benefit to initiating a complete PINS eight (8) days before the deadline, allows the college to identify and prepare for heavy submission deadlines. It allows time for the college research office to respond to any PI or department complex or unique questions, allows time for the college to respond appropriately to the sponsor’s potentially problematic terms and conditions, as well as, review the provided information, and offer feedback (or “preliminary review”), and it allows time for the PI and department to make necessary revisions and for the college to engage other offices when necessary.
4 business days prior to the due date (Calendar)
When the college receives the final proposal with the appropriate permission to submit it, it allows sufficient time for the final review by both college consultants and AOR. Often they must offer recommendations based on their final reviews. Therefore, submitting a proposal four (4) days before the deadline will give the PI and department time to make any final revisions to the proposal, including any unexpected errors during and after the submission. Submitting early also helps mitigate potential sponsor or university systems sluggishness that may happen on the deadline.
The college memo can be found HERE
UNIVERSITY Prompt Policy
Sometimes the SPARCS office must be engaged by the college office (not PI or Department). The purpose can include a review of the sponsor’s terms and conditions and request signed forms the college does not have delegation. In these instances, SPARCS has a Prompt Policy that will allow them time to review and respond appropriately.
Lead time for SPARCS review:
Request to review terms and conditions will be forwarded to SPS@ncsu.edu as soon as the college recognizes the need or completed PINS no less than two (2) business days before the deadline.
Request to sign any sponsor documents. SPARCS must receive a completed PINS no less than one (1) business day (24 hours).
If signatures are requested on the deadline, then SPARCS must receive a completed PINS and be notified by email (sps@ncsu.edu) by the college AOR, which will include the Director of Sponsored Research and the Associate Dean for Research (ADR). The College of Engineering will also include the college Director of Research Administration, Principle Investigator (PI), and their Department Head, as well as the department research administrator.
These types of requests should happen rarely and please understand that SPARCS is unable to guarantee they can meet the turnaround requirement for the PI’s proposal submission, so, it would be advisable for the PI or department to request a time extension from the sponsor.
Lead time for other offices on campus, such as Environmental Health & Public Safety (EHPS) or Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity (OIED), SPARCS requires ‘additional’ lead time. The College of Research Administrations likes to follow the above SPARCS policy for terms and conditions. Therefore, the college will engage other offices on campus as soon as the need is recognized, but no less than two (2) full business days.
When PINS includes agreements (not under FDP) that require SPARCS review and signature, keep in mind, that they are not eligible for rush processing. Therefore, the PI or department will need to request a time extension from the sponsor.
SPARCS Timely Proposal Submission Policy: CLICK HERE
Getting Ready
The pre-award phase begins when the researcher has identified a funding opportunity and ends with the final funding status of the proposal. There are several steps in between these two actions, called the Pre-Award Lifecycle. For the College of Engineering, those steps are as follows Click Here
Internal Forms, Templates and Agreements
Research Administration and Compliance: Systems/Portals
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
NC State Research Development Office (RDO)
Go to the RDO website to subscribe to Funding Opportunity Listserv
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Find funding at NSF
Grants.gov
Search for grants at Grants.gov
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Getting to Know Federal Funders and their Research Interests
infoEd Global – SPIN Search
Visit SPIN search