Pre-Award

8 business days before 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. Remember 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
    • Familiar 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 the sponsor does not require it. Exception: LOI/Pre-proposal

Some benefits to initiating a complete PINS eight (8) days before the deadline include allowing the college to identify and prepare for heavy submission deadlines. It provides 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”). It allows time for the PI and department to make necessary revisions and for the college to engage other offices when required.

4 business days before 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

Sometimes, the college office (not the PI or Department) must engage the SPARCS office. The purpose can include reviewing the sponsor’s terms and conditions and requesting signed forms for which the college does not have the delegation. In these instances, SPARCS has a Prompt Policy allowing them time to review and respond appropriately.

Lead time for SPARCS review:

A request to review terms and conditions will be forwarded to SPS@ncsu.edu as soon as the college recognizes the need or completes PINS no less than two (2) business days before the deadline.

Request to sign any sponsor documents. SPARCS must receive a completed PINS within 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 include the College Director of Research Administration, Principal Investigator (PI), the Department Head, and 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

SPARCS RUSH Agreement Processing Policy