PROCEDURES FOR PROPROSAL PROCESSING
by County Extension Personnel

1. Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) is the office authorized to submit proposals on behalf of the University for sponsored programs. It helps faculty obtain external funding from government agencies, private industries, and private foundations to support their creative and scholarly activities. Numerous resources and guides are available at: http://grants.psu.edu/.

The Faculty Guide to Sponsored Programs is available at http://grants.psu.edu/proposal_prep/guides.html. This gives a brief look at the University practices affecting the solicitation of grant and contract funds. It is not intended to be an official statement of University Policy or a comprehensive manual, but a readily accessible guide to get Penn State faculty started in the pursuit of sponsored support.

2. College Grants and Contacts Office (Grants Office)
The College Grants and Contracts Office has responsibility for processing proposals for external funding agencies through the College and appropriate University channels. Information, policies, and procedures are available at: http://grants.cas.psu.edu/. In addition, if we are a subcontractor, the proposal and budget also needs to be submitted through university channels.

3. Funding Opportunity
The Project Director (PD) should contact the Grants Office early in the process to discuss intent to submit a proposal and to prepare the initial budget. Discussions with CED and Regional Director should occur prior to that. If the proposal is in response to a program announcement or RFP, a copy or the web address should be provided.

4. Budget
The PI should contact the Grants Office for assistance with development of the budget in accordance with sponsor and university guidelines and policies. This should occur at least 10 working days prior to the deadline. After the draft budget has been prepared, it will be faxed or e-mailed to the PD for review. The budget should reflect the scope of work being proposed. Some items to consider when developing a budget are indicated below.

Estimated Start Date
Length of project
Personnel needs:
Salaries - identify by name, percent of effort or number of days per year
Wages - hourly rate and number of hours per year
Equipment items $5,000 and greater - must be identified by item
Materials and Supplies
Travel
Communications (telephone, postage, fax, etc.)
Photocopying and Printing
Purchased Services
Rental Costs (facilities, equipment, etc.)
Subcontracts
Other (identify)

5. Internal Approval Form (IAF)
The Proposal Internal Approval Form (IAF) (http://grants.psu.edu/PSU/Prep/PIAF_Inst.pdf) provides a summary of pertinent administrative and fiscal information about the project. It also provides a record of assurances of project director(s). The IAF is prepared by the Grants Office at the time the budget is developed. It must have all required approvals prior to proposal submission.

The IAF requires signatures of the PD(s) and co-PD(s) and Regional Director(s). It is the responsibility of the PD to obtain these signatures. Faxed signatures are acceptable. Signatures of the RD and authorized officials for the College and the University are also required. The Grants Office will obtain these after all other signatures have been obtained by the PD.

6. Scope of Work or Narrative Portion of the Proposal
It is the responsibility of the PD to prepare this portion of the proposal. The format of a particular proposal will depend on the requirements of the sponsor. The guidelines often include instructions on the type size, number of pages, etc.

7. Submittal of Complete Proposal
One original (with blue ink signatures) of the complete proposal (cover page, table of contents, narrative, budget, vitae, attachments, etc.) must be received by the Grants Office at least 5 working days prior to deadline for submission of proposal. The signed IAF also needs to accompany this proposal.

After review of the proposal for compliance with sponsor and university guidelines, the proposal will be submitted by Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) on behalf of the university.

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