All documents for the grant proposals are due to the Grants Administrator one calendar week before the agency due date. If that deadline is not met, we cannot guarantee that your proposal will be submitted and you bear the responsibility for it not going out.
Grants submitted after that time must have permission of the Scientific Director or the Director of Grants and Contracts for submission.
We plan to submit grants at least 2 business days before the deadline to allow for any unforeseen circumstances. Examples of actual problems submitting electronic proposals are: internet is down, funding agency server is full and we are not able to get through, system overloads delaying submission, electronic file is corrupted and we must redo everything, to name just a few. We would hate for all your hard work and ours to have to wait for another funding cycle or funding opportunity.
Our aim is to provide excellent service to you. In order to do so, we must have adequate time to process everything in a careful, methodical manner. Grants Administrators have many, many things to do for a grant submission above and beyond the work you see them performing.
Examples of work that we should be doing before your grant is submitted are:
- Ensure biosketches are completed correctly (this is an increasing problem and can cause rejection of an application if standards/instructions are not adhered to.
- Review to ensure all key personnel and letters of support are enclosed and
- Ensure that all required elements of the proposal have been completed and sent to us
- Inconsistencies between science, budget and the budget justification
Examples of reasons for grants being rejected:
- Not submitted on time
- Didn’t follow the instructions or requirements
- Not formatted correctly
- Wrong forms used (even if it is just 1 page)
The Grants & Contracts Office takes pride in its work. We are invested in your proposal; we want it to be the best proposal submitted and we want it to be funded. Working together is essential to this process.