Pre-Award Support

Office of Research Proposal Assistance

Assistance from the Office of Research is available for the following:

Proposal preparation and submission
Budget and budget justification preparation
Preparation of internal paperwork (such as the Kuali Research doc) and sponsor forms
Funding searches
Proposal feedback
Academic Specialist PI Exemption Requests
Please contact Barb Miller for external funding opportunities and Sherry Stevens for internal funding opportunities

Proposal Preparation and Submission Guidelines

Proposal preparation takes considerable time and effort. We ask that you fill out the Pre-Award Intake Form (for both internal and external opportunities) at least 12 business days before sponsor’s deadline (~ 2-3 months recommended) in order to make sure all of the necessary steps for submission are completed correctly and according to MSU guidelines. The timeline and steps below have been developed to allow sufficient lead time to produce a quality proposal, to answer any questions that may come up during the process, and to receive required internal approvals from the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) if applicable. We also suggest keeping your CV, your MSU Conflicts of Commitment Form, and any necessary trainings (ex: Human Subjects Research, Cybersecurity) up to date to expedite the process.

Proposal Preparation Timeline and Steps

At least 12 business days before sponsor’s deadline (~ 2-3 months recommended)

Complete Pre-Award Intake Form
BUDGET – Start drafting with assistance of CAL’s research administrator.
RFP/PROPOSAL GUIDELINES – Send to CAL’s pre-award research administrator. CAL’s research administrator will send it to OSP by 10 full business days before the sponsor’s deadline, to meet OSP’s requirement.
KUALI RESEARCH DOC – CAL’s research administrator will create a Kuali Research doc, MSU’s internal proposal approval form.
COST SHARING – The PI should submit requests to their department Chair, who will then submit to CAL’s Senior Associate Dean for Research. May require considerable lead time. CAL’s Cost Sharing Policy
SPACE NEEDS – The PI should submit requests for unmet space needs to their department Chair, who will then submit to CAL. May require considerable lead time.

8 business days before sponsor’s deadline

Budget must be finalized with CAL’s research administrator.
CAL’s research administrator will submit the final budget to OSP for approval at least 6 business days before the sponsor’s deadline, to meet OSP’s requirement.
CAL’s research administrator will finalize the Kuali Research doc and administrative portions of sponsor forms.
After OSP approves the budget, CAL’s research administrator will route the Kuali Research doc for approval.

4 business days before sponsor’s deadline

The PI must submit the finalized proposal to CAL’s research administrator.
CAL’s research administrator will send it to OSP for submission by 7:59 AM THREE full business days before the sponsor’s deadline, to meet OSP’s requirement.
The Kuali Research doc must be fully approved 3 full business days before the sponsor’s deadline, this includes approvals from the PI.