Proposal Deadline Policy
Effective January 4, 2010; updated March 2023
The Office of Research Administration is the sole institutional entity with authority to submit proposals for sponsored projects to external funding agencies and is responsible for assuring that these proposals are consistent with sponsor requirements; with federal, state and local laws and regulations; and, with Brandeis' institutional, academic, and fiscal policies. Given the growing complexity of the proposal submission process and the often large number of proposals being submitted for the same deadline, it is critical that principal investigators adhere to the following internal deadlines so that ORA staff have time to properly review a proposal and ensure that it is fully compliant before its submission. Note that proposals without a firm sponsor deadline are still required to follow the processes outlined in this policy.
Intent to Submit Notification
Investigators should notify ORA and any departmental, divisional, or school pre-award groups as soon as possible after they decide to begin work toward submission of a proposal. Such notification should include as much information about the proposal as possible including a link to the applicable proposal announcement, solicitation, or request for proposal; due date; and, any other particularities that may require special review that the PI anticipates including in the proposal.* This will help the administrative teams provide the best possible support for each investigator throughout the process of preparing their submissions.
*Special reviews, e.g. institutional cost sharing, renovation or installation costs, under recovery of F&A costs, export control issues, subawards, international collaborators, etc., or requests for institutional letters of support from senior leadership may require significant additional lead time to be approved, over and above the deadlines outlined below. Principal investigators are encouraged to initiate these requests well in advance of the anticipated submission deadline. This process is particularly critical for any proposal related to the acquisition of any major or potentially hazardous research equipment.
Complete Business Proposal Draft
Five full business days✝ prior to the sponsor deadline, the Office of Research Administration must have received a draft of the project summary and/or abstract (close enough to final form to allow for a comprehensive compliance review of the proposal), and a draft of the “business proposal,” consisting of all the administrative and financial components of the proposal, including:
- A copy of, or link to, the announcement, solicitation or request for proposal to which the proposal is responding (if not previously provided)
- A draft project approval form (pdf), with all applicable attachments
- Complete set of sponsor-specific forms
- A detailed budget and budget justification, as required by the sponsor
- All other required administrative sections of proposal or additional project-specific information (e.g., Biosketches, Current and Pending Support, Senior/Key and Other Personnel, Facilities, Equipment, etc.)
- Required documentation from all subawards, subcontracts, consortium arrangements and consultants
✝"Full Business Days" means that the materials are submitted to the Office of Research Administration by 9 a.m. (five or three) full business days prior to the submission deadline that has been set by the sponsor.For example, if there is a Thursday, December 1st deadline, then the draft proposal (required 5 full business days prior to the sponsor deadline) must reach the ORA no later than 9 a.m. on November 22 (the university is closed on Thursday, Nov 24 and Friday Nov 25th for Thanksgiving, and Saturday and Sunday are weekend days). Check carefully for holidays, early closures, and other university pauses so that you make sure to budget your time well to ensure compliance with this policy.
Final Proposal
Three full business days✝prior to the sponsor deadline, the complete, final version of the entire proposal, as well as a project approval form (pdf) with all required signatures must be received by the Office of Research Administration.
✝"Full Business Days" means that the materials are submitted to the Office of Research Administration by 9 a.m. (five or three) full business days prior to the submission deadline that has been set by the sponsor.For example, if there is a Thursday, December 1st deadline, then the draft proposal (required 5 full business days prior to the sponsor deadline) must reach the ORA no later than 9 a.m. on November 22 (the university is closed on Thursday, Nov 24 and Friday Nov 25th for Thanksgiving, and Saturday and Sunday are weekend days). Check carefully for holidays, early closures, and other university pauses so that you make sure to budget your time well to ensure compliance with this policy.
Deadline Exceptions
Proposal submissions to the ORA that fall outside of the Proposal Deadline Policy will be considered for submission on a case-by-case basis. Investigators who wish their proposals to be considered for submission after the deadline should send the Deadline Exception Request Form to the Associate Provost for Research Administration for review and approval. Investigators are encouraged to include a detailed justification for their request and to gather support from their departmental pre-award support office and chair/dean/provost, as applicable, prior to submitting the request. Requests shall be reviewed by the Associate Provost for Research Administration based upon the merits of the request and staff availability. If approval of a request is withheld, the proposal will not be submitted.