Notify the Proper People of Intent to Submit a Proposal

Research Affairs - Financial Management

Consider Key Budget Issues 

Research Space

Determine the Award Type

Prime vs. Sub-awards

Determine the Proposal Type

Internal Grant Proposals

Determine the Submission Process

Paper Submissions

Notify the Proper People of Intent to Submit Proposal

Whom	Why
Co-Investigators & Collaborators	Co-Investigators and Collaborators serve as key personnel on the proposal. Needed action:  Co-Investigators and collaborators must provide current CVs/Biosketches and salary information for the proposal budget. Needed action:  Collaborators from other institutions who will be included in the project under a sub-award must provide the information outlined under the subaward process when LLU is the grantor.
Department Chair or Center Director	Your department chair or center director will review and give administrative approval to the proposal before it is submitted to the sponsor.
School Dean	Your school dean will review and give administrative approval to the proposal before it is submitted to the sponsor.
School Business Officer	Your school business officer will review and give administrative approval to the proposal before the dean approves the proposal.
Research Administration	Research Administration assists the PI in preparing the administrative sections of the proposal and getting administrative approvals.  Research Administration also assists in submitting the proposal to the sponsor.  Needed action:  Contact the Grant Pre-Award Management Analyst as soon as you have identified a funding opportunity you wish to apply for.  Provide a copy of the funding announcement, along with any amendments to the announcement.
Research Affairs - Financial Management	Research Affairs - Financial Management assists the PI in drafting the proposal budget and working out key budget issues.  Financial Management reviews and approves the preliminary and final budget before submitting to the sponsor.  Needed action:  Contact your assigned Financial Analyst as soon as possible.

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Consider Key Budget Issues

Charging Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs as Direct Costs

Clerical and administrative salaries & wages and fringe benefits 

Subscriptions

Membership in professional or scientific organizations 

Office supplies

Utilities

Telephones, cell phones, pagers 

Computers and software

(See LLU budget categories for a complete list of direct and indirect costs)

Example: Normally, office supplies such as paper would not be considered a direct cost on a project, and federal laws would prohibit the PI from charging them to the project. However, if the project requires the distribution of 10,000 surveys, then it would be reasonable to purchase paper as a direct cost. Contact Research Affairs - Financial Management for further guidance.

Waiving Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs

Projects that lead to funding from sponsors that do not restrict F&A charges

Projects that support research capacity growth in strategic areas, or

Projects that promise greater quantifiable recognition for LLU.

To submit a waiver request:

Complete an Facilities and Administrative Cost Waiver or Reduction Request form.





Attach the approved waiver request to the LLU Transmittal and submit to Research Affairs - Financial Management when getting final budget approval.




If the sponsor has an official policy that uniformly limits F&A on all awards, attach a copy of the policy to the waiver request.  This information may be found in the funding announcement, on the sponsor's website, or on a standard letter.  If using a letter, it must be written on the sponsor's letterhead and signed by an authorized signatory such as the president, vice president, or treasurer. 





Also include a written rationale explaining why LLU should subsidize the project.




If Financial Management approves, submit the waiver request to your department or school when getting administrative approvals.  Your dean must approve the request.





Final approval must be granted by the Vice President for Research Affairs as the last step of the approval process.

For more information, see LLU's F&A Primer.

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Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is the portion of sponsored project costs not borne by the sponsor, i.e. costs paid for by the institution. Occasionally a sponsor requires cost sharing as a condition of the award (mandatory cost sharing). Cost sharing also occurs when the institution voluntarily commits funds beyond those awarded by a sponsor to support a particular grant or contract (voluntary cost sharing).

Cost sharing must follow LLUAHSC policy & procedure (H-13): Cost Sharing, Matching, & In-Kind Contributions on Sponsored Projects.  Generally speaking, unless cost sharing is required by the sponsor, PIs (or chairs, directors, deans and other institution officials) should avoid making cost sharing commitments in a proposal. This is because a cost sharing commitment:

is a legal, binding agreement to pay part of the research costs from departmental/school funds. The school must pay those costs even if other grant funds become available;

increases the administrative burden on the PI’s department/unit since it will be responsible for tracking/reporting shared costs if the sponsor makes an award;

causes the institution to forfeit the recovery of direct costs and also the recovery of associated F&A costs; and

is subject to audit.

If the PI and/or department head believe that cost sharing must be included, then s/he is urged to contact Research Affairs - Financial Management early in the proposal process for assistance in preparing the proposal budget. The PI must submit a Cost Authorization form, which will require written approval from the PI’s chair, director, and/or dean.

Cost sharing is primarily required by federal sponsors, and the obligation must be met using non-federal funds. Only charges that would be allowable as direct costs are allowable as cost sharing (for a full list of direct cost items, see LLU Budget Categories). Federal flow through funds may NOT be used as a cost sharing source unless prior written approval has been received from both the federal sponsor and the flow through entity.

Appropriate alignment of Personnel Effort: 

The most common form of cost sharing is committing salaries and fringe benefits without requesting compensation from the sponsor. For example: if a proposal states that a researcher will contribute 10% of her time to a project during the first budget period, but her salary will not be charged to the award, then the PI’s department has committed to pay the cost of the dollar amount (i.e. cost share) equal to 10% of the researcher's salary, plus associated fringe benefits. For most awards, the percent effort reported for each person should be the same as the fraction of salary requested. The proposed level of effort should be reasonable. The PI must consider the following:

the percentage of time committed to other sponsored projects;

the amount of effort devoted to other functions such as teaching and public service; and<

the size of the project.

See LLU's Primer on Effort Reporting for more information.

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Sub-awards and Sub-contracts

Sub-awards are described in more detail under Determine the Award type. 

Determine the applicable process: 

If the LLU PI is applying for the award, but will be collaborating with another institution/entity (i.e. sub-contracting part of the work to someone else), then follow budget guidelines for sub-awards when LLU is the grantor of a sub-award.

If the LLU PI is collaborating on a project at another institution which is receiving the sponsored award, then follow budget guidelines for sub-awards when LLU is the sub-recipient.

 
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Restrictions on Extra Compensation for Faculty

Grants usually pay for a portion of an investigator's institutional salary and do not normally provide extra compensation beyond the faculty's salary.  In unusual situations, faculty may be able to earn additional compensation under a grant or contract.  The criteria that must be met to receive this extra compensation are outlined in LLUAHSC policy & procedure (H-03A -- see section 1.4): Charging Direct Costs to Sponsored Projects.  

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Research Space

Adapted from the Researcher's Guide from the University of Washington. Used with permission.

Template descriptions of institutional facilities and resources for research (i.e. "scientific environment") can be found under Prepare the Proposal. To avoid delays in processing and submitting the proposal, please use the following checklist to pro-actively identify and resolve issues regarding research space:

Will the research space that is presently available at LLU be adequate?

Has approval been given to use the rooms needed for the project?




Are any of the following renovations required:

partitions, ceilings, or walls shifted?

painting?

new lighting arrangements?

additional electrical power or internet connection?

water?

special services or facilities, new telephone, plastic pipe, drains, fume hoods, etc?

If renovations are required:

Have costs been estimated and approved by the appropriate LLU officer (dean, school business officer, chair, physical plant department or facilities management office)?

Are funds included as direct costs in the proposal budget?

Are any of the funds to be provided from University budgets?  Are these funds available?

Are non-recurring costs (such as telephone installation or moving) included as direct costs in the proposal budget?

Will research space not currently available to LLU be required?

If non-LLU space is required:

Have rental or lease agreements been confirmed with the University Real Estate office?

Is rental cost included as a direct cost in the proposal budget?

Are the telephone costs (both installation and recurring) included as direct costs in the proposal budget?

If renovation of non-LLU space is required, has the cost of remodeling been included in the proposal budget?

If new space is to be constructed:

Have requirements been discussed with appropriate LLU officers (dean, school business officer, chair, physical plant department, or facilities management office)?

Are funds for planning and construction included in the proposal budget?

If the facilities of special research centers will be required, has the director of the center been consulted regarding available costs?  Will the LLU Transmittal be appropriately signed by the director of the center?

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Determine the Award Type 

Determine whether the proposal will result in a gift, grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, as these types of awards differ in both the process used to submit the proposal and in the sponsor’s expectations. 

Gifts

A gift is money or goods given to LLU with “no strings attached” – the giver does not expect anything in return.

Gifts normally have the following characteristics:

The notification letter from the giver allows an investigator or institution the freedom to spend funds on a general emphasis;

The giver expects no deliverables, but may ask for a general report summarizing how the funds were used. If deliverables are expected, chances are that the award is a grant, not a gift;

Separate accounting procedures are not required;

Benefits are to accrue to the nation and the world;

Sponsor has no audit rights;

No regulatory issues are involved (e.g. human subjects or animal care).

If you’re not sure whether your proposal will result in a gift, contact Research Affairs - Financial Management.

Some definitions to keep in mind:

What the gift is for	How/When the gift is spent
Unrestricted The donor does not designate a purpose	Expendable The gift is available immediately for current projects, discretionary, and/or department accounts
Restricted The donor designates the gift for a specific purpose	Endowment The gift must be invested and held in perpetuity by the institution.  Only investment returns are available for spending on current projects.

Grants

No limits on publication;

Ownership of intellectual property;

Usually no confidentiality agreement is necessary.

Cooperative Agreements

If you’re not sure whether your proposal will result in a cooperative agreement, contact the Contracts Analyst.  

Contracts

Statement of Work: What is going to be done

Acceptance: A formal acceptance, including the specific names of the responsible parties. Loma Linda University accepts the contract on behalf of the PI.

Exchange: The amount agreed upon for the specific outcomes defined in the statement of work.

Freedom within the project will be constrained. 

The nature of the work may not be altered without permission. 

Spending must correspond to the agreed budget. Funds are often attached to a specific outcome and can be retracted for failure to deliver. 

Publication may be delayed for sponsor review.

The PI will often be required to sign a confidentiality agreement, especially if the sponsor is allowing access to proprietary information.

Ownership of intellectual property does not automatically go to the institution, but must be negotiated with the sponsor.

Award Process

Depending on the award type, sponsors vary in how they expect LLU to handle the award. 

The table below illustrates the differences between the various types of awards:

	Gift	Grant	Cooperative Agreement	Contract
What the sponsor expects in return:	Almost nothing	Reports and Results	Reports and Results	Very specific goods and services
Benefits of the project go to:	The nation and the world	The nation and the world	The nation and the world	The Sponsor
The direction of the project is guided by:	LLU President or designated PI	The PI	The PI and Sponsor	The Sponsor
Intellectual Property belongs to:	LLU	LLU	LLU	Negotiable

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Fixed Price vs. Cost-Reimbursable

Prime vs. Sub-Awards

procuring supplies or services from commercial vendors (e.g. ordering glassware from a lab supply company or hiring a lab service to run diagnostic tests), or

hiring consultants or other professional service (e.g. web design, statistics, or editorial services).

LLU can participate in 2 types of sub-award arrangements: 

LLU can be the grantor of a sub-award (see examples above; See award process when LLU is the grantor of a sub-award).  Work to be completed under the auspices of a LLU sponsored research award is contracted to a third party.  In this case:

The subrecipient takes full responsibility, including intellectual leadership, for the portion of the LLU research project they undertake.  Thus the subrecipient's personnel may eventually become authors or co-authors of publications resulting from the research project.

Work is performed by the subrecipient's personnel using their own resources and usually at their site.  Work with human and/or animal subjects at their site will require their institution's IRB and IACUC approval (in addition to LLU's IRB or IACUC approval). 

Subawards on LLU sponsored projects are subject to F&A costs at the rate of the subrecipient institution, and LLU F&A costs on the first $25,000 at the LLU rate.  Contact your Financial Analyst who will make the calculations for you. 




LLU can be the recipient of a sub-award (i.e. subrecipient; See award process when LLU is the sub-recipient of a sub-award).  The prime award is made to another institution or group of institutions, then a portion of it is distributed to Loma Linda University to complete specific tasks as part of the larger proposal. 

Example: In contrast to the example above, UCLA receives an R01 award from NIH. The UCLA Principal Investigator wishes to collaborate with an LLU faculty member. UCLA issues a sub-award to LLU under the R01 (the prime award). LLU must accept and comply with NIH’s terms and conditions in the original R01, because they “flow through” to LLU via UCLA as the “flow-through” entity. 

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Determine the Proposal Type 

Formal Proposals

All formal proposals must follow the institution’s approval and submission process. See summary of award processes.

Internal Grant Proposals

Grants for Research and School Partnerships (GRASP)

The GRASP grants are intended to provide inter-school collaboration in research, encourage more faculty to become involved in research, and develop grant preparation skills and generate preliminary data for subsequent extramural peer-reviewed proposals.  For more information, visit the GRASP site. 

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Determine the Submission Process

It is important to understand the submission process early in the planning stages in order to allow the right amount of time to download, organize, prepare and submit all required electronic and/or hard copy forms.   

Submission procedures are described on the Submit the Proposal page.  Below is a brief description of each. 

Electronic Submissions

The majority of proposal submissions are electronic and can be submitted in a variety of ways, e.g. as email attachments, through the Grants.gov portal or ProposalCentral, or directly to a sponsor website. 

For the majority of submissions to federal sponsors via the Grants.gov portal, Loma Linda University uses the LLeRA (Loma Linda electronic Research Administration) system-to-system (S2S) software.  Instructions for using this software are in the LLeRA Proposal Development Manual.  Contact the Electronic Research Administration Specialist early in the pre-award grants cycle to determine the submission route.

Examples of applications submitted through LLeRA:

All electronic submissions to NIH

Most other submissions that utilize the Grants.gov portal

Submissions in response to an internal funding opportunity

Examples of proposals currently NOT submitted through LLeRA:

Progress reports

Paper submissions

Submissions required to be submitted directly to a sponsor system (e.g., AHA)

Submissions to  National Science Foundation (NSF)

Regardless of sponsor policy, all electronic submissions must be completed through Research Administration.

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Paper Submissions

When sponsors require a hard copy of the proposal to be mailed, the grant proposal must go through the normal approval process before being released to the PI for mailing.  It is strongly suggested that the PI mail the proposal with a service that has tracking and delivery confirmation abilities.

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