The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' Office of Research Administration (EMS Research Office) supports the mission of the college by providing administrative and management services for sponsored projects. Every proposal submitted to a potential sponsor requires the collaborative efforts of the principal investigator (PI), the submitting department/institute staff, and the pre-award coordinators in the EMS Research Office.
These guidelines and the associated EMS Proposal Submission Timeline outline the process to ensure each, and every proposal receives the essential services and administrative support to enable high-quality, compliant proposal submissions with the best opportunity for success.
- The EMS Proposal Submission Guidelines are compliant with and implement University policy RA20 – Proposal Submission.
- The EMS Research Office and the designated department/institute research administration staff are tasked with supporting all aspects of proposal document preparation and compliance review. However, the PI is ultimately responsible for the content of the proposal.
- The PI should be familiar with all proposal preparation requirements as stated in the sponsor’s solicitation, funding opportunity announcement, or request for proposal.
- The PI is required to complete all technical and project-specific proposal documents.
- The PI is required to review and approve all final proposal documents before the proposal is submitted to the sponsor.
- Principal Investigators should provide proposal preparation staff ample time to ensure sponsor guidelines are being followed, budgets adhere to RA21, required approvals have been secured, and all forms, representations, and certifications are accurate and complete. The College of Earth and Mineral Sciences strongly encourages PIs, co-PIs and all approving departments and institutes to follow the EMS Proposal Submission Timeline to guarantee timely submission of proposals. The Research Office may, as needed, establish earlier deadlines in advance of expected high-volume submission dates.
- To assess the level of support required for proposal preparation and compliance review, PIs are required to complete and submit an online EMS Proposal Submission Form as soon as they identify and intend to submit a proposal, and no later than 3 weeks (15 workdays) prior to the sponsor’s due date. Note that the proposal submission deadline is the date the Penn State proposal package is due. In some cases that is the prime sponsor due date; in others, it is the date the lead organization requires a sub-recipient package from us.
- If a proposal does not have a hard deadline, such as open solicitations (open deadline), please provide an estimated deadline in the EMS Proposal Submission Form. The Research Office submits all open solicitation proposals within 5 workdays following PI submission of a final version of all required documents to the EMS Research Office. PIs should refrain from committing to shorter submission windows with Program Officers or other sponsor contacts.
- PIs are expected to submit a final version of all required proposal documents to the EMS Research Office at least 5 workdays before the sponsor’s due date. After all proposal documents are submitted to the EMS Research Office, the PI is expected to remain available for communication with department/institute and Research Office staff until the final proposal is submitted to the sponsor to answer questions, clarify intent, edit documents as needed, and approve the final proposal package. It is the PI’s responsibility to designate an alternate in advance if the PI will be on travel or otherwise unavailable during this period.
- The Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Research may conduct an ad hoc review of a proposal status due to the strategic importance of the proposal to the college; to provide recommendations for addressing complex issues or resolving policy questions; to offer support and advocacy with other colleges and/or central University offices; or to assess progress toward timely completion of proposal submission tasks. An ad hoc review may be conducted at any point in the proposal submission process, either at the request of the PI or the EMS Research Office.