College of MedicineCollege of MedicineResearch OverviewProcedures and ResourcesProposal Submission Standard Operating Procedure 

Proposal Submission Standard Operating Procedure 

  1. PI completes a Grant Proposal Intake Form a minimum of 20 business (30 calendar) days prior to the agency submission deadline.
    • Includes external and internal submissions considered new and resubmissions.
    • An eREX may be necessary for some pre-proposals (LOI) submissions.  Review ORSO Guideline 30 (PDF) to determine if your pre-proposal will require an eREX. If an eREX is necessary, the Intake Form will be required.
    • When unsure about who to work with for the type of funding you hope to receive, consider utilizing the ORSO Decision Tree. When prompted to “Process through the Office of Research Support and Operations,” complete our Intake Form.
  2. When submitting a proposal to a foundation or other sponsor accepting submissions only from 501(c)3 organizations, the PI and Grant Manager (GM) should work early to:
    • Identify who will submit the proposal application. There are two options:
      • Washington State University (WSU)
        • Will submit the proposal in general when the RFA does not require applicants to have a 501(c)3 IRS tax status.
      • Washington State University Foundation (WSUF)
        • Will submit the proposal in general when the RFA requires applicants to have a 501(c)3 IRS tax status.
        • Please contact Tami LaFrance tamara.lafrance@wsu.edu from the WSUF Office of Foundation Relations 30 days prior to the proposal deadline if determined that WSUF will submit the proposal.
    • Consider Office of Foundation Relations proposal support. Contact Tami LaFrance at tamara.lafrance@wsu.edu even if decided WSUF will not submit the proposal. 
    • Create an eREX and follow all policies/procedures outlined in this SOP where in any instance it is determined WSU or WSUF will be submitting the proposal.
    • Establish an appropriate F&A rate for the submission when the RFA makes no mention of F&A limitations. Your GM will advise.   
    • Assess proposal requirements which may include tax documents or signed forms from authorized representatives of WSU and/or WSUF. Notify your GM of unique requirements early as it may take up to several weeks to obtain these documents.
  3. Internal Medicine deadline is calendared for PI and GM. Communication from GM to follow.
  4. PI will provide administrative contact information for subaward recipients (if any).
  5. PI is responsible for the following during the early stages:
    • Completing the following tabs on the eREX:
      • Checklist
      • Credit tab
      • Appendix 2
      • Appendix 3 (when applicable)
    • Ensuring all key personnel have up-to-date compliance records including:
    • Communicating any special circumstances.
      • Investigators without tenure accruing and career-track appointments at WSU must review ORSO Policy 35 (PDF) with their supervisor and their department chair. The department chair will provide acknowledgement via email to the GM that ORSO Policy 35 will be adhered to.
  6. PI and GM will create a WSU budget workbook as needed. Budgets must be certified by a GM.
  7. FOR GUARANTEED TIMELY SUBMISSION, FOLLOW ALL DEADLINES BELOW
    • FINAL budget and justification from the PI are due to the GM for certification EIGHT business days prior to agency submission deadline.
    • NON-Narrative Hold Eligible submissions
      • All FINAL proposal documents are due to the GM SEVEN business days prior to agency submission deadline.
    • Narrative Hold Submissions. See Narrative Hold Policy (PDF).
      • All REQUIRED components of the application must be uploaded within the grant submission portal SIX business days prior to agency submission deadline. A validation check must return error free. Only the research/technical narrative (e.g. Project Description, Research Strategy, etc.) and directly associated documents (e.g. References Cited, Project Summary) can be uploaded in DRAFT form and must be clearly labeled “DRAFT” in document headers/titles.

        Narrative Hold is only available for submissions in ASSIST (NIH), Research.gov (NSF), NSPIRES (NASA) and Workspace via Grants.gov with an eREX fully approved FIVE business days prior to agency deadline! If utilizing the Narrative Hold, PI must inform the GM that final proposal documents have been uploaded and are ready to submit no later than 9 a.m. the business day prior to the agency deadline.
  8. GM will upload all documents to the eREX, check for errors and submit for approval routing. PI must approve eREX via an emailed link from orso@wsu.edu.

Deadlines/Waivers

Per UPPM 40-02 Section 3.2, if the eREX has not been routed and fully approved FIVE business days prior to the agency deadline, it is considered late and the Rush Waiver policy is triggered. The approval process will restart and require justification for the late processing. The following are the only allowable Rush Waiver eREX justifications. Prior approval required from ORSO.

  1. Official University closure
  2. Serious illness, injury, or death of an investigator/key personnel or immediate family member
  3. Notification of the funding opportunity was made less than two weeks prior to the deadline
  4. Sponsor experienced complications or system technical issues prior to the deadline

New Biosketch & Other Support Requirements

NIH recently implemented Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support as outlined in NOT-OD-26-018. These forms will be enforced for all new NIH submissions beginning in May 2026 per NOT-OD-26-033. Please be sure to follow all instructions for creating new Common Forms through SciENcv and remember that nonconformance may disqualify your application.

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