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  1. Sponsored Projects
  2. Proposal Preparation
  3. Proposal Reminders

Proposal Reminders

The Office of Sponsored Programs requires that three key steps be completed before we submit your proposal:

1. Upload all proposal documents in their complete and final form to PERIS.

2. Complete up-to-date Conflict of Interest disclosures in HS Connect for all project personnel.

3. Complete an Intellectual Property Assignment Agreement.  For guidance on which agreement is right for you, see the Innovation Institute's website.

4. Complete PI certification in PERIS.

The NIH and NSF also require that many specific guidelines be followed by those submitting proposals. Review the lists below if you are submitting to either institution.

NSF Proposal Reminders

  • All proposals, unless otherwise specified in the program announcement, must have the following sections in the Project Description:
    • A separately headed section labeled “Broader Impacts”
    • A section labeled “Results of Prior NSF Support,” with at least one entry for each PI and Co-PI who has received funding from an NSF award with an expiration date within the last 5 years, including active awards. This section must also include subsections labeled "Intellectual Merit" and "Broader Impacts."
  • NSF does not allow Letters of Support unless specifically required by a program announcement.   Letters of Collaboration may be included, but should adhere as closely as possible to the suggested language in the NSF PAPP Guide:

“If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator] entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by NSF, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description or the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal."

  • Voluntary cost sharing in NSF proposals is prohibited. Any internal resources being made available to the project should not be described in the budget or budget justification, but rather in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section. And Per NSF guidelines, “the description should be narrative in nature and must not include any quantifiable financial information.”
  • Collaborators and Other Affiliation (COA) information should not be listed on the bio sketch. The NSF COA spreadsheet template must be completed, without any formatting changes, and uploaded under Other Supplementary Documents.

NIH Proposal Reminders

  • All Senior/Key Personnel must have an eRA Commons account, and the Commons username must be included in the “Credential” field of the Senior/Key Personnel Profile section. A
  • An up-to-date Current and Pending Support List is required for the Primary Mentor and any Co-Mentors on K-series applications.
  • PIs on F-series and K-series application must have an ORCID iD at the time of proposal submission, with an active ORCID profile linked to their eRA Commons account.
  • If a proposal involves a foreign component, it must be disclosed at the proposal stage. NIH defines a Foreign Component as “the performance of a significant scientific element of the NIH-supported project outside of the United States.”  More information on this topic is included in the Foreign Influence section of our website.
  • The Personal Statement and each Contribution to Science in the bio sketch may include no more than four cited publications/research products. 
  • For R-series applications, a cover letter is no longer the preferred method to request awarding component assignment requests, study section assignment requests, reviewers not to include and suggested areas of expertise for reviewers. The PHS Assignment Request Form now serves that purpose.