SPA Research and Financial Administrators are aligned with departments. If you require assistance or have questions with any aspect of the sponsored project lifecycle, please reach out to your assigned RA or FA.

• Find your assigned SPA RA or FA

Proposal Submission Deadline - Two (2) Business Days Before Sponsor Deadline

PIs and/or department administrators prepare and create submission ready Funding Proposals with budgets using UVMClick - Grants and when ready initiate the electronic workflow to collect UVM approvals, prior to submission to a sponsor. 

Ready to submit Funding Proposals should arrive in SPA, two (2) business days before the sponsor published deadline.

Funding Proposal means all sponsored project proposals, new, resubmissions, competing renewals, supplemental proposals, and pre-proposals requiring detailed budgets.

• For more detail see Pre-Proposals, Letters of Intent, & White Papers 
• For more detail see Non-Competing Continuations

• Effective January 1, 2021, Gifts in support of Research in amounts of $25,000 or moreare to be created routed using the UVMClick – Funding Proposal module.
• Gifts in Support of Research do not include gifts received from individuals or in the form of an endowment, professorship or scholarship.
• See UVMClick - Gifts in Support of Research for details.

Creating a budget is part of the UVMClick - Funding Proposal process.

The expectation is for PIs and/or department administrative staff to prepare budgets that are in compliance with UVM, sponsor and federal policy requirements.

SPA Research Administrators are available to answer questions as the budget development process unfolds and help clarify matters of cost allowability and compliance with Sponsor and UVM rules and regulations. 

• For more details see Develop Budget.
• For more details about the UVMClick Budget Tool see UVMClick - Proposal Preparation and Submission Manual.

For definitions and examples see: Purpose / Activity Codes

A typical UVMClick - Funding Proposal requires 4 levels of approval:

1. Principal Investigator (certification)
2. Department (Chair or designee)
3. College (Dean or designee)
4. Sponsored Project Administration (Authorized Official)

Click on Image to Enlarge

Department Chair or Designee:

Reviews and approves proposals for consistency with department policies and procedures and University requirements.

Department reviews typically include an assessment and approval of the following:

• Budget is accurate; costs are allowable, reasonable and allocable to the project; personnel listed are available and qualified to participate in the project; Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is accurate; any proposed cost-share is accurate and documented; F&A is accurate, facilities are available; PI meets UVM’s PI Eligibility requirements.

College Dean or Designee:

Reviews and approves proposals for consistency with college policies and procedures as well as various institutional requirements.

College reviews typically include an assessment and approval of the following:

• Personnel listed are available and qualified to participate in the project; Institutional Base Salary (IBS) is accurate; any proposed cost-share is accurate and approvals documented; F&A is accurate, facilities are available; PI meets UVM’s PI Eligibility requirements.

Sponsored Project Administration:

Performs a final review of the proposal to ensure compliance with all rules and regulations prior to submission to the sponsor. Acts as UVM’s Authorized Official, providing an institutional endorsement for all proposals to external sponsors.

All funding proposals prior to submission to a sponsor must be PI certified.  The PI certification is provided within UVMClick - Grants.

The submitting PI may certify at anytime, from anywhere, once a funding proposal record is started in UVMClick.

In the case of an NIH multiple PI (MPI) submissions, all PIs must certify.

For example if a Funding Proposal was started by a department administrator, UVMClick will notify the submitting PI or all the MPIs by email which includes a hyperlink to the Funding Proposal. The PI will click on the hyperlink, login and click the PI certify button.  

• Principal Investigator Certification

Once SPA has completed its review and has obtained the UVM Authorized Institutional Approval, SPA will coordinate with the Principal Investigator (or the designated person) to submit the approved proposal to the sponsor in accordance with the sponsor's submission requirements.

Grants.gov Submissions

For most federal sponsors, SPA submits directly from UVMClick - Grants, using system to system functionality to Grants.gov.

Other Electronic Submission

PIs will use UVMClick – Grants to create the funding proposal and route for internal approvals. After approvals are obtained PI and SPA will follow the sponsor's proposal submission process. Some of these systems will require SPA to submit, others allow the PI to submit directly.

Coordinate all electronic submissions with your designated SPA Research Administrator.

After submission of the Funding Proposal to the sponsor, PIs, Deans, Chairs, and Department Administrators can track the status of the Funding Proposal in UVMClick. 

NIH uses a Just-in-Time (JIT) procedure to collect additional information from the applicant, where the application is under consideration for funding.

PIs and the Institution's Signing Official will be notified (primarily by e-mail) when Just-in-Time information is needed. A JIT request is not a Notice of Award nor should it be construed to be an indicator of possible funding.

Applicants should only submit this information when requested.

NIH requires JIT submissions be submitted using the JIT eRA Commons functionality and endorsed by an SPA Signing Official. 

• NIH Policy Just in Time
• eRA Commons JIT Process

Using UVMClick - JIT/Post Submission Update Activity

All JIT requests and Other Requests for Post Submission Updates, regardless of Sponsor, must be coordinated with SPA.

If SPA receives a request for additional Information, best practice will have SPA make a JIT/Post Submission Update request to the PI thru UVMClick - Grants. The PI and/or the department administrator using the UVMClick respond functionality will submit the information to SPA for confirmation and submission to the sponsor.

Principal Investigator:

The individual who is responsible for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically.

Multiple PI’s:

Multiple Principal Investigator awards are an opportunity for multidisciplinary efforts and collaboration through a team of scientists under a single grant award. All PIs share equally the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. Each PI is equally responsible and accountable for the proper conduct of the project, including the submission of all required reports.  The first PI listed for NSF and the listed “contact” PI for NIH becomes the primary liaison with the Sponsor.

• See NIH Senior/Key Personnel Frequently Asked Questions

Senior/Key Personnel

• The Principal Investigator and other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request compensation.
• The effort of senior/key personnel devoted to a project is expressed in terms of “person months” greater than zero. If consultants are considered senior/key personnel, they must have measurable effort expressed in person months. If consultants are considered senior/key personnel, they must have measurable effort expressed in person months.
• "Zero percent" effort or "as needed" is not acceptable levels of involvement for those designated as Senior/Key Personnel.  The prior approval requirement for changes in the status of personnel applies only to those senior/key personnel named in the NOA.
• NIH identifies in the NOA senior/key personnel other than the PD/PI(s) and may identify individuals that are considered critical to the project, those if absent from the project would have a significant impact on the approved scope of the project. "Zero percent" effort or "as needed" is not acceptable levels of involvement for those designated as Senior/Key Personnel.  The prior approval requirement for changes in the status of personnel applies only to those senior/key personnel named in the NOA.

Other Significant Contributors

• Other Significant Contributors commit to the scientific development or execution of the project, but do not commit any specified measurable effort to the project.

Consultant

• An individual who provides professional advice or services for a fee, but not as an employee of the University. Generally, a consultant is not considered senior/key personnel. However, if the consultant contributes to the scientific development or execution of a project substantively and measurably, he/she could be designated as senior/key personnel.

UVM's shared facilities and resources provide researchers with the sophisticated equipment and methodologies that help expand their work.

• Core Research Facilities and Services

For all proposed outgoing subawards that will be included in a UVM proposal, Principal Investigators are asked to obtain from the subrecipient, a subaward proposal that has been administratively approved by the subrecipient’s authorized official.

For more detail information see:

• Is it a Subaward, a Vendor or a Consultant?
• Budgeting for a Subaward/Subcontracts (#12)

Need assistance with developing a Research Data Management Plan, please contact UVM's Data Librarian who will help create a high-quality research data management plan that meets UVM and sponsor requirements.

• UVM Library Research Guide for Data Management

For assistance with the new 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy see the following web resource:

• UVM Library Research Guide for the 2023 NIH DMS Policy

Reasonable, allowable costs may be included in NIH budget requests, see the following NIH web resource:

• Budgeting for Data Management and Sharing (NIH)

Many  grant applications now require broader impact statements be included.

If you need assistance, UVM Research Impacts is a collaborative effort of Research Development, the Office of Engagement, and Professional and Continuing Education.

Research Impacts services include:

• Assistance with Broader Impact Statements
• Consultations with research impacts professionals representing each office
• Seminars and workshops

Please contact UVM Research Impacts to take advantage of this fantastic new resource.

Effective January 30, 2023, all proposals being submitted to NSF directly or as a subrecipient that include research being conducted off-campus or off-site, a Safe and Inclusive Working Environments Plan must be in place for that proposal.

The completed Plans are not intended to be submitted to the NSF as part of the proposal, however, upon submission SPA certifies that such a plan is in place.

See: Instructions for Principal Investigators at time of Proposal and at time of Award

UVM’s Financial Conflict of Interest in Sponsored Research Policy requires all Investigators participating in externally funded research at the University of Vermont to make an annual disclose of all Significant Financial Interests (SFI) held by themselves, their spouses, and their dependent children related to their institutional responsibilities.

At time of award acceptance, for those disclosures that indicate a Significant Financial Interest (SFI), SPA will trigger a Research Certification update.

All research certifications where a SFI exists will be reviewed to determine if the SFI is a Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI). Where a FCOI exists, award funds may not be released into PeopleSoft financials until the FCOI is either eliminated or managed. Our Research Compliance Officer will assist you with this process.

To make your annual FCOI disclosure login to UVMClick - FCOI.

To be eligible for federal funds, UVM must comply with all federal regulations including those related to protection of human subjects, vertebrate animals, and handling of biohazardous and radioactive materials. The regulations require review and monitoring of these regulated activities during the life of the project/protocol.

• Compliance Review

• See NIH Application Instructions at G.500 - PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information (HS/CT) for detailed information.

Other Helpful Documents Created by UVM

• HS/CT Form Completion Decision Tree (PDF) to assist in determining which sections of the forms are required for your proposal.
• HS/CT Checklist (PDF) to help determine what documents and information must be included in your proposal.
• HS/CT Transition to E-Forms (PDF). See pages 30 – 36 for some helpful tips when completing the study record section of the HS/CT Form.