Important: Submission Deadlines for Sponsored Project Proposal Processing
Important Proposal Submission Policies
We have implemented a series of milestones that formalize the proposal development process over an extended period.
This policy update requires earlier planning and more rapid responses on the part of faculty than previously.
These milestones are the responsibility of the PI.
IF MILESTONES ARE NOT MET, A DEADLINE-DRIVEN PROPOSAL WILL FALL OFF THE LIST AND NOT BE SUBMITTED.
Proposals will be prioritized on a first-come, first-served basis, based on the receipt of the required Proposal Initiation Form available from the CP Pre-Award website.
REQUIRED GRANT SUBMISSION MILESTONES:
1. Milestone #1: As soon as the opportunity is identified: Submission of Proposal Initiation Form (found on the preaward.calpoly.edu website)
2. Milestone #2: 8 AM on 20 working days in advance of the submission deadline date: Confirmation of proposal details
3. Milestone #3: 8 AM on 15 working days in advance of the submission deadline date: Budget wishlist/framework
4. Milestone #4: 8 AM on 10 working days in advance of the submission deadline date: Complete budget draft, budget justification draft (if required)
5. Milestone #5: ROUTING DEADLINE – 8 am on 7 working days in advance of the submission deadline date: Final, ready-to-route proposal documents: budget, budget justification (if required), proposal summary, facilities use and other campus commitments statement
6. Milestone #6: FINAL DEADLINE - 8 AM on 2 working days in advance of the submission deadline date: Final, ready-to-submit proposal documents, in the sponsor-required format and using the sponsor-required document-naming conventions.
If milestones are not met, a deadline-driven proposal will fall off the list and not be submitted.
Proposals without deadlines will be assigned a submission deadline date that aligns with the milestones above and availability in the pre-award queue at the time of receipt of the Proposal Initiation Form. This date will be discussed with the PI during the initial intake process to confirm readiness to meet the milestones and the deadline.
For proposals without formal deadlines, missing a milestone will cause the proposal to be placed at the end of the queue with the due dates reset once it has been confirmed that the PI commits to submitting under the new timeline.
IMPORTANT:
PIs MUST SUBMIT A PROPOSAL INITIATION FORM AS SOON AS THEY IDENTIFY A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY TO WHICH THEY WANT TO APPLY IN ORDER TO INITIATE A NEW PROPOSAL WITH OUR OFFICES. The PROPOSAL INITIATION FORM is located on the preaward.calpoly.edu website.
PIs must be in continuing communication with their Grants Analyst and respond to Analyst requests for documents and proposal information in a timely and responsive manner per all Analyst requests and all stated deadlines.
PIs also must provide final submission documents in the sponsor-required format and using the sponsor-required file-naming conventions to avoid confusion and better facilitate a sponsor-compliant submission.
NEW TIMELINE EXAMPLE:
Please note: The submission deadline days are NOT included when calculating the working days.
| Sponsor deadline | Sponsor proposal submission deadline |
Wednesday, August 31 |
| Milestone 1 | As soon as the opportunity is identified: Submission of Proposal Initiation Form (found on the preaward.calpoly.edu website) | ASAP |
| Milestone 2 | 20 working days in advance of the submission deadline date or target submission date: Confirmation of proposal details | 8 AM on Wednesday, August 3 |
| Milestone 3 | 15 working days in advance of the submission deadline date or target submission date: Budget wishlist/framework |
8 AM on Wednesday, August 10 |
| Milestone 4 | 10 working days in advance of the submission deadline date or target submission date: Complete budget draft, budget justification draft (if required) | 8 AM on Wednesday, August 17 |
| Milestone 5 |
ROUTING DEADLINE – 8 am on the day that is 7 working days in advance of the submission deadline date or target submission date: Final ready-to-route budget, budget justification (if required), proposal summary, facilities use and other campus commitments statement. |
8 am on Monday, August 22 |
| Milestone 6 |
FINAL DEADLINE - 8 am on the day that is 2 working days in advance of the submission deadline date or target submission date: Final ready-to-submit documents in the sponsor-required format and using the sponsor-required document-naming conventions. |
8 am on Monday, August 29 |