2016 Vice Chancellor for Research Policy on Late Proposal Submissions to SPO (Historical)
See Vice Chancellor for Research Policy on Proposal Submissions to SPO for current policy.
UC Berkeley CALmessages Notice
Date: February 22, 2016
From: Christopher F. McKee, Interim Vice Chancellor for Research
To: Deans, Department Chairs, Directors
Subject: Revised Proposal Processing Guidance for UC Berkeley PIs
Good afternoon,
I am writing to inform you of a change to the VCR’s Policy on On-Time and Late Proposal Submissions.
My office has received input from the faculty community through the SPO Users’ Network (SUN) on the issue of late proposals. SUN faculty representatives point out that faculty who submit proposals in accordance with the VCR’s Five Business Day Proposal Submission Policy are being disadvantaged by faculty who routinely submit late proposals to SPO and/or submit the final version of their proposals to SPO without sufficient time for SPO to conduct a thorough proposal review.
The result has been that faculty members who submit complete on-time proposals and respond to SPO feedback in a timely manner must wait until late and less well prepared proposals are submitted (often multiple times) to correct simple and sometimes fatal proposal errors.
In response, I have asked Pam Miller, Director of the Sponsored Projects Office, to conduct an analysis of Berkeley’s peer institutions to identify proposal submission practices that might be adopted/adapted by UC Berkeley to improve SPO’s support of Berkeley PIs. The results have been incorporated into the new guidance below.
As of March 1, 2016, the following priorities will govern how proposals are reviewed and submitted by SPO.
Priority Rankings
- First Priority: Proposals with a final administrative
section and a final or draft technical section received by SPO at least
five business days before the sponsor’s deadline with the final/corrected
technical and administrative sections received by SPO at least 16 business
hours before the sponsor’s deadline.
- Second Priority: Proposals with a final
administrative section and a final or draft technical section
received by SPO at least five business days before the
sponsor’s deadline with the final/corrected technical and
administrative sections received by SPO received 8-16 business
hours before the sponsor’s deadline.
- Third Priority: Proposals that miss the five business day deadline and/or are received in final form by SPO less than 8 business hours before the sponsor’s deadline.
Proposal Review based on Priority Rankings
SPO will process First Priority proposals before all other proposals due on the same day. These proposals will receive normal review and submission assistance from SPO. Second Priority proposals will be reviewed and submitted by SPO in the normal manner after all First Priority proposals due on the same day are successfully submitted.
Third Priority proposals must be approved by the VCRO. These proposals will be reviewed for institutional issues only and submitted “as is” but only after any institutional issues have been corrected and after all other First and Second Priority proposals due on the same day are submitted. Submission errors for Third Priority proposals will be addressed only if time permits.
Important!
In line with existing VCRO policy a complete proposal still includes a final or draft technical section and all administrative sections of the proposal required by the sponsor in final form. Incomplete proposals will be returned without review and a new timestamp will apply when the proposal is resubmitted.
VCR late proposal approval may not be obtained for a Third Priority proposal on the day the proposal is due and will be limited to three such approvals per PI per fiscal year (July 1—June 30).
To be accepted and timestamped by SPO, proposals submitted through FastLane, ASSIST or NSPIRES (or any other similar electronic submission portal) must be (a) submitted as a Phoebe record and (b) made available to SPO in the electronic submission portal by these same internal deadlines.
Consult the SPO webpage for additional guidance and answers to Frequently Asked Questions provided to clarify the VCR Five Day Proposal Submission Policy
http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/procedures/submission.html
Regards,
Christopher F. McKee
Interim Vice Chancellor for Research
source: 2/22/2016 CALmessages: Revised Proposal Processing Guidance for UC Berkeley PIs