Proposal Approval Process

Campus Process

The University of California Contract and Grant Manual Section 2-570 indicates that all proposals should be approved by the principal investigator’s (PI’s) chair and dean (or unit head) before submission to the sponsor.

However, discussions with faculty and administrators involved in the SPO User’s Network (SUN) group reveal that it is not always possible for chairs/deans and unit heads to do a thorough review of a proposal before it is submitted, especially for those proposals that have a short turnaround time and/or the approver is in transit or at a location without internet service. Therefore, the Vice Chancellor for Research has approved the following modifications to the campus’ proposal approval process.

  1. The Associate Dean and Director of each BRS Research Administration region will be given the authority to approve proposals in Phoebe submitted by PIs from departments and units within that region. The Phoebe Team will implement this expanded authority for each region in the order that the regions were established. The use of this expanded authority then will be a regional decision.
  2. SPO will continue to allow each chair, dean, or unit head to delegate their proposal approval authority to up to two individuals within their department/unit that have the knowledge and ability to carry out this task. Each delegate must have a signed Delegation of Signature Authority for Proposals Form on file in SPO before the delegate is given the authority to approve proposals in Phoebe.
  3. All delegates are expected to consult with their chair/dean or unit head prior to or within five working days of approving any proposal that includes any of the following commitments:
    1. A PI with pending Exceptional PI status
    2. Faculty release time
    3. Other forms of unit cost sharing or matching
    4. Special space or equipment requirements
  4. Deans/chairs/directors are expected to notify SPO within ten working days following the proposal submission due date if any commitments made in a proposal approved by a delegate are not supported by the dean/chair or unit head. If such notice is not provided, the commitments in the proposal shall be considered approved.

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