Routing Process

The External Funding Routing Form serves as an internal summary of the proposal and provides a checklist of project characteristics and commitments. The PI uses the External Funding Routing Form to route the proposal in order to obtain the appropriate institutional endorsements. The External Funding Routing Form must be accompanied by the final version of the proposal, including its budget, which the PI will submit to the sponsor.

The following information summarizes most types of commitment and the persons authorized to approve these commitments in proposals. Note that the person asked to endorse the commitment may be required to obtain the approval or concurrence of others. New space, for example, requires approval of the University Space Committee.

New academic programs may require approval by several campus committees and the Board of Trustees (see the Office of the Provost website for details). For such commitments, the person endorsing the External Funding Routing Form warrants that the appropriate approvals have already been secured. Persons requesting these kinds of commitments are advised to give endorsers ample time to obtain these approvals.

Commitment Requires endorsement by

Reduced course load - chair and dean;
Cost shared or contributed effort - chair and dean;
Graduate Tuition Reduction – dean;
Cost share or matching dollars - dean and/or provost or account holder;
Under-recovery of F&A Costs where required by sponsor – chair, dean and provost;
Voluntary under-recovery of F&A Costs – chair, dean and provost;
Efforts to raise cost share or matching from third parties - dean;
Special network/technology requirements and/or e-courses - ITS Vice President;
SUU support after the sponsor's support ends - chair, dean and provost;
New permanent lines - dean and provost;
New space – dean and Space committee;
Renovation - dean and Facilities Management;
Purchase or lease of off-campus space – provost, dean and Facilities Management;
Establish a new academic program or change an existing one – dean and provost.

Endorsements & Routing

The PI signs the External Funding Routing Form to certify that personnel named in the application have agreed to participate in the project if it is funded. The PI certifies that he or she accepts responsibility for the conduct of the project. The PI certifies that he or she and all key personnel have received or will receive NIH mandated training in the protection of human subjects, if appropriate.

Routing
The PI is responsible for routing the proposal and External Funding Routing Form. The department chair and dean must review and approve the proposal, certifying that the project is consistent with the unit's mission and that the commitments of University resources are clearly understood and approved. Where resources are committed beyond his or her authority to approve, the department chair or dean must seek approval from the appropriate University official. Where the proposal involves two or more departments or units, the principal investigator must secure appropriate endorsements from each unit using the External Funding Routing Form and, as needed, additional endorsement pages.

The PI finally routes the proposal to OSRG, where it is reviewed for compliance with the regulations and requirements of the federal government, sponsor, and University. OSRG will add to the application packet any assurances and certifications required by the sponsor and may collaborate with other offices to secure appropriate documentation as needed.