University of Texas at El Paso

Office of Research & Sponsored Projects

Basics of Proposal Preparation and Review

Proposal Preparation

Successful proposals meet all of the sponsor requirements. You can find this in the sponsor funding announcement guidelines or request for proposals (RFP).

If you are looking for funding sources, the ORSP has a search Engine, the Illinois Research Information Services (IRIS)where you can search for funding sources. You may also contact ORSP’s Coordinator of Pre Award Services at 747-7942 for assistance on funding searches or institutional information.

What are the common components of a proposal?

  • Cover/title/endorsement page
  • Summary
  • Table of contents
  • Detailed project description
  • Description of current facilities
  • List of key personnel
  • Curricula vitae of key personnel
  • List of publications
  • Special requests and justifications
  • Statement of duplicate submission
  • List of current and pending support
  • Letters of collaboration
  • Certifications and representations
  • Budget

Does the proposal require information about UTEP?Where can I get this information? You can find data about the University on the web page at the following links:

The Coordinator of Pre Award Services can assist you with boilerplate information about the University; you can contact her at 747-7942.

I will be using Human Subjects, animals, radioactive materials, or recombinant DNA in my research project, what are my responsibilities? Contact the Coordinator for Research Review at 747-7939 in ORSP. She will assist you with the paper work or research protocol that is required for all research involving any of the above. You can also find detailed information on the ORSP web site.

My research may lead to a patentable invention, whom do I contact? Contact the Program Manger for Technology Transfer at 747-7901 for information and assistance.

Federal proposals require certifications from UTEP and the investigators. What are these?The most common certifications are:

  • Drug Free Workplace
  • Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity
  • Debarment, Suspension
  • Lobbying

These certifications assure the federal government that the University is complying with all federal regulations in order to receive federal funding. These are generally standardized forms and require the signature of the President or her designee. The ORSP Pre Award Coordinator will complete these forms for you and obtain required signatures before the proposal is submitted.

Preparing the Proposal – The First Steps

Contact ORSP staff for help in preparing your budget and reviewing your RFP. The ORSP Coordinator assigned to your Department/College/Center will work with you to get your proposal submitted and help you complete your budget.

What We Do

Review the RFP for requirements on budget, page limitation, response dates, any pre award reporting requirements, any contractual requirements.

Prepare the preliminary and final budget in consultation with PI, help formulate costs and complete the budget pages, and complete certification pages required for the proposal.

Common Budget Categories

Personnel

Faculty

Graduate Student Research Assistants

Postdoctoral and Research Fellow Appointments

Project Support Staff

FringeBenefits

Equipment

Material & Supplies

Travel

Meeting Expenses

Sub awards

Consultants

Other Costs

Indirect Costs or Facilities and Administrative Costs

Cost Sharing, should it be included? Who pays for it?

UTEP Current Proposal Routing, Review and Submission

  • How are the proposals routed at UTEP?

All proposals have to be routed in paper form using UTEP’s internal routing form, the Proposal Transmittal. The Transmittal Form is available in electronic format on ORSP’s web page or will be e-mailed to your at your request. This form is available in pdf or word format. The ORSP Coordinator will assist in completing the budget portion of the Transmittal if requested.

  • What is the UTEP’s internal routing and review process?
  • Signature of Chair for review and approval
  • Signature of Dean or Center Director for review and approval
  • Signature of ORSP for review and approval

ORSP will route the proposal to the President or designee for signature and mail the proposal to the agency. If proposals come in after 12:00noon on the day they are to be sent out, the Principal Investigator will be responsible for mailing the proposal.

  • How long in advance of the Sponsor's deadline should the proposal reach ORSP?

The request for a proposal budget should reach ORSP at least five days before the due date. The proposal should arrive in ORSP with the Chair and Dean signatures for final processing at least 1 day before the deadline to allow for proper review and corrections if necessary.

Proposal Submission

  • Does the sponsor require submission of a paper proposal?

The PI should arrange for duplication of the proposal and submission to ORSP according above procedures so that it can be sent via mail or courier

Does the sponsor require submission of an electronic proposal? Paper proposal routing and review is necessary for all proposals submitted electronically. An increasing number of proposals to federal agencies and to non-government organizations must be submitted electronically. Contact your ORSP Coordinator if you have any questions on electronic submission methods

UTEP Future Proposal Routing and Review

The Research Manger System (RMS) that will be soon piloted by the Office of Research & Sponsored Projects is an electronic system designed as a proposal development and submission tool for university faculty and staff and as a project-tracking database for the departmental and central administrative offices.

The RMScan be used to route the proposal transmittal form and proposal documents electronically for institutional approval. This will replace the current hand-carried paper transmittal and proposal. The proposal will be routed directly from the researcher to ORSP. The Chair, Dean or Director will be notified via e-mail that the proposal has been submitted to ORSP. They will have the access to log on and view the proposal. Any academic year commitments by faculty or cost sharing commitments will require the signature of the Chair, Dean or Director on a separate routing sheet. This sheet can be faxed, scanned and e-mailed or hand-carried to ORSP. ORSP must have the document on file before the proposal will be submitted to the agency.

Once routed to ORSP, it can be reviewed on-line and once final approval has been made, ORSP can electronically submit or mail the proposal to the sponsor, or release it for mailing by the department, depending on the mailing instructions. ORSP will make up to three copies of the proposal required by the sponsor, any additional copies required will be provided by the researcher.