What is a Preliminary Proposal?

Preliminary proposals, sometimes referred to as white papers” or “pre-proposals,” are concise, preliminary descriptions of projects that are submitted to funding agencies. Funding agencies use preliminary proposals (1) to determine whether potential projects address their funding priorities, and/or (2) to gather information on specifictopics.

Funding Agency Guidelines

Funding agency guidelines regarding Preliminary Proposals vary. Other information may be requested, in addition to project descriptions, such as strategies, partnerships and cost estimates. Some agencies require Preliminary Proposals to be submitted by the University’s Office of Sponsored Programs and others require them to be submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI).

What Proposals Require UMBC Approval & Routing?

The question occasionally arises as to whether or not a “preliminary proposal” requires authorizing approval of the institution prior to submission.

If the submission meets any of the following criteria, it is not a preliminary proposal, and should berouted:

·         The submission has a specific budget that would serve as the basis for anaward,

·         The submission includes an irrevocable commitment of UMBC resources,

·         The submission is going toindustry,

·         The submission includes items that require institutional approval like a reduced or waived F&A rate; or

·         If there are any restrictions on IP ownership or publication rights.

If any of the above criteria are met, then create a preliminary proposal in Kuali using proposal type “Pre Proposal”, and rout it as you would a regular proposal. The user can change the Kuali proposal type to “New” if and when the preliminary proposal becomes an actual project.  If none of the above criteria are met, then the preliminary proposal does not require routing.  The Office of Sponsored Programs requests an information copy.  

Should a proposal be submitted to a sponsor without UMBC institutional approval, the proposal may be rescinded and/or award declined.

Preliminary proposals submittals should also include the following   statement:

"Preliminary Proposal: Pending InstitutionalApprovals.  This does not represent a firm quote and does not commit University personnel, facilities or funds."

The Kuali Action List provides the user a full list of proposals to be reviewed and approved. PI certifications requests also appear in the Action List. 

The user also gets an Action List notification as a handy reminder of what work is “in progress”.    

Personalize your Action List 

But maybe you only wish to view Approvals pending?  Check out Kuali Action List "Filters" and decide what you want to view. 

Want to manage your Kuali Emails? 

Kuali automatically sends an email notifications requesting your action on a Proposal Approval or PI Certification. Set your own personal Kuali email "Preferences" on notifications. 

Approval requests will continue to be sent to your Kuali Action List, even if you do not wish to receive an email notification.   

For a quick tutorial on how to manage your Action List Filters and Preferences, and to view Quick Training Tips, see Kuali Training Quick Cards  https://research.umbc.edu/kuali-training/ 

• Guaraní (2015, Paraguay) - Part road movie and part coming-of-age drama, the film portrays two generations of Paraguayans whose views of the world seem centuries apart. The long journey will make Atilio and Iara understand the real meaning of traditions and family bonds.
  Screening will take place on February 22 from 7-9PM in Fine Arts 215.
• The Crow's Nest (2014, El Salvador) - The first fiction film from El Salvador to be produced since 1969 and the first ever to see a worldwide release, The Crow’s Nest follows Don Cleo, a humble piñata salesman who receives an extortion letter at his doorstep. If he doesn’t pay $500, a small fortune for him, within 72 hours, he will be killed. Don Cleo quickly decides to gather the money through friends, but the harder he tries to raise the funds, the deeper into trouble he gets. If Don Cleo hopes to survive, he’ll have to face his fears and stand up to his tormentors. Screening will take place on March 1 from 7-9PM in Fine Arts 215.

The Spanish Film Club series was made possible with the support of Pragda, SPAIN arts & culture, and the Secretary of State for Culture of Spain 

Starting immediately  we recommend using the following as the F&A rate budget justification when a proposal includes  on-campus research.  Previously it was suggested that F&A be budged based on the rate for the majority of the project year.  This has caused some confusion when F&A periods are set during the award process.  Also,  if using the detailed budget in Kuali the pro-rated F&A will be automatically calculated.  Therefore OSP is not recommending that for budgeting purposes if there is a change in the F&A rate during a project year F&A calculations be pro-rated based on the number of months at each rate.

All other UMBC F&A rates do not change throughout the life of the new F&A Rate Agreement and therefore do not need special explanation, so the standard wording can be used for those justifications.  Please see the new agreement at http://cga.umbc.edu/files/2016/11/FINAL-UMBC-FY2016-FY2020-FA-Rate-Agreement-and-Component-Sheet.pdf for a full listing of applicable F&A rates.

***********************************************************************************

F&A – UMBC has a Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA).

The negotiated rates for on campus research applicable to this proposal are (NOTE PICK ONLY THE RATES THAT APPLY):

07/01/2015-6/30/2016   50.5%

07/01/2016-6/30/2017   52.0%

07/01/2017-6/30/2019   52.50

07/01/2019-6/30/2020   53%

If a project year incorporates more than one rate F&A recovery is calculated on a prorated basis with the rate reflecting the date of the NICRA change.

MTDC excludes tuition, equipment over $5,000 and the cost of subgrants over $25,000.

DATE: February 22, 2018

TO: Faculty and Staff

FROM: Dean Drake
Associate VP for Research

SUBJECT: OSP Deadline for Proposal Submissions

OSP requests that you deliver your full, ready to submit extramural funding proposal to the Office of Sponsored Programs at least three (3) UMBC business days prior to the submission deadline. This 3-day period should help to eliminate most errors in processing. OSP will review and submit your proposal. If any changes are needed, OSP will communicate those changes to your unit.

An “expedited review” is available to assist principal investigators in the proposal application process to allow an internal review at the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to occur before the application is fully completed. This expedited review requires only the cover page, abstract, detailed budget and budget justification, and any necessary documentation such as IACUC or IRB approval/application letters as well as budgets, scope of work, sub-award commitment form and commitment letters for any subcontracts included in the project. A copy of the complete proposal must subsequently be submitted to OSP three UMBC business days prior to the sponsor deadline.

Kuali Proposal and Budget System now provides the opportunity for the PI and Department Administrator to work with the OSP Support Staff at any stage of proposal development process and before the proposal is submitted for signature approvals. OSP suggests everyone take advantage of collaborating early with your OSP Support Person on your project and budget.  

On-time submissions gives OSP a chance to complete a full review. Late submissions may lead to errors and omissions and can result in your proposal being rejected for funding by the sponsoring agency. 

Thank you for your assistance. We aim to provide a high-quality level service to our research community, and your cooperation is critical. If you have any questions, please contact me at ddrake@umbc.edu, or Stan Jackson, OSP Director at jacksons@umbc.edu.

There is a new Subrecipient  Commitment Form available on OSP website: https://research.umbc.edu/files/2014/06/Subrecipient-Commitment-Form-2018.pdf. The changes to the form address the existence of an FDP (Federal Demonstration Partnership) Expanded Clearinghouse initiative. This initiative provides an online organization Profiles that allow obtaining information needed by OSP when issuing subawards or monitoring subrecipient entities. The new form allows the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse participants to skip the Certifications section on the form. The same will apply to all University System of Maryland units. Please remember to always provide OSP with signed Subrecipient  Commitment Form during the proposal stage as it is one of the UMBC required risk assessment tools.

In addition, OSP strongly encourages always to use forms and templets available at OSP website as they are updated continuously to meet sponsors current requirements.