Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to footer content

Division of Research and Graduate Studies

 

Proposal Development 

Acting as Fresno State's designated authorized institutional official, RSP staff review and approve all sponsored research proposals on behalf of the principal investigator and the University. RSP staff also serve as a resource for faculty and staff with questions regarding sponsor proposal requirements, and we are committed to helping faculty prepare their best and most competitive sponsored research proposals.


Many proposals must be submitted electronically through systems such as Grants.gov, JustGrants, eRA Commons, Grantsolutions.gov or research.gov systems. These systems pose additional challenges for submission due to the variety of technical difficulties that can occur.

  • Last minute proposals are often submitted as-is to the sponsor and are more frequently being
    rejected due to missing or non-compliant components.
  • Proposals received with <5 days to submission deadline often “cut in line” of other
    proposals already received. This impacts the review and submission of proposals that were
    received in RSR on a timely basis.
  • The added burden of <5 day proposal review and submission directly impacts the
    processing of awards and subawards on a timely basis.

Our office is committed to building on a fourth-straight record-setting year in grants and contracts ($88.4M submitted and $54.7M awarded). With continued growth and the recent departure of two experienced RSP staff members, RSP resources are stretched to a point where we can no longer accommodate faculty/staff who come to us just prior to a sponsor’s deadline. Although we are actively recruiting to backfill those positions, given this growth without any additional staffing we can no longer accommodate last-minute proposals.

As a result, we are introducing a new policy for internal deadlines to ensure proposals meet the sponsor’s deadline. Please note the internal deadline applies to both proposals submitted electronically and paper proposal submissions. Effective November 15, 2022, sponsored project proposal
submissions must comply with the new internal proposal deadline requirements outlined below. 

Standard submissions: Intent to Apply form due to RSP no later than 14 full business days in advance of the sponsor’s due date.

All administrative portions of the proposal must be complete and final 7 full business days of the
sponsor’s due date:

The complete proposal application
• Internal budget and budget justification
• Relevant approved waivers
• Draft Scope of Work (SOW)/narrative*

Collaborative proposals: Intent to Apply form due to RSP no later than 30 full business days in advance of the sponsor’s due date.

All administrative portions of the proposal must be complete and final no later than 14 full business days of the sponsor’s due date:

The complete proposal application
• Internal budget and budget justification
• Relevant approved waivers
• Draft Scope of Work (SOW)/narrative*

*The technical scope of work can be a draft but must be finalized at least 5 full business days in advance of the sponsor’s due date.

Subaward documentation (e.g. Subrecipient Commitment Form, SOW, Budget) no later than 5 business days.

Note:

Complete and final proposals received less than the respective deadline (14/30 days) in advance of the sponsor’s due date will be reviewed only on a “First In, First Out” basis subject to proposals alreadyreceived and other existing commitments. No proposals will be allowed to cut in line.


Efforts will be made to submit the proposal, but there is no guarantee that the proposal will receive a complete review and be submitted in time to meet the agency’s deadline. Proposals in this time frame will receive a limited review to ensure compliance with University policies only.

Alert:

Complete and final proposals received with less than 2 full business days in advance of the sponsor’s
due date will not be submitted.


It is recommended that you contact the sponsor to request an extension to the sponsor’s deadline.
Alternatively, you may consider delaying the submission until the next proposal deadline.

 

 

The policies of the California State University (CSU) and our campus governing the conduct of research and sponsored projects are contained within Executive Order 890 and our Academic Policy Manual (APM 500).

California State University’s, Fresno Academic Policy Manual (APM 500) outlines the policy and practices for research and sponsored project administration in compliance with EO 890. The PI Handbook incorporates federal and state regulations, University, and Foundation/Auxiliary policies. In the event the sponsor or funding agency has a more restrictive policy than the policies referenced or developed in this handbook, the more restrictive policies will apply.