Preparing a Proposal

Institutional Review and Approval to Submit to the Sponsor

Before being submitted to the sponsor, all proposals for extramural funding must be routed to RPAC via the online system Kuali Research.  Certain RPAC personnel have the delegated authority to submit extramural proposals on behalf of The Regents of the University of California for the Office of the President. RPAC is responsible for ensuring that the proposal meets the policy requirements of the University and the sponsor. In addition, RPAC can provide advice and assistance throughout the entire proposal/award cycle. 

Occasionally, a proposal may need to be approved by other UCOP offices before submission. RPAC determines what other reviews might be required from the information provided by the UCOP unit in the online Kuali Proposal Development forms and the proposal contents.  Please note: The number of approvals required affects the length of the review process.  Proposals involving any of the areas listed below may require review by other offices:

Step-by-step instructions on routing a proposal to RPAC via Kuali Research (PDF).

What to Include in Proposal Documents Submitted via Kuali for RPAC review:

  1. All administrative information required in Kuali.
  2. A statement of work (SOW). The SOW and other technical sections of the proposal may be in draft form so that the PI may continue to finalize these sections of the proposal during the pre-review period. The draft must be specific enough to allow RPAC to determine the nature of the research and ensure that any sponsor-specific requirements are satisfied.
  3. A line-item budget in as close to final form as possible.
  4. Budget justification providing background on all requested items.
  5. A copy of the sponsor's guidelines/instructions for proposal submission.
  6. Subaward documentation, if a subaward is proposed.
  7. Applicable compliance documentation such as:
    a. PI Exception Request Form (PDF) (see below for more information)
    b. NSF Financial Disclosure Form (PDF)
    c. NIH PI Certification (PDF)
    d. PHS COI Disclosure Form (PDF)

When to Submit a Proposal to RPAC for Review

The full proposal package should be submitted to RPAC via Kuali at least five business days before the due date. Proposals not submitted to RPAC within the five business days are at risk of receiving no review or a limited review. Complex projects will require a longer review period.  Unit staff are encouraged to contact RPAC as soon as the decision to submit a proposal is made.

Proposal Contents

When a UCOP unit decides to seek extramural support for a project, the unit staff looks for a potential source of funds for the particular project and develops a proposal in accordance with this sponsor's funding guidelines. Some sponsors issue specific instructions and forms while others may have general guidelines without a specific format for submission. The proposal writer must be sure to supply all information requested as well as to keep within the page limitation, if one is given. Some sponsors may automatically reject a proposal not written or formatted according to their guidelines.

For institutional information that sponsors commonly request, such as UCOP’s DUNS number or CAGE code, see RPAC’s Organizational Information page.

Budget Details

While the budget details requested by different sponsors vary, every sponsor needs enough information to evaluate the reasonableness and need for the proposed budget. This can be provided in the text of the proposal or in a budget description or justification. Below are some general rules of thumb for common budget categories:

Personnel or Salaries

For each person to be paid by the award, list:

  • Name and title
  • Employee Effort - Percent of time to be spent on the proposed project
  • Total annual salary exclusive of benefits
  • Percent of salary and amount in dollars to be paid by the award (exclusive of benefits).

University salaried employees’ time is never expressed in hourly rates; only employees paid at hourly rates can have their wages and hours of effort on a project budgeted at an hourly rate. All University salaried employees must have their effort spent on a project expressed as a percent of full-time equivalent and their pay from the project expressed as that percent of their salary. Salaries must be in accordance with the employee’s actual University salary and include projected merit increases and range adjustments. Proposed positions not currently filled must use the applicable University salary scale for that position.

Note that salaries of non-OP personnel (including personnel at other institutions, UC campuses, and consultants) should not appear in the salary line item. These should be placed in the subcontract or consultant category, as appropriate.

Employee Benefits

Fringe benefits are listed on the proposal budget as a set percent of salary. Fringe benefits must be budgeted to the same funding source as the corresponding salary (UC C&G Manual Ch. 7-206, Ch. 2-520). The budgeted fringe benefit rate is comprised of up to three different rates, the composite benefit rate (CBR), vacation accrual, and UC Retirement Program (UCRP) interest charge.

UCOP employee benefits are calculated using the current CBR, which can be found in the Fringe Benefit Rate section of UCOP’s federally negotiated IDC rate agreement (PDF).  The CBR contains the following costs: Benefits administration, Dental, Disability, Employee Support Programs, FICA Tax, Incentive Award Programs, Life Insurance, Medical, Retiree Health, retirement Benefits, Senior Management Supplement, Unemployment Insurance, Vision Benefits, and Worker’s Compensation. CBR does not include accrued vacation leave, UCRP interest expense, Tuition remission, Graduate Student Health Insurance, and General, Automotive, and Employee Insurance (GAEL).  Importantly, the UCRP interest charge and GAEL are allowable on non-federal fund sources only. They should not be budgeted on federal or federal flow-through funds.

Supplies

This category generally includes supplies and expenses that are specifically allocable to the project and generally not captured as indirect costs. (On federal awards, such charges as telephone, postage, and copying are considered indirect costs per 2 CFR 200. Exceptions may be provided for large program projects.)

Equipment

Equipment is defined as individual items that cost $5,000 or more and have a useful life of one or more years. (Please note: If a sponsor thinks a piece of equipment less than $5,000.00 should be reported as equipment on our financial reports this needs to be noted on your award agreement. See Equipment Management website.)

Travel

Transportation and per diem must be at University rates. Sponsor may ask for destination and purpose of travel. This category includes student travel as well, if applicable, but not subaward or consultant travel. Per 2 CFR 200, domestic airlines and coach fairs must be used unless such a situation is not feasible.

Consultants/Subcontractors

Describe purpose of using consultants or subcontractors in the text of the proposal. If already selected on a sole source basis, the proposing unit must be prepared to provide a sole source justification. Include total subcontractor or consultant costs. Provide an estimated amount if they are yet to be bid and selected. Whenever possible, the proposed subcontractor/consultant budgets and scope of work should be placed behind OP’s budget in the proposal.

Student Training Expenses, i.e., stipends, fees, or tuition

Since the Office of the President does not have enrolled students, an OP project considering employing students would use campus rates for stipends, tuition or fee remission. This portion of an award budget would then be transferred to the student(s)’ campus(es). Please work with your campus contacts to obtain the up-to-date amounts to be used in your proposal budget.

Indirect Costs (Overhead or Facilities & Administrative Costs “F&A”)

The indirect cost is figured as a percentage of the indirect cost base (the base figure on which indirect costs are calculated varies and should be specified in the proposal solicitation). It is used to reimburse the University for all the services it provides to the project, which cannot be directly charged to any one individual project, but without which an individual project could not be undertaken.

The UC Controller maintains a list of UCOP’s and the campuses’ current federally-negotiated indirect cost rate agreements.

For information on whether to use the on- or off-campus rate, see Chapter 8-300 of the Contract and Grant Manual. RPAC must be contacted for help in determining the applicable rate for each specific proposal.

When including the participation of UC campuses in a UCOP proposal, the appropriate indirect cost rate of each individual campus must be included. UCOP’s indirect cost rate is not applicable to any other campus. Campuses would generally provide their own rate in the proposed budget to UCOP.

IDC Rate Exceptions

Some sponsors will not pay UCOP’s federally-negotiated IDC rate.  In such cases, the OP program unit must request an exception to the University indirect cost rates. An exception to the applicable indirect cost rate may be granted if the request falls under one of the criteria in C&G Manual Chapter 8-500.  If an exception to the indirect cost rate is needed, the OP unit must note such information in Kuali submitted to RPAC. The OP unit must also provide a copy of the sponsor's policy establishing the indirect cost rate limitation.

Principal Investigators - Eligibility to Submit a Proposal and Exception Requests

A proposal must have a Principal Investigator (PI) assigned to lead the project and assume responsibility for performance, administration and expenditure of awards.  The University's policy on eligibility to submit proposals for research, training, or public service related to research and training is outlined in the systemwide Contract and Grant Manual, Chapter 1-530.

By exception, the Vice President/Vice Provost of the department and the Executive Director of Research Policy Analysis and Coordination may approve the submission of a contract or grant proposal by UCOP personnel who are not automatically eligible to serve as PI by virtue of their job title.  To request an exception to serve as a PI, submit a completed PI Exception Request Form (PDF) to RPAC with the draft proposal for pre-review. Some sponsors may automatically reject a proposal not written or formatted according to their guidelines.