Important Direction Regarding
Electronic Proposal Submissions: Recent technological
advances in Electronic Research Administration (ERA) have
enabled many funding agencies to utilize electronic proposal
submission procedures. In some cases, electronic submission
is mandatory through web portals.
Regardless of the mode of submission, ALL externally
funded proposals MUST be routed through the normal
review processes and approved by JMU university authorities
prior to submission. Principal Investigators are not authorized
to submit proposals without routing the proposal for internal
JMU approval just as if the proposal were a traditional
"paper" submission. In the case of Electronic
Proposal Submissions, the OSP should always be designated
as the institution's "Authorized Representative."
This oversight of the electronic
proposal submission process is necessary to insure that
all research and other extramurally funded projects conducted
by university employees comply with relevant JMU policies
including, but not limited to the following:
- appropriateness of the activity to the university
- protection of human and animal subjects and the environment
- use of university facilities
- personnel compensation plans
- intellectual property
- conflicts of interest
- recovery of direct and indirect costs
- Principal Investigator eligibility
A growing number of government
agencies and private organizations have developed online
electronic grant submission programs in addition to or
as a replacement for traditional hard copy grant submission.
In an effort to aid Principal Investigators with electronic
submissions, OSP has created a list of Funding Sponsors
that use electronic grant submission services.
Just click on one of the "Funding Sponsors' links"
listed above or click on "FUNDING
SPONSORS" to review Sponsor's application guidelines,
award procedures, and other agency information, as well
as a brief description of their specific services. If
you are interested in submitting a proposal using one
of the listed sponsors, please contact OSP for additional
instructions on how to proceed.
Electronic systems are generally web-based and allow
us to:
- prepare, review and submit proposals
- monitor their progress with the sponsor
- administer their award funding
- provide reports on project progress
- request no-cost extensions, change PI, etc.
- closeout awards
Why are so many sponsors requiring electronic submission
of proposals, reports, etc.?
In 1999, the President signed the Federal Financial Assistance
Management Improvement Act (Public Law 106-107) which
mandated:
- improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal
grant programs,
- simplify grant application and reporting requirements,
- improve the delivery of services to the public, and
- facilitate greater coordination among those responsible
for delivering such services. In essence, it requires
federal agencies to migrate to electronic systems from
their paper-based systems in order to lower the cost,
reduce administrative effort, expedite the processing
of extramural grants, and speed up announcements to
the grantee community.
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