Submitting a Proposal Through the University
Steps to Submission
UNT uses Grants and Research Administration Management Suite (GRAMS), which is a fully electronic Research Administration System that enables faculty and staff to route and approve proposals, submit most federal applications to grants.gov and manage awards, contracts, and agreements in one integrated dashboard.
Step 1: Request a Grants and Contracts Specialist
Please provide the requested information and all pertinent details. A Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA) Specialist will reply to your request as soon as possible and will be available to meet to discuss proposal preparation and submission procedures as well as agency specific guidelines on a first-come first-serve basis as time allows.
A reasonable draft of the narrative must be provided to GCA in lieu of the final narrative for format and compliance review to meet the 6-day deadline. Edits to the narrative will be accepted until 8:00 AM the day of submission. All other proposal documents, for a complete and final proposal package ready for submission to the sponsor, as well as all necessary College or Department-level approvals, must be received by GCA at least 6 full business days prior to the sponsor’s due date.
After you have submitted a GCS Request, your GCA Specialist will create an internal routing record for you (GRAMS Funding Proposal) and will be in touch with additional information regarding the upcoming proposal submission.
Grants and Research Administration Management Suite (GRAMS) facilitates internal electronic routing of all sponsored project proposals. GRAMS enables faculty and staff to route and approve proposals, submit most federal applications to grants.gov and manage awards, contracts, and agreements in one integrated dashboard.
A reasonable draft of the narrative must be provided to GCA in lieu of the final narrative for format and compliance review to meet the 6-day deadline. Edits to the narrative will be accepted until 8:00 AM the day of submission. All other proposal documents, for a complete and final proposal package ready for submission to the sponsor, as well as all necessary College or Department-level approvals, must be received by GCA at least 6 full business days prior to the sponsor’s due date.
Step 3: Review and Submission
Once all necessary approvals have been obtained, then the GRAMS funding proposal will be placed in a Specialist Review status and allow time for your Pre-Award associate to review the full proposal based on institutional and sponsor guidelines. Once the proposal is in a final state, then GCA will proceed with formal submission, prior to the sponsor deadline. Please note that submissions due after 5pm, must be submitted prior to the close of business, 5pm CST.
Step 4: Award Notification
The sponsor will provide either the PI or GCA with notification on the outcome of the review process. If the project is selected for funding, the Pre-Award team will coordinate review and signature as needed with Research Commercial Agreements before coordinating award setup in GRAMS for the award management phase. Please note all compliance approvals, such as IRB, IACUC, etc. must be in place prior to agreement execution or award setup.
Submission Deadlines
The applicant should contact the Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA) well in advance of the proposal submission deadline.
Assignments of a Grants & Contracts Specialist are made through the online Grants & Contracts Specialist Request form. A completed request form is emailed to GCA’s Pre-Award Team. A GCA Specialist is assigned to the PI's proposal and will respond directly to the PI on the proposal submission to let them know the next steps and will work with appropriate college and department personnel to ensure proposal submission success.
- The PI should submit the GCS request at least two weeks prior to the submission deadline.
- The PI should route the entire proposal, ready to submit, with the appropriate internal documents via GRAMS at least 6 business days prior to the submission deadline to ensure the timely review of the complete proposal, including the proposal budget for compliance with agency guidelines (RFP) and UNT policy.
- Close attention should be paid to whether the deadline date is a received by date or a postmarked by date.
Routing for Approvals
All proposals must be routed through GRAMS for certification by the Lead Principal Investigator. Completing a proposal for routing through GRAMS serves four purposes:
- It summarizes the basic information in the proposal that is required for submission, administration, and reporting of the proposal/award.
- It confirms that the applicant meets certain criteria as a Lead Principal Investigator.
- It verifies that the Lead Principal Investigator will take responsibility for compliance with the award terms and conditions.
- It certifies that the Department and College support the project, the time, space, and resources being committed, as well as the appropriateness of the context of the budget. . A proposal is required to be reviewed and approved by the Lead PI’s Department and College.
Authorizing Signatures
Most proposals require the signature of the applicant organization's Authorizing Organizational Representative (AOR). At UNT, this signature authority is held by several individuals in the Division of Research & Innovation (DRI). Although the PI is required to certify the proposal in GRAMS, they do not hold signature authority as the AOR. After all proposal documents have been reviewed for completeness and accuracy, the GCA Specialist will secure the AOR signature as required.
Some sponsors require certifications and representations that give assurance that the University is compliant with specific regulations. The applicant (UNT) must provide this information in the format required by the sponsor.
As a recipient of federal funds, the University must be able to certify that it manages its activities with methods that comply with federal laws and regulations. These assurances, referred to as certifications and representations in grants and contracts, constitute "promises" on the part of the University that it wholly understands and will comply with the regulations. The Principal Investigator is not authorized to sign these documents on behalf of the University (applicant). The review and signatory certification of this information is the responsibility of the Grants and Contracts Administration. The Certifications and Representations are signed by the AOR or designee.
Mailing the Proposal (only when required by sponsor)
Once the proposal has been reviewed and authorizing signatures secured, the PI is responsible for mailing (including appropriate number of copies) to the sponsor. When a proposal is being submitted in hard copy rather than electronically, and will be mailed, express mailed, or shipped with an overnight delivery service, the PI is encouraged to secure the routing number and evidence of pick-up and delivery.