Proposal FAQs

As you begin drafting your budget, carefully review both the solicitation and the sponsor's proposal preparation guide. Pay close attention to any restrictions or special requirements related to cost-sharing, tuition, allowable and unallowable costs, or other budgetary conditions or requirements.

Proposal budgets should be drafted within GRAMS. GCA Pre-Award has GRAMS Training and Budgeting Resources available on the GRAMS Pre-Award Training page, including GRA Salary Rates and Effort Calculators.

Additional information regarding Fringe Benefit rates, Indirect Costs, Subrecipients, and detailed information on budget categories is available on the GCA Pre-Award Proposal Budgets webpage.

Your Department and College may also have proposal managers available that are able to support with budget development. If you have questions, you can reach out to your GCA Specialist for assistance!

A subcontract (or subaward) is used when another organization is collaborating on the project and performing a specified portion of the research or programmatic work. The subrecipient contributes intellectual input, may have a PI or key personnel involved, and is responsible for specific project deliverables and reporting. In proposal budgets at UNT, the collaborating institution provides its own detailed budget and budget justification, and UNT applies F&A only to the first $25,000 of each subaward over the life of the project. Organizations included as a subaward must also provide additional documents, including a Scope of Work, Subrecipient Commitment Form, and other materials as required by the sponsor guidelines. Subaward document requests must be coordinated well in advance of the deadline (i.e.: 7-9 weeks in advance) and PIs should be sure to identify these organizations in their GCS Request, which should be submitted at least 8-10 weeks in advance of the deadline.

In contrast, contractual or vendor costs refer to fee-for-service arrangements where an external individual or company provides a defined service or product (e.g., consulting, software services, equipment maintenance, data collection). Vendors do not contribute intellectually to the research, are not responsible for project outcomes, and do not participate in publications or reporting. In proposal budgets, F&A is applied to the full amount of vendor or contractual costs unless the sponsor specifies otherwise.

Determining the appropriate relationship at the proposal stage is critical to ensure appropriate accounting for costs and compliance requirements.  Misclassification may result in delays in subaward processing, inaccurate calculation of costs (e.g., failure to include or exclude F&A costs), and time to request approval for project changes.

Information to help determine the appropriate classification can be found on the Subrecipient vs. Vendor vs. Consultant Determination page.

If the sponsor does not have a published limitation regarding the inclusion of indirect costs (overhead; F&A), UNT’s full indirect cost rate should be used in the proposal budget. UNT’s F&A rates and additional information can be found on GCA Pre-Award’s Facilities & Administrative Costs webpage.

If the sponsor has a published limitation regarding indirect costs, UNT will honor a sponsor's published or statutory limitations on the recovery of indirect costs. The published guidance outlining the limitation should be included in the GRAMS funding proposal as documentation for the rate being used.

All applicants for external funding and all researchers with active externally funded projects must complete and submit a Conflict of Interest Disclosure annually and upon acquiring new conflicts of interests. Additional information regarding COI is located here: RIC - Conflict of Interest The policy is found in Section 13.005 of the UNT Policy Manual.

To align with federal and state regulations, all UNT PIs/Co-PIs/Co-Is and other Senior/Key Personnel must complete Research Security Training (RST) within the last 12 months prior to proposal submission, and annually thereafter. UNT researchers must complete the Research Security Training (Combined) course available on CITI. This training must be completed on an annual basis. Additional Information regarding RST is located here: RIC – Research Security Training.

The University's policy on nepotism is found in Section 1.2.6 of the UNT Policy Manual. PIs should work with their department chair and HR as needed. 

Any research involving the use of human subjects is required to secure Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to any contact with human subjects. While the typical connotation of human subject research suggests projects such as medical experiments, applications reviewed by the UNT IRB range from simple surveys to intense biofeedback research. It is recommended that Investigators review the guidelines, application, and training available from the IRB home page. 

Any research involving the use of live vertebrate animals is required to secure Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval prior to beginning the project. It is recommended that Investigators review the guidelines and applications that can be found on the IACUC page.

Projects involving the use of recombinant DNA, biological materials, or human embryonic stem cells require prior approval before experiments begin, by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). Additional information can be located here: Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC)

Researchers who are planning projects involving radiation/radioisotopes and/or lasers should contact the Radiation Safety Officer in  Risk Management Services Environmental Health and Safety.

Principal investigators are often notified by their program director, technical monitor, etc., that their proposal is to be awarded. At that point, it is assumed that an award is forthcoming, but the process of receiving the official award documents from the sponsor is quite involved. Once the program officer recommends a proposal for award, it usually has to be approved by a division director at the sponsoring organization to be processed and approved through the sponsor's contracts or grants office before an official award notice is issued.

Award acceptance is coordinated by Grants & Contracts Administration (GCA). Only authorized university officials (not the PI) can sign and accept awards on behalf of UNT. During the award acceptance stage, GCA may negotiate terms with the sponsor if needed.

It is highly recommended that the PI ensure any needed compliance approvals (i.e., IRB, IBC, and IACUC) are in place so the award can be processed promptly once received. Compliance approval must be in place prior to award execution or award setup.

Note: The award is not official until the Grants and Contracts Administration receives an official award document from the sponsor's grant/contracts office and it is fully executed (if applicable).

Contact your GCA Specialist immediately, and they will provide guidance and assistance so that the needed updates can be made to the GRAMS Budget and to any other associated materials. All revised budgets or other post-submission update requests should be reviewed by GCA prior to submission to the sponsoring agency.

Before accepting an award on behalf of the University, the Grants & Contracts Pre-Award Specialist will work with GCA’s Research Contracting team, who will negotiate award agreements prior to execution.

These items are checked during the review of an award and must be complete before Project ID setup:

• A current Conflict of Interest Disclosure and Research Security Training on file with UNT Research Integrity and Compliance
• Human and/or laboratory subjects Approvals with IRB/IACUC/Biosafety (if applicable)
• Proposal on File
• Restricted Research Worksheet (for new awards)
• Budget and Budget Justification 
• Cost Share Approval (if applicable)
• Approved GRAMS Funding Proposal 
• Subrecipient Documents (if applicable)
• Export Control review (if applicable)

Once all documents have been received and your award has been reviewed, processed, and executed (if applicable), it will be routed to the GCA Post-Award team for processing and award setup. The assigned PostAward contact will post the new Project ID (ProjID) assigned to the award. The ProjID account should be used for the processing of project expenditures.

A No‑Cost Extension (NCE) is a formal request to extend the end date of a sponsored project when there is remaining work to be completed and sufficient funds left to complete that work.

When approved, an NCE allows the project to continue beyond the original end date without additional funding, so that the remaining work can be completed and existing funds can be used appropriately.

Important:

A No‑Cost Extension should not be requested solely to spend remaining funds. There must be a clear programmatic need related to completing the approved scope of work.

The process for submitting a No‑Cost Extension varies depending on the sponsor and award type. Below is a general guide outlining who submits the request and how it is processed.

Federal Sponsors:
For the following federal agencies, GCA submits the NCE request on behalf of the PI, using the required sponsor systems and documentation (including a justification for the request):

• NSF (National Science Foundation)
  Submitted in Research.gov
• NIH (National Institutes of Health)
  Submitted in eRA Commons
• DOE (Department of Energy)
  Submitted in the PAMS portal
• NIFA (National Institute of Food and Agriculture)
  Submitted via email to awards@usda.gov

All requests are coordinated by Michelle Hildebrand (GCA) at Michelle.hildebrand@unt.edu

NCEs Submitted by the PI (with institutional awareness)

For the following federal agencies, the PI submits the NCE request directly, with appropriate documentation and justification. GCA may still need to be notified depending on the sponsor and award terms.

• ED (Department of Education)
  Submitted through the GAN system
• IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
  Submitted via eGMS Reach
• NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
  Submitted as an Administrative Supplement
  Documentation requirements available at:
  https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/grants-2/
  Requests submitted via email to:
  nssc-admin-supplement-request@mail.nasa.gov
• DOD (Department of Defense)
  Typically submitted by email request, though some DOD components (e.g., ARL) may require submission through an authorized portal with GCA approval
• HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration)
  Currently submitted in EHBs
  HRSA plans to transition to GrantSolutions by the end of 2026; official notification will be provided prior to the change

Submission requirements for non‑federal NCEs vary by award type:

• Grants and foundation awards:
  Requests are typically submitted by email by the PI or GCA/Development Office, depending on sponsor requirements. A written justification is usually required.
• Contracts:
  NCE requests are generally submitted by GCA with a PI‑provided justification. An amendment or modification is usually required. In some cases, the PI may be allowed to submit the request directly.
• Subawards:
  Requests are typically submitted by GCA and require a PI‑provided justification. An amendment or modification is usually required.

Faculty are encouraged to contact their GCA representative, Michelle Hildebrand, to confirm the appropriate process.

An appropriate justification for a No‑Cost Extension clearly explains:

• Why is additional time needed to complete the project
• What the Principal Investigator (PI) plans to accomplish during the extension period
• How the remaining work aligns with the original scope of work approved by the sponsor

The justification should demonstrate a programmatic need for additional time, not simply the existence of unspent funds. All proposed activities during the extension must remain consistent with the approved objectives of the award

Once your No‑Cost Extension has been approved for the prime award, the extension must also be formally applied to any affected outgoing subawards.

The Post‑Award contact assigned to your UNT award will assist with this process. In most cases, a subaward amendment is required to update the subrecipient’s period of performance to align with the approved NCE.

To help facilitate timely processing:

• Confirm that the NCE has been fully executed and reflected on the prime award
• Notify your Post‑Award contact that the extension needs to be flowed down to one or more subawards
• Ensure any required subrecipient documentation or compliance approvals are up to date, if applicable

Your Post‑Award contact will coordinate with the Contracts team to issue the necessary amendment(s) and notify you once the update is complete.

Most no-cost extensions should be submitted 30-90 days prior to the current award end date, based on the agency. If an additional no-cost extension is required, more time may be required for the submission as well as additional documents needed.

There are several common reasons your award may not yet reflect the approved No‑Cost Extension:

• The official approval documentation has not yet been received by Grant & Contract Accounting (GCA).
  The award cannot be updated until formal sponsor approval is on file.
• Required compliance documentation may need to be updated.
  Processing may be delayed if any of the following are expired or incomplete:
• IRB, IBC, or IACUC protocol approvals or amendments as needed.
• The annual PI briefing is out of date
• Research Security Training or Conflict of Interest (COI) must be completed every 12 months.
• Contracts or subcontracts may still be under review.
  If your award is a contract or subcontract, the extension may still be in process with the Contracts team before the award can be officially updated.