Proposal Development

PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND REVIEW POLICY

The Semel Institute Proposal Preparation and Review Policy details procedural expectations for our investigators and administrators to ensure successful submissions. Defined procedural expectations help to mitigate the challenges of coordinating a proposal. Download and review the Semel Institute Proposal Preparation and Review Policy

REVIEW STEPS AND TIMELINE

In accordance with Policy 909, All UCLA employees who receive any part of their salary through the University, or whose activities use any campus resources or facilities, must submit proposals for extramural support through the authorized University contracts and grants office with resulting awards made to The Regents of the University of California.

Investigators must comply with the established review process and timeline in order to allow Authorized officials sufficient time to verify a proposal’s compliance with UCLA & Sponsor policy and manage unanticipated challenges (ie, technical issues). Non-compliant proposals risk rejection, award processing delays, and non-acceptance.

The submission timeline depends on the sponsor and direct costs. Use the navigation below to see the relevant steps for OCGA and OROS submissions.  Click on the OROS and OCGA tabs below to navigate the instructions based on the mode of submission.

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The Office of Research Opportunity and Strategy (OROS) can only submit NIH proposals with less than or equal to $500,000 in direct cost for each year. Submission by OROS is considered a “DRA Submission” and does not require OCGA review and submission. Steps are as follows:

As soon as you know that you'll be submitting a proposal in response to a funding opportunity, notify pre-award via email: preaward@mednet.ucla.edu. Include the PI Name(s), guidelines, due date, approximate annual direct costs, and whether or not there are plans to include subrecipients

The OROS Pre-Award Team will then add the proposal to the department’s review calendar and provide a review schedule with internal due dates and a list of required documents.

Intent to Submit Email Notification Example

Submit the completed EPASS  and email the pre-award team to initiate review (no later than 5 business days prior to the sponsor deadline).

The pre-award team will review the application and provide feedback to the PI and preparer. Once all approvals are obtained OROS will submit to NIH.

OROS will send the submitted application along with internal documents to OCGA for PATS assignment. The PATS# will be associated with the proposal through the life cycle of the award.

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The Office of Contracts and Grants Administration (OCGA) are the primary submitting department for all UCLA proposals. OCGA is designated to submit all proposals (grants and sub-grants) including contracts. OCGA also handles “non-DRA submissions” (NIH proposals with greater than $500,000 in direct cost for each year). Submission by OCGA generally requires more time so plan accordingly. Steps are as follows:

As soon as you know that you'll be submitting a proposal in response to a funding opportunity, notify pre-award via email: preaward@mednet.ucla.edu. Include the PI Name(s), guidelines, due date, approximate annual direct costs, and whether or not there are plans to include subrecipients

The OROS Pre-Award Team will then add the proposal to the department’s review calendar and provide a review schedule with internal due dates and a list of required documents.

Intent to Submit Email Notification Example

Submit the completed EPASS  and email the pre-award team to initiate review (no later than 8 business days prior to the sponsor deadline).

Five-business days prior to the sponsor deadline, the Department will forward the proposal to the Central UCLA contract and grant office for final review and submission to the sponsor

TOOLS FOR CREATING
COMPLETE AND COMPLIANT PROPOSALS

A complete proposal includes Institutional (UCLA) and Sponsor required components. This website provides helpful hyperlinks, checklists, tip sheets and videos – aka “tools” for creating complete and compliant proposals. Tools are organized below by Institutional vs. Sponsor; sponsor tools are further delineated by sponsor type: Federal, Non-Profit, State or Industry.

Download and review the institutional pre-award matrix to familiarize yourself with the steps and requirements for each proposal type.

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Institutional Forms

Also known as “internal forms” these UCLA-required documents are completed by the PI and submitted along with the sponsor-required components for review. 

The internal forms are required for all outgoing proposals and should be completed at the onset of your application process.

The EPASS form is an administrative, regulatory and budgetary snapshot of the proposal. PI and Chair sign electronically.

Completed electronically via https://epass.research.ucla.edu/

Department e-EPASS Guide (side by side)

How to Approve an EPASS for PIs

A FCOI refers to any situation in which an Investigator’s financial interest(s) have the potential to bias a research project.

Identify which COI disclosure is required for your proposal. Disclosure format is determined by sponsor (s) type UCLA Conflict of Interest Overview

Obtain signatures or E-certifications from UCLA key personnel named on your proposal (refer to disclosure types A-C)

A. UCLA eDGE Online Certification for Federal PHS and some non-profit sponsors who have adopted PHS disclosure regulations

How to login to the UCLA eDGE system

How to view certification dates in UCLA eDGE

eDGE Investigator Briefing

B) 700U and 700U addendum forms for non-profit & for profit sponsors.

Sponsors exempt from this reporting requirement

Download 700U, 700U addendum (supplement if applicable)

C) 740 form for Federal non-PHS sponsors, CIRM, UC Programs

Download 740 form (supplement if applicable)

Employees with titles that do not meet UCLA Policy 900 eligibility requirements must obtain exceptional approval to serve as PI or Multi-PI.

  1. Does the PI's appointment include Academic Senate Membership (check titles list),
  2. If not on list, prepare a PI Exception Request Form via DocuSign.

UCLA proposals that include subrecipients must obtain a subaward package from each entity.

A Subrecipient Package includes multiple forms and documents.

OCGA Subrecipient Summary

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E-Systems & Access

Proposals are regularly submitted through sponsor web platforms. Request forms and training resources for common e-systems are provided below.

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S2S Grants (Cayuse)

UCLA’s custom portal for Federal Proposals. A Web-based alternative for preparing, validating and submitting proposals via Grants.gov.

Link to request access to Cayuse: S2S Granst (Cayuse) Request Form

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eRA Commons
NIH communication platform with applicants and awardees

Link to request access to eRA Commons: eRA Account Request Form

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Proposal Central
A web platform used by some non-profits and government entities to accept proposals and track awards

Link to Training Resources:

UCLA OCGA delegations

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UCLA Other Support Tool
UCLA created an interim tool in the ORA portal to help investigators comply with updated OS formats

No Form: Access is approved by the Chair on a case by case basis.
Email preaward@mednet.ucla.edu to request access

Link to Training Resources: UCLA OS Tool Overview

Approved users may access UCLA OS Tools via the Pre-Award tab of the ORA Portal

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DocuSign for Other Support
UCLA Investigators use DocuSign to certify Other Support and should work with their home department to obtain a DocuSign Account

Form Request:
Submit a DocuSign Access Request Form to Semel IT to obtain a DocuSign Account

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SciENcv
SciENcv is a utility within myNCBI to help researchers assemble professional information for their Biosketch and (soon) Other Support documents

Link to Access Request:
Access SciENcv via the NCBI’s My NCBI portal, or by going to PubMed and selecting the “Sign into NCBI” link at the top right of the screen. Use your eRA Commons credentials to login. If you do not have an eRA Commons account, please request one first by completing an eRA Request Form

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