Proposal Types Defined

Continuation

Noncompeting continuation proposals request the next year’s funding within a multi-year grant. A continuation application does not represent new or supplemental funds requested from the sponsor. Continued support is usually dependent on satisfactory work progress and the availability of funds. Generally, these consist of a progress report, budget as applicable, and other relevant materials such as research results, reprints, vitae for new personnel, etc. They sometimes include a financial status report showing the unobligated balance for the current year. These include NIH progress reports, also known as Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR). Noncompeting continuation proposals are routed through Kuali and submitted to the sponsor by the Office of Pre-Award Services (OPAS). Basics > Proposal Details > Award ID field must be populated with the existing Kuali Award ID number (use the root number ending with "-00001").

Internal (No Submission)

Internal proposals are routed through Kuali and processed internally by OPAS, but they are not submitted externally because the proposal was submitted to the sponsor prior to an OPAS review. Do not use either P&A or Continuation for this type of action.

When the UMass Proposal Submission process is by-passed, award set-up is often delayed. The proposal will still need to follow the same internal review process, which requires routing the proposal in Kuali for internal approvals. OPAS will review the proposal and submit any additional documents required by the sponsor prior to award. This step is required prior to an award being accepted by the university. If anything is out of compliance with university policies, the university may not be able to accept the award. If the budget is inadequate in terms of required costs, the PI may need to cover required costs from other funds. 

Tips: Load the following to the Attachments > Internal section of the Kuali proposal record:

• Final proposal submitted to the sponsor.
• Sponsor guidelines.
• Other relevant documentation including an explanation describing why the proposal was not originally submitted through OPAS.
• If the sponsor has already made the award, load the award document and any other relevant sponsor correspondence. This applies for newly awarded and for additional funds issued to an existing account.

Once OPAS completes processing of an internal proposal, the award will either be processed by OPAM, or UMII (if funded solely by industry).  If additional funding on this project will be funded in the future under the same account, do not use “Continuation.” Continue to use “Internal (No Submission).” Be sure to populate the Award ID field (see Basics > Proposal Details > Award ID) with the existing Kuali Award ID number (use the root number ending in "-00001".

Letter of Intent

A Letter of Intent (LOI) is usually a brief one to three page proposal statement describing the proposed project to the sponsor. In some cases, an LOI may more closely resemble a pre-proposal and may include a budget or other commitments. OPAS would need to review and submit these types of LOIs. See also: Pre-proposals and Letters of Intent

It is not necessary to route an LOI for institutional approval if it:

• Includes a total cost estimate without a detailed budget
• Is not expected to result directly in an award without a full detailed proposal or pre-proposal
• Does not require an authorized signature

Some sponsors such as NSF require the submission of an LOI by an authorized official (OPAS) despite not including a budget. OPAS can submit these types of LOIs without the need for a Kuali record.

New

A proposal that requests new funding that does not qualify as any of the other proposal types (renewal, continuation, supplement, etc.).

P&A (Unrestricted Award)

P&A stands for “Proposal and Award” and generally consists of unrestricted grants where a sponsor provides an award letter and a check (or evidence of wire transfer), bench fees, or fellowship institutional allowance awards where there is no proposal.

Use the Kuali Build form "Unrestricted Grant Processing Request" to process unrestricted grants that meet specific requirements (see form for details). Otherwise, route a Kuali P&A record. P&A’s do not generally get processed by OPAS. Instead, they are directly assigned to the award administrator for that sponsor, either in OPAM or in UMII (if solely funded by industry).

Load the following to the Attachments > Internal section of the Kuali proposal record as applicable:

• Award documentation and award check – redact the routing and account numbers from the copy
• Indirect cost rate should be 10% or at sponsor-mandated rate
• Be sure the proper F&A rate type is selected in Budget Settings even if a Summary Budget – select Unrestricted Grant or sponsor rate

Pre Proposal

A pre-proposal (sometimes called a white paper, letter proposal, preliminary proposal, pre-application, or concept paper) is a short description of the proposed project. Usually, the purpose of a pre-proposal is to inform and interest the potential sponsor in the project, resulting in a request for a more detailed formal/full proposal.

A pre-proposal must be routed to OPAS through Kuali and will be subject to the university proposal requirements and procedures when they include any of the following:

• A commitment of university resources (including, but not limited to: PI time/effort, staff time, space, facilities use, project completion, students, and/ or post-doc participation/time, etc.)
• A detailed budget
• A detailed cost sharing commitment or any commitment by a party outside the university
• Any exception to the standard university F&A Cost rates
• Certifications, representations, or assurances signed by an institutional representative
• A requirement for an authorized signature or submission in a portal by an institutional official
• Acceptance of terms and conditions

It is not necessary to route a pre-proposal for institutional approval if it:

• Includes a total cost estimate without a detailed budget; and
• Is not expected to result directly in an award without a full detailed proposal; and
• The university is not bound in any way by the content of the pre-proposal

See also: Pre-proposals and Letters of Intent. Please contact the R&E Help Desk if you have any questions about whether or not to route a pre-proposal.

Renewal

A competing renewal proposal (also called a competing continuation) is a request for continued funding of a project for which the funding or project period is about to terminate. Such proposals are similar to "new" proposals and must be routed and approved in the same manner as new proposals.

Tips:

• Only use this proposal type when the sponsor requires it, e.g. for the National Institutes of Health and the US Department of Energy when submitting an application for a new round of funding for an existing project; otherwise use the proposal type “New”.
• Typically the Renewal retains the same sponsor grant number as the existing award, but will receive a new UMass account number and does not need to be linked to the current award. Therefore, you will not need to populate the Award ID field in the Basics > Proposal Details screen of the proposal record in Kuali.
• Not to be confused with “Continuation”.

Resubmission

Use this proposal type only with National Institutes of Health (NIH) proposals or as required by other Grants.gov based submissions as applicable – see sponsor guidelines.

Revised Budget

When a sponsor wants to fund a proposed project at an amount different from that originally proposed, the sponsor asks the investigator to submit a "revised" budget supporting the amount to be funded. Be sure to complete the Original Institutional Proposal ID field in Basics > Proposal Details so that the Revised Budget will be linked to the originally submitted proposal.

If the revision amounts to 25% or greater from the original proposal, a revised budget must be routed through the university proposal routing process to document the signatories’ approval of the budget revisions. See Revised Budget Questionnaire in the Kuali proposal record.

If the sponsor reduces the budget, the investigator must determine whether the originally proposed scope and objectives of the project can be met under the revised budget. If not, the investigator and sponsor must redefine the scope and objectives in writing and this revised scope of work will be submitted to the sponsor along with other items requested by the sponsor. Note: if a budget modification is being made to an award, this does not get routed in Kuali. Contact the Office of Post-Award Management (OPAM) for instructions.