Pre-Award Services

Proposal Submission Guidelines and Timelines

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, PIs are strongly advised to prepare proposals well in advance of agency deadlines. Every effort will be made to meet agency deadlines following the NJIT Research Continuity Plan. While these guidelines apply at any time, they are especially important given the current environment, both at NJIT and within our sponsors’ organizations. Both organizations may experience unforeseen complications or delays.

NJIT faculty and researchers should start the institutional process on proposal preparation including budget and any research compliance requirements as applicable for institutional approvals and proposal submission by contacting their respective college/school representative as listed below and follow the institutional proposal submission guidelines as posted on the pre-award services webpage.

All research proposals are submitted on behalf of NJIT to specific funding agencies using the internal proposal submission online software system Streamlyne.

Principal investigators on research proposals should direct questions regarding internal approvals, proposal submission and Streamlyne software system to the respective college/school representative:
John McCarthy, NCE Director of Research (973) 596-3247; john.p.mccarthy@njit.edu
Cristo Leon, CSLA Director of Research (973) 596-6426; cristo.e.yanezleon@njit.edu
Esther Hom, YWCC Associate Director of Research (973) 596-2976; hom@njit.edu
Iris Pantoja, CoAD and MTSM Project Manager 973-596-4483; irp3@njit.edu

1 month (or earlier) before the Sponsor Submission Deadline

Initiate Proposal Submission in Streamlyne: PIs should work with their college director or project manager to initiate the proposal submission process in Streamlyne, which should include the proposal identification number (NSF, NIH) and/or the RFP document. This will allow:

Preliminary review of needs and sponsor requirements (meeting recommended)
Set up the timeline in motion and internal checklist/deadlines
Collaborator outreach and intake requirements (where applicable)
Budget Creation and Streamlyne document development process

1 month - 2 weeks before Sponsor Submission Deadline

The budget should be finalized and the approval process should be initiated. This includes academic approvals, conflict of interest forms, the detailed budget and justification, proposal title, and preliminary specific aims (NIH), proposal summary (NSF), or contract scope of work (SOW). College directors and program managers will provide project-specific checklists to aid PIs in this process.

2 weeks - 1 week before the Sponsor Submission Deadline

Submit all required internal attachments. College directors or project managers will assist in this process.

72 hours before the Sponsor Submission Deadline

We are suggesting that all final proposals be released for submission 72 hours before the published sponsor deadline so that there is time to account for server delays, system outages, and other technical issues that may be more difficult to troubleshoot in a completely distributed work environment, both at NJIT and our sponsors.

Particular attention should be given to proposals requiring federal assurances and certifications. These proposals require vice presidential endorsement and must be submitted via Streamlyne no later than four (4) days prior to the agency/sponsor submission deadline.

Proposal Preparation and Submission

Once a funding opportunity is targeted, Principal investigator and applicant team must carefully read the specific Request for Proposal (RFP), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) or Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) along with funding agency requirements and guidelines on proposal preparation, format and submission as well as review process and criterion information. A typical research proposal includes the following sections:

Cover Sheet
Project Summary (or Narrative)
Table of Contents
Project Description/Plan (Includes: Specific Objectives, Introduction and Background, Proposed Approach and Innovation, Research Plan, Potential Risks and Risk Management , Assessment, Deliverables/Milestones and Timeline)
References Cited
Biographical Sketch(es)
Budget and Budget Justification
Current and Pending Support
Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
Special Information and Supplementary Documentation (As applicable - Human Subjects, Use of Animals, Project Management Plan (Multiple PIs with Multi-Institutional Proposal), Data Management Plan (and/or Data Sharing Plan), Postdoctoral or Student Mentoring Plan)

More information on the proposal development, budget and review processes are available to NJIT faculty with ppt presentations, templates and samples in the Research Proposal Development Workshop folder on NJIT Google drive.

Agency Specific Proposal Submission Information

NSF Proposal Submission

Information on NSF proposal preparation is posted on the NSF website https://www.nsf.gov/funding/preparing/ NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) document provides detailed information on proposal preparation and submission of NSF proposals. However, when submitting a proposal in response to specific Request for Proposal (RFP) and Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), information included in the RFP or announcement must be followed for additional requirements on proposal preparation and submission.

Proposals submitted to NSF must be submitted via use of either the NSF FastLane System, Research.gov or Grants.gov. See the relevant funding opportunity for additional information. Further information on each system is available in Chapter I.A of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

The Policy Office, in the Division of Institution and Award Support, provides general policy guidance for proposers. The Policy Office page includes NSF regulations, other Federal regulations, notices of important policies and other information for proposers and awardees.

NSF conducts outreach on proposal preparation and award administration, through NSF Grant Conferences and other outreach activities.

NSF has updated “Biographical Sketch” and “Current and Pending Support” forms and instructions for new proposals submitted or due on or after October 5, 2020. Please use the following links to access the updated forms and instructions:

NSF-Approved Formats for the Biographical Sketch

NSF-Approved Formats for Current and Pending Support

NIH Proposal Submission

NIH proposal planning, preparation and submission guidelines for applicants are posted on the NIH website https://public.csr.nih.gov/ForApplicants

Most competing grant applications to NIH require electronic submission using the SF424 (R&R) application forms. Electronic submission involves two separate systems working together – the federal portal Grants.gov and the NIH eRA Commons. The Office of Extramural Research provides information on electronic submission and submission options. (Paper applications may only be submitted if required by the funding opportunity announcement.) The Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR) in the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) receives and checks for compliance all applications submitted to NIH. Then the DRR assigns each application: 1) to one or more institutes or centers for funding consideration and 2) to a study section (scientific review group) to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of the application.

The applicant organization submits applications prepared by the principal investigator(s) to NIH through Grants.gov, a single access point for all 26 federal grant-making agencies. The eRA Commons is an online interface where a grant applicant can check the submitted grant application for errors and warnings and view the final image.

CSR offers a number of ways to identify an appropriate study section including searching for a study section or using the CSR Assisted Referral Tool, and you can use NIH RePorter to identify where similar funded proposals were reviewed. Applicants may wish to contact scientific review officers or the DRR (301-435-0715) with specific questions about a potential assignment.

A cover letter may be included (as a PDF attachment) with your application. Cover letters may not be used for assignment requests but instead should address important information, not covered by the PHS Assignment Request Form, such as eligibility for continuous submission or the reason for a late submission.

For electronic submissions, the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) determines the validations that will be applied in processing receipt of the application by the NIH eRA Commons. If errors are identified in the validation process, the errors must be addressed and a changed/corrected application resubmitted to Grants.gov. Applicants are encouraged to start the submission process early enough to allow for error correction and still have an error-free, on-time submission by 5 p.m. local time on the due date.

NIH proposal review criteria, templates and general guidelines are posted on the website.

NIH has updated “Biosketch” and “Other Support” forms and instructions. The updated forms will be required for use for applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2021. Please use the following links to access the updated forms and instructions:

NIH Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples

NIH Other Support Format Pages, Instructions and Samples

DoD Proposal Submissions

New Principal Investigators must register on the DoD’s online system prior to submitting information for their first proposal at https://ebrap.org/eBRAP/register/Register.htm. CDMRP website provides a information on the “How to Apply” to grant funding opportunities. The DoD requires that final proposals be submitted by the university’s sponsored research administration office rather than by the principal investigator directly. The NJIT proposal submission guidelines and timeline must be followed as posted on the pre-award services webpage. The general tips for DoD submission process as posted on the CDMRP website include:

Download a copy of the PA/BAA from the CDMRP, eBRAP, or Grants.gov.

Carefully read the PA/BAA to understand its key elements

Start application submission early to allow adequate time to address issues that may arise during the process

Adhere to PA/BAA timelines

Ensure spelling of names and emails are correct and consistent throughout the process

Remember that corrections to the project narrative and budget requires the application to be submitted through Grants.gov before the application submission deadline