Limited Submission Opportunities

Various funding agencies place limits to the number of letters of intent (LOI), pre-proposals or full proposals that an institution can submit in response to Request for Proposals (RFP), Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), etc. in a given funding cycle. Submissions that limit the number of proposals that an institution can submit are those we refer to as “Limited Submission” opportunities.

This policy has been established in order to prevent any potential disqualification of submissions and, more importantly, to stimulate the most competitive proposals and applications based on the criteria defined by the sponsor/funding agency. This policy applies to all grants and contracts, with the exception of the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend Program.

 

Policy

Due to the large number of available programs, it is not possible for the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP), Research Development (ORD), or Grants and Contracts (OGC) to provide a regular, exhaustive list of announcements with limited submission restrictions, or to send advanced notification of every limited submission opportunity. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the principal investigator (PI) to notify ORSP at ORD@fullerton.edu if s/he intends to make an application to a limited submission opportunity. Upon notice, ORSP will distribute the funding opportunity announcement to campus to solicit any potential interest from faculty members.  In order to be considered for limited submission opportunities, a PI must coordinate with ORSP as provided in the procedures outlined below.

 

Procedure

 A. Federal, State and other Public Funding Agencies

1. Principal Investigator (PI) interested in submitting a proposal in response to a limited submission opportunity from a federal, state or other public entity must provide notification to the ORSP (via ORD@fullerton.edu) a minimum of 60 calendar days prior to the stated proposal submission deadline. Upon receipt of notification and review of submission guidelines, ORSP will send an email to College Deans and identified Unit Administrators to alert campus of such interest, to request the College Deans and Unit heads to disseminate information, or to inquire if there are faculty or staff interested within their respective units. An internal deadline for responses will be specified in the notice.
2. Interested PI’s should notify ORSP, via ORD@fullerton.edu, of their interest in submission within the internal deadline specified.
3. Immediately following the deadline set, ORSP will send a follow up notification to all who expressed interest to alert them about the results of the inquiry.

1. 1. If the number of interested PI’s is less than the limit of the number of proposals allowed, then no further action is necessary. Proposals will be submitted following the university’s standard process.
   2. If there are more interested PI’s than the limited number of proposals allowed, a selection of the project(s) that will move forward will be necessary.

4. Selection of Project(s):

1. 1. A PI interested in submitting to a limited submission opportunity must submit a summary of the proposed project (no more than 2 pages), and a list of PI and key team members’ current and pending support and biographical sketches (in agency specific format of no more than 5 pages) to the Associate Vice President, ORSP (AVP-ORSP).
   2. When there are thirty (30) calendar days between identification of the funding opportunity and the sponsor deadline for submission, permission to move forward will be decided by the AVP-ORSP.
   3. The AVP-ORSP will discuss the projects with the evaluation committee established by the AVP-ORSP for the limited submission opportunity. After consulting with the review committee, the AVP-ORSP will make the final decision on selection of the project(s) to be put forth on behalf of the university. Evaluation criteria will include, but not limited to:
      1. Quality of the proposal and work described therein.
      2. Probability of successful funding through alignment with the sponsors stated objectives.
      3. Probability of the PI and proposed team (if applicable) to carry out the project as evidenced by CV(s) and current and pending support.
      4. Support of the mission of the university through alignment with the university’s strategic plan.
   4. It is expected that once a project is selected and the PI is notified, the PI has the responsibility to submit a proposal. Should the selected PI decide not to submit as planned, they must inform AVP-ORSP in writing within three days of selection so that the PI of the next ranked proposal can be notified, in a timely manner, to move forward with submission. Failure to submit a proposal without prior notification to AVP-ORSP may affect the PI’s ability to participate in future internal competitions.
   5. In the event that the PI of the top-ranked proposal is unable to move forward due to extenuating circumstances, the PI of the next ranked proposal will be contacted to move forward with submission.   

Please note: While every effort will be made to adhere to the procedures listed above, there may be instances where an internal competition is not practical due to sponsor expectations and requirements as specified in the funding announcement (i.e., the opportunity is most appropriate for specific colleges/units).  In those cases, the limited opportunity may not be announced to the entire campus and/or internal competitions may not be conducted. If a special arrangement among interested PIs, deans and AVP-ORSP is agreed upon in the decision of which proposal to put forth during the selection process, that arrangement will be honored.

5. Proposal Submission:

1. 1. Project(s) selected will result in proposals submitted by the OGC, following standard university submission process, including the timeline policy and in accordance with sponsor guidelines.

6. Resubmission

1. 1. If a proposal is submitted for a limited submission opportunity and is not funded, that proposal will have no preference over other projects in any subsequent limited submission opportunities. However, preference will be provided for a proposal that received favorable reviews and was invited for resubmission. Evaluation comments from sponsors must be included with all previously submitted proposals.

 

B. Private Funding Agencies

1. A PI interested in submitting a proposal in response to a limited submission opportunity from a private foundation, non-profit organization or other private entity will need prior clearance from University Advancement (UA). The PI must notify ORD or the college/unit’s Director of Development (DoD) at least 60 calendar daysprior to the full proposal deadline.
2. Upon receipt of notice from the PI, the DoD or ORD will identify who will take the lead on the submission, and secure clearance from UA.
3. If clearance is received, the proposal(s) will be processed and submitted in accordance with sponsor guidelines following the university’s Proposal Submission Timeline Policy .