As an administrative unit within the UFCD Dean’s office, the Office of Research reviews and approves all proposal submissions on behalf of the Associate Dean for Research and/or the College’s Dean. In addition, the office offers guidance and resources for UFCD faculty submitting proposal applications to both external and internal sources. In order to provide the most effective service to the College, the following guidelines define the roles and responsibilities prescribed, along with reviewing requirements and submission timelines for all stakeholders.
Roles and Responsibilites
| Principal Investigator (PI) |
| •Prepares proposal to accurately reflect the resources required in order to successfully conduct the project; i.e., funding, facilities, equipment, time, personnel effort, etc. •Ensures proposal application is complete and adheres to sponsor’s guidelines •Prepares application in accordance with sponsor(s) and University requirements •Complies with sponsor’s format specifications •Confirms budget and budget justification are consistent, accurate, aligned with project goals, and consistent with sponsor(s) guidelines for limits and allowances •Adheres to University policy regarding cost sharing, federal cost accounting standards, and effort commitments •Ensures the application receives required approvals and verifies final submission to the sponsor |
| Department Chair (DC) |
| •Supports proposed scope of work and confirms it is consistent with the department’s mission and overall objectives •Approves proposed personnel effort •Aware of effort required to perform the work and determines that faculty commitments are consistent with faculty member’s professional effort, responsibilities and capabilities •Reviews proposal to ensure the PI has proposed reasonable and available resources •Approves and guarantees funding for proposed cost sharing |
| Research Administrator (RA) |
| •Assists PI with preparing the proposal and developing an appropriate budget that includes salary and fringe benefit calculations, with applicable indirect costs •Assists with completion of all required administrative documents •Assists PI to collect biosketches and other supporting documents •Creates an electronic record in the UFIRST proposal system •Ensures proper approvals are obtained for cost sharing •Ensures all required compliance documentation is accurately completed and attached in UFIRST, and all compliance questions are answered correctly in UFIRST; e.g., FCOI, IRB, IACUC, CANCER, CLSVC •Corresponds with sponsors as needed •Facilitates proposal submission process •Follows-up to ensure all approvals are received and submission to the sponsor is successful •Keeps electronic records of proposal submissions may be stored in the UFIRST system |
| UFCD Office of Research (UFCD OOR) |
| •Conducts final review of proposal submission* •Approves the proposal on behalf of the Dean and College •Collects data for reporting and maintains a proposal activity log |
UFCD Office of Research College Review Criteria
| The primary intent of the college level review ensures compliance with Dentistry, University of Florida, Health Science Center and sponsor agency rules and regulations. |
| The College level review verifies: |
| •The proposal and/or agreement is accurately entered into UFIRST •The proposal is verified by the PI and approved by the Department Chair •All required compliance documentation is accurately completed and attached in UFIRST •Documents containing administrative data are complete and accurate; i.e., institutional information |
| Confirms all budget elements meet the following requirements: |
| •UFIRST budget, sponsor budget, and sponsor budget justification are aligned •Budget justification is clear, concise and accurately reports effort commitments •Salary and fringe benefits calculated properly utilizing UFIRST •Appropriate indirect cost rate and base •Proposed cost sharing is documented and approved by the Department Chair and Dean •Approval must be obtained prior to final submission to the Office of Research •Approved exceptions to UF/UFCD or sponsor policies are documented •The sponsor proposal contains no potential submission errors |
| General Submission Deadlines |
| The PIs are encouraged to notify the Office of Research and the department administration as early as possible, prior to proposal submission deadlines. Faculty should be aware that submitting a proposal too close to the deadline significantly increases the risk of the proposal not being successfully transmitted through the electronic systems. In cases where it is not possible for the proposal to be reviewed at the college level, the PI and their department is responsible for any financial commitments or short falls in the award. The Office of Research may perform a follow-up review and advise the PI of any important budgetary issues. The College in conjunction with UF’s Office of Research policy have established internal proposal submission deadlines.The PIs are encouraged to notify the Office of Research and the department administration as early as possible, prior to proposal submission deadlines. Faculty should be aware that submitting a proposal too close to the deadline significantly increases the risk of the proposal not being successfully transmitted through the electronic systems. |
UF Proposal Deadlines
| Effective June 22, 2018 UF’s Office of Research is implementing an internal deadline for proposal submissions. The new deadline requires proposal submission process finalized by 9AM, ONE (1) business day prior to the sponsor’s deadline. For more information regarding the UF policy visit: UF Office of Research’s FAQ page. |
UFCD Office of Research Submission Deadlines
| The UFCD Office of Research is implementing the following deadline policy: Proposal submissions must be finalized by 9 AM Five (5) business (working) days* in advance of the sponsor’s published deadline. This includes the Office receiving a final version of the proposal document, all administrative requirements met, and PI, ad-hoc, department and college level approvals are received. This gives the Office four full day to conduct a final review and submit the proposal to UF’s Office of Research, prior to the required UF deadline. Once notified of an upcoming proposal submission, the UFCD Office of Research will inform PI’s of the internal deadlines. *Please note that weekend and holidays are not considered “business days”. Deadlines Examples: |
| Sponsor Deadline | UF Deadline 9 AM | UFCD Deadline 9 AM |
| Friday Monday Day after holiday | Thursday Friday One day prior to holiday | Friday prior to sponsor deadline Monday prior to sponsor deadline Five days prior to holiday |
Submission Timeline
| Activity | Person(s) responsible | Target Date |
| Line up research team members, define roles on project and effort proposed | PI | 6-8 weeks out |
| Provide Research Administrator with names, roles on project and proposed effort and contact information for all individuals in research team (investigators, consultants, and other personnel) | PI | 4 weeks out |
| Request support letters (if necessary) | PI | 3-4 weeks out |
| Email research team requesting conflict of interest, biosketch and any other information necessary for completion of performance site or key personnel sections of applications and any administrative documents for consortiums | Research Administrator | 2-3 weeks out |
| Prepare DRAFT budget | Research Administrator | 2-3 weeks out |
| Check biosketches for proper format and communicate with research team member if content or formatting is incorrect. | Research Administrator | 2 weeks out |
| Complete non-science aspects of application in UFIRST. | Research Administrator | 2 weeks out |
| Provide abstract, project narrative, resources, equipment, budget justification, and other required documents (with the exception of research strategy and bibliography) to Research Administrator for uploading in application. | PI | 2 weeks out |
| Review and finalize budget | PI & Research Administrator | 2 weeks out |
| Submit to UFIRST workflow to obtain necessary approvals | Research Administrator | 1-2 week(s) out |
| Review final application & submit to DSP | PI & Research Administrator | 5 days out |
Preparation Assistance and the Office of Research Proposal Queue
| Preparation Assistance and the Office of Research Proposal Queue |
| College Research Administrators work with PIs to develop a timeline for proposal preparation. Usually, a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks is necessary for the average proposal. The timeline can vary, depending on how many faculty/colleges are involved, whether a modular versus detailed budget is required, and if a portion of the work is being performed outside UF. Due to the number of faculty served, the Office of Research establishes a proposal Queue, assisting on a first-come first-served basis. Proposals are added to the Queue upon receiving notification from the PI of a planned submission. |