Guidelines for Submitting Preliminary Proposals and Letters of Inquiry or Intent

Pre-proposals

If any of the following are included in the pre-proposal, it is processed like a full proposal and a Checklist for Proposal Approval (via E-Prop after 6/1/12) is required.       

1. a budget or “bottom-line,” 
2. renovation costs, 
3. cost share commitments, or 
4. the hiring of new faculty or staff.    

If none of the above are requested,

• discuss with your chair/director and provide ORSP a copy of everything sent to the sponsor; 
• if submitting via the sponsor's electronic platform, contact your departmentally-assigned pre-award specialist at least two days before the deadline. Such leeway allows time for ORSP to deal with unanticipated technology challenges and helps to balance workload if there are other proposals in the queue. It is the PI’s responsibility to allow sufficient time for institutional review and approval.  

If collaborations are part of your pre-proposal, include in the information provided to ORSP copies of email or other correspondence with the collaborators that cite their willingness to participate. 

Letters of Inquiry or Intent (LOI)

LOIs typically focus on the scope of work and do not include budget details.

If a budget or bottom line is included, process as above for a pre-proposal.  

If you do not include a dollar amount, discuss with your chair/director and provide your departmentally-assigned pre-award specialist a copy of everything sent to the sponsor.