OGC-102 Internal Notice of Intent Deadlines

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish deadlines for the submission of a Notice of Intent (NOI) for all grant proposals to be submitted through the OGC. Strict adherence to these deadlines is necessary for OGC staff to have adequate time to prepare and review grant documents and also be able to service faculty in an organized and efficient manner.

Scope

This policy applies to all eligible College of Agricultural Sciences principal investigators (PI), per Penn State policy RA03, who plan to seek extramural funding, including new proposals, preproposals, subawards, supplements, continuations, renewals, resubmissions, and any other forms of additional funding. Included in this are grants that require OGC submission but may have been developed with assistance from other offices such as, the Office of Foundation Relations and/or Corporate Engagement Center.

It is a violation of Penn State policy RA20 Proposal Submission for principal investigators to submit proposals on their own without the authorization of the Penn State Authorized Official.

Prerequisites

The NOI requires basic information that will aid the OGC pre-award staff in initiating the proposal development process (see Definitions below). All required information should be available to the PI, and instructions are provided on the online form.

Responsibilities

The PI is responsible for submitting the NOI using the OGC online form and providing all requested details as fully as possible by the deadline appropriate for the complexity of the proposal. Some departments may have a Proposal and Award Generalist (PAG)to assist the PI in completing the online form; however, the ultimte responsibility for submitting the NOI within the require deadline established by this policy is that of the PI.

Definitions

The proposal development process includes all pre-award work (e.g., the review of the solicitation, the establishment of the timeline for the preparation of documents required by a sponsor, gathering the necessary approvals, development of budges, the submission of the proposal, and other pre-award work as necessary)

 A subaward is a legally binding agreement between two entities and funded from grant or contract funds.

 Standard proposals include:

• Domestic sponsors only
• Pre-proposals that include budgets
• Penn State as a collaborator/subaward from another entity
• Outgoing single subawardee/subcontractor

 Complex proposals include any of the following items:

• Two or more subawards/subcontracts
• Cost-sharing of any kind
• F&A waiver requests
• Collaborations with other Penn State units or campuses
• International sponsor
• International component of any kind
• Early review of terms and conditions by Penn State Office of Sponsored Programs
• Inclusion of Small Business Purchasing Plan
• Student or fellowship grants
• Engagement with Penn State Office of Foundation Relations or Corporate Engagement Center

Policy

Effective for all proposals due on or after May 1, 2022, the PI (or delegate designated by the PI) must submit a NOI by the deadlines outlined according to the proposal’s degree of complexity. A NOI that is submitted after the deadline may be subject to the restrictions outlined in policy OGC-104.

For standard proposals, the deadline for submission of the NOI is a minimum of four (4) weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

For complex proposals, the deadline for submission of the NOI is a minimum of six (6) weeks prior to the sponsor’s deadline.

Procedures

PI completes the NOI using the OGC online form (address below in References). OGC leadership reviews the NOI. Pending timely receipt of the NOI, the proposal advances into the proposal development process when it is assigned to the appropriate pre-award PAG. Deadlines for required documents for the proposal development process are established in policy OGC-103.

References

• OGC Online Notice of Intent Form
• Policy RA03 – Eligibility to Serve as a Principal Investigator (PI)
• Policy RA20 – Proposal Submission
• Policy OGC-103 - Proposal Documents Deadlines
• Policy OGC-104 - Alternative Proposal Submission Option

Version History

• Version 1.0, March 15, 2022
• Version 2.0, February 2, 2023

Download PDF of Policy OGC-102