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Getting Started

Investigators must first notify their college research or grant administration office to complete any required internal review and processing. Each college has designated Pre-Award or administrative contacts who assist with budget preparation, internal routing, and compliance requirements.

All proposals must then be routed through the InfoEd eRA System and approved by both the College and the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) prior to submission to any external sponsor. This institutional review is mandatory and ensures that URI’s legal, fiscal, and compliance requirements are met before the university commits to the proposed work.

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for:

• Developing the technical content and budget in accordance with sponsor and institutional policies.
• Addressing all required compliance items (e.g., FCOI, human subjects, animal use, export control, etc.).
• Ensuring the proposal is complete, accurate, and submitted within institutional timelines.

Refer to the Roles and Responsibilities Matrix for detailed descriptions of responsibilities throughout the proposal lifecycle.

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Requesting Sponsor Credentials

Many sponsors—such as NIH, NSF, NASA, USDA, NOAA, and others—require investigators to be registered or affiliated with URI in their electronic submission systems before a proposal can be submitted. These registrations are not always automatic and may take several business days to process.

Investigators should contact OSP Pre-Award early to:

• Create a new user account or affiliate an existing account with URI.
• Confirm that OSP has Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) or Signing Official (SO) access in the sponsor portal.
• Access Institutional Information for URI’s official identifiers (UEI, EIN, congressional district, and other details commonly required on sponsor forms).

All sponsor systems requiring institutional or OSP sign-off (e.g. NSF Research.gov, ProposalCentral, NASA NSPIRES, etc.) must be brought to OSP’s attention as soon as possible to ensure that the correct institutional contacts have access for submission.

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Proposal Processing Timeline and Deadlines

To ensure sufficient review and compliance, the Office of Sponsored Projects requires complete proposals to be routed in InfoEd at least five (5) full business days before the sponsor’s submission deadline.

• Proposals approved by both the College and OSP on time receive priority review and guaranteed submission.
• Late proposals are reviewed only as staff capacity allows and may not be submitted by the deadline.
• Investigators must also adhere to their College’s internal deadlines and guidelines, which may require earlier submission to allow sufficient review and coordination.

See URI’s Proposal Submission Deadlines and Five-Day Policy for institutional timing requirements and exceptions.

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Preparing and Submitting a Proposal

A clear and complete proposal is essential for timely review and successful submission. Follow the sponsor’s published instructions for format, content, budget, and submission. If no specific sponsor guidelines are provided—or if URI is a subrecipient on another institution’s proposal—the minimum documentation listed below must still be uploaded in InfoEd for internal review and approval.

1. Required Documents

Upload the following to the InfoEd proposal record:

• Proposal Narrative / Statement of Work – Describes project objectives, methods, and significance.
• Budget – Details all expected project expenses. Budgets must comply with Uniform Guidance (2 CFR § 200), the sponsor’s solicitation, and URI policy. Refer to the URI InfoEd Budget Development Guide for instructions.
• Budget Justification – Explains each budget line and any year-to-year changes. The more detailed, the better, as long as the justification fits within the sponsor’s page limits. Do not use this section to expand the project narrative.
• Financial Conflict of Interest Disclosure – Must be completed in InfoEd by all personnel responsible for the design, conduct, or reporting (DCR) of the research (Key-Personnel). See Complete a Disclosure for details.
• Research Security Information – As required under federal mandates (e.g., NSPM-33, CHIPS & Science Act), provide disclosure of foreign collaborations, appointments, or support consistent with agency guidelines. See URI Research Security Training for NSPM-33, CHIPS and Science Act.docx  for details.
• Funding Opportunity or RFA – Attach the sponsor’s solicitation or link to the opportunity number to ensure compliance with all sponsor requirements.
• Letters of Intent (LOI) – If the sponsor requires a Letter of Intent, it may be uploaded to the Internal Documents section of the InfoEd record and checked off on the Transmittal tab for routing and institutional signature.
• Center or Institute Cover Sheet – If the proposal routes through a URI center or institute (e.g., Ryan Center, Coastal Institute), include the completed cover sheet.
• Electronic Application Copy (if applicable) – If the final submission occurs through a sponsor portal (e.g., ProposalCentral, Research.gov, NSPIRES, etc.), upload a PDF copy of the complete application in InfoEd.

2. Subrecipient Documentation (if applicable)

When the proposal includes subawards, provide a complete set of materials for each subrecipient:

• Scope of Work
• Subrecipient Commitment Form
  • Domestic Subrecipient Commitment Form
  • Foreign Subrecipient Monitoring Form
• Detailed Budget on the current R&R Subaward Budget Form
• Budget Justification
• Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), if applicable

Budgets must clearly indicate whether the funding mechanism is a grant or a contract, as each has different compliance, deliverable, and reporting requirements.

• A grant supports a PI-defined scope of work with programmatic independence.
• A contract purchases specific deliverables on behalf of the sponsor and often includes stricter terms, invoicing, and prior approvals.

Budgets must also identify whether collaborators are subrecipients or vendors, since this affects indirect costs and reporting:

• A subrecipient performs substantive project work under their own direction.
• A vendor provides routine goods or services at market rate without a programmatic role.

Correct classification affects indirect cost calculations, subrecipient monitoring, and reporting requirements. When uncertain, consult your Pre-Award Specialist for guidance before routing.

Use the Subrecipient, Vendor, and Consultant Guidance and Checklist to Determine Subrecipient or Contractor Involvement to confirm the correct classification.

3. Optional and Commonly Required Items

Include additional materials as required by the sponsor, which often include:

• Bibliography
• Biographic sketches for all senior personnel (See NIH and NSF for instructions)
• Active and pending support for all senior personnel
• Description of facilities and equipment pertinent to the project

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4. Submission and Routing

Once all required documents are uploaded and the proposal has been approved by both the College and OSP through InfoEd, it will move to final submission.Proposals are submitted either by OSP Pre-Award (as the Authorized Organizational Representative) or by the PI, depending on the sponsor’s system.

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Pending Award

If you have received notification that your project has been funded, but the notice of award will be delayed, you may set up an account prior to receiving your award notice with appropriate approvals.

Consult your department and submit a Dean’s Pledge (rev. 6-2024) and submit to Sponsored Projects using the Dean’s Pledge Intake Form. This Form will ask for you to upload the Dean’s Pledge form and associated documentation for review/approval. The uploaded documents must be in PDF format. Following intake form submission, you will receive an email receipt.

To see who is responsible at each stage of the research grant lifecycle, refer to the Roles and Responsibilities Matrix.

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Contact

For assistance, contact the Office of Sponsored Projects Pre-Award.