The purpose of this document is to provide general guidelines for determining when a fellowship or grant proposal requires institutional review and approval, and to describe the basic procedures which must be followed if it does.

The institutional process cannot be accomplished at the last minute. To give yourself adequate time and to prevent having to rework your application, it's important to find out before you begin writing a proposal what Duke's role will be in the overall process.

Does the Fellowship Proposal Require Institutional Approval?

The sponsor's application materials may require an institutional signature. Currently, only four people at Duke University are authorized to sign on Federal applications (the President, Vice Provost for Research, ORS Director, and ORS Assistant Directors). Only the Vice Provost for Research and the President are authorized to approve and sign proposals to foundations or corporations. A student may not sign proposals on behalf of the University.

As a general rule, federally funded research fellowship programs require institutional approval of proposals. Examples of these programs are:

• NASA's Global Change Fellowships
• The National Institutes of Health Individual National Research Service Award (NRSA)
• The National Institutes of Health Individual Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01)

Clues to look for in application materials which would identify the proposal as one needing institutional review are:

• A request for the name of the principal investigator. (See Item 1, below.)
• The option of providing funds for the fellow's department.
• Forms which ask the University to certify that it is in compliance with various federal regulations.

An important question to ask when deciding whether or not institutional review is required is, "In whose account will the funds be deposited?" Some fellowship sponsors write checks to successful applicants, by name, for deposit in their personal accounts. If this is the case, the University will not need to see or approve the proposal. On the other hand, some sponsors will make checks out to the University even though all the funds will support the recipient of the fellowship. If Duke will receive the funds and thereby assume responsibility for managing the account, the proposal must first be submitted to the Office of Research Support as described below.

When In Doubt

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Some fellowship programs do not clearly fall in either category. Please contact the Office of Research Support if you have any questions. (See Item 4, below.)

Procedures to Be Followed when Duke Must Review and Approve a Proposal

There are four important points to remember:

1. A student, including a postdoc, may not serve as the principal investigator on an application being submitted from Duke University. This is true even if all the funds awarded will support the student. Please refer to the University's policy, Principal Investigator Status.
2. A faculty member, usually the student's major professor, must agree to serve as the principal investigator on behalf of the student.
3. All of the University's proposal submission and review procedures must be followed. The procedures are outlined in detail on the Ask for It section of this website. In brief, the principal investigator must complete a Duke Proposal Approval Form (DPAF) and, if necessary, a Request for Cost Sharing Form. With those forms, the completed proposal must be submitted to ORS for review and signature at least five working days before its due date.
4. Sponsor policies may vary. It is critical to contact ORS before preparing a proposal in order to discuss the sponsor's requirements. Please contact: Susan Lasley or Maria Scripa

Does your project involve human subjects?

If you are conducting research, surveys, focus groups, interviews, or other projects involving the use of human subjects, please contact the ORS Human Subjects administrators Lorna Hicks and Holly Williams-Stafford or refer to the ORS Human Subjects in Research website for details on the required protocol review and approval procedures.

Need help?

Submitting a proposal is time consuming and may be quite complicated. The staff of ORS will be happy to answer any questions. Please don't hesitate to make a phone call or send us a message.

Are you considering submitting a research grant proposal?

Please call for guidance (684-3030) because different rules and procedures apply.

Last updated, May 30, 2003.