New Applications

A new proposal is one being submitted to a given sponsor for the first time.

Simultaneous Submissions of a New Application

Some federal agencies will not review a proposal submitted simultaneously to another federal sponsor. Others will allow simultaneous submissions but each agency must be informed of the other agency or agencies looking at the proposal either with a cover letter or on the coverpage of the proposal. Each submission to a different agency must be submitted to ORS^* through SPS^* and must undergo the same reviews as did the original proposal.

Award Transfers for a New Faculty Member

There are two basic mechanisms for transferring a new faculty member's funded projects to Duke. The entire award may be reissued to Duke or portions of the award may be transferred to Duke through a subcontract. For further information, see the section on Award Transfers at the end of the Guide to Grants & Contracts: Managing an Award.

Resubmissions

If a sponsor rejects a proposal, the PI^* may use the feedback received from the reviewers to revise and resubmit the proposal. The resubmission is processed as if it were a new proposal. It must be submitted to ORS^* through SPS^* and must undergo the same reviews as did the original proposal.

Continuation, Non-competitive Renewals, or Progress Reports

Many sponsors fund multiple-year projects. Funds will usually be awarded one year at a time, based on availability, with the expectation that the entire project will be supported. Some sponsors require that the PI^* submit a new proposal for each year of the project, even though all years were included in the original proposal. These continuation proposals are not subject to competitive review as was the initial proposal.

The internal review process for continuation proposals is a streamlined version of the original review. Although the proposal must be approved by ORS^* and must be submitted through SPS^*, institutional issues addressed at the time of the original proposal will not necessarily be revisited.

For example, if cost sharing commitments for each year were already made and documented, and if there are no changes in the resources committed, the original approval process for cost sharing will not need to be duplicated.

eSNAP (NIH^* Progress Reports)

NIH^* has developed a streamlined process for submitting most non-competitive renewals called Electronic Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process or eSNAP. At Duke, all NIH^* Progress Reports that are eligible for eSNAP submission must be submitted via eSNAP.

In order to submit use eSNAP, a PI^* must be a registered user NIH^* Commons User.

• The PI^* will logon to Commons and select the eSNAP tab on the menu bar. The screen that appears next is Manage eSNAP and has a list of all awarded grants for the PI^*. The grants eligible for eSNAP submission are displayed as a hypertext link.
• Click on the grant you want to submit and complete the six (6) report sections: Upload Science, Organization Information, Performance Sites, Key Personnel, Research Subject, SNAP Questions, and Inclusion Enrollment.
• When all the information is entered, the PI^* can check for errors by using the Validate button and make any necessary changes.
• When the Progress Report is complete, click on the Submit button to send the Progress Report electronically to ORS^* for final review.
• ORS^* will send the approved Progress Report electronically to NIH^*.
• Once the eSNAP submission is complete, the non-competing proposal - or progress report - must be entered into SPS^* by the Grant Manager or PI^* and routed to ORS^* (this does not need to meet the 5 business day deadline).

Competitive Renewals

Federal agencies may fund a project for an extended period of time, dividing the project into discrete multiple-year blocks, each of which is subject to peer review.  Proposals for competitive renewals must be approved by ORS^* and must be submitted through SPS^* in the same manner as new proposals.

Supplements

There are a number of federal programs which provide supplements to successful research projects in order to fund auxiliary programs, such as research experiences for undergraduates. Occasionally, a sponsor may have funds available to add to the budget of an already funded project. Proposals for supplements must be approved by ORS^* and must be submitted through SPS^* in the same manner as new proposals.

Collaborative Proposals

A collaborative proposal should be used when investigators at two or more universities wish to work together on a project, but wish to receive separate funding directly from the sponsor. Each collaborator must submit a separate proposal.

• The proposals, which must have the same title, are linked by a cover letter which accompanies each proposal and asks that they be reviewed as a unit.
• Usually, the project description is the same in each proposal but the budgets, biosketches, other support pages, and resources are specific to each participating institution.

Federal agencies that allow the submission of collaborative proposals will provide guidelines.

Subaward Proposals

If another university is preparing a proposal which includes Duke as a subrecipient or subcontractor, it will need a subaward proposal from Duke to include in its submission to the prime sponsor. Duke's subaward proposals must undergo the same submission and review process as any other proposal.