1. Proposal Preparation and Submission

2. We will: Prepare budgets according to: Federal/sponsor regulations TAMUS policies Coordinate subcontract and collaborative arrangements Monitor sponsor guidelines for compliance Route for campus approvals Submit proposals to sponsors Provide copies of submitted proposals Contact: Sue Hibbs Senior Proposal Administrator II shibbs@tamus.edu 979-845-8630

3. Timing is Everything Contact Sue Hibbs 14 days before the sponsor’s deadline Confirm finalized budget and justification at least five days before the deadline – proposal must be routed in time to obtain campus approvals prior to submission Don’t make any budget changes after the proposal is electronically routed Provide the final proposal text to Sue at least 48 Hours before the deadline

4. What’s the Hurry?  Proposal must have electronic signature approvals by TAMU-CC before it is submitted to the sponsor  Subcontracts and Independent Consultants are a part of your budget and so: Their institutionally authorized proposals must be received before the proposal is routed – we have to include their entity’s information. Cost Sharing must be authorized before the proposal is routed. Complete form at: http://research.tamucc.edu/fr/forms.html Proposals must be submitted in time to prevent any last-minute submission problems, i.e. problems with Grants.gov.

5. “Logging-In” a Proposal Contact Sue 14 days before the deadline Provide her with: Sponsor’s Name Funding Opportunity Announcement Proposal Title Co-Investigators names and contact information Outside collaborators (subcontractors’ information and budget)

6. Proposal Preparation Sue will work with you to finalize your proposal budget and route it with the budget justification and project scope of work. Sue will also ask that you complete an assurances page via e-mail. Assurances are required for each proposal and must be returned to Sue before the proposal can be routed. You will be asked if you will have any significant financial interest in the planned project. You will also be asked to check compliance items such as the use of human subjects, lab animals, rDNA, infectious biohazards, etc.

7. Electronic Routing for Approvals A process of budget approval by the department, college and RGS prior to submission Routing takes place while you finalize the text, but all budget related issues must be finalized Contact Sue with any changes to the proposal Contact Epikmaestro@tamu.edu for help with the electronic routing system.Epikmaestro@tamu.edu

8. Routing on Campus Standard routing (Five days Minimum – it may take longer and must be complete prior to submission ) PI, Co-PI(s) Department Head(s) Dean(s) RGS Finance (if cost sharing exists) Multi-campus routing (Seven days)

9. Proposal Routing We will provide you with a guide to routing approval and we will be available to answer any questions you have about routing. You will receive an e-mail with routing instructions. You will be asked to log into the EpikMaestro system and approve the proposal. Once you approve, it will move to the next person on the list.

10. Document in routing package: Cost sharing documentation Final budget Final budget justification Draft scope of work The final scope of work will not be included, so that you have more time to complete it while the proposal is being routed for approvals.

11. Quality Assurance Our procedure is to review every proposal that is submitted before it is submitted, to make sure there are no administrative (non-scientific) problems that will prevent acceptance by the sponsor. This process relies upon the researcher to provide us with the final proposal prior to the deadline. We are looking for compliance with Federal/sponsor regulations and TAMUS policies regarding: Allowable Costs Cost Sharing Documentation Formatting of Final Submission

12. Final Submission The final proposal text must be received by Sue at least 48 Hours prior to the submission deadline (PDF format, if required by sponsor). Sue will: Review the final text for compliance with the sponsor’s guidelines Submit the final proposal to another senior staffer for final review Submit proposal via appropriate method (e.g., Grants.gov) in advance of the deadline to avoid last-minute problems.

13. Your concerns? Will it be a problem that we’re in College Station but the researchers are in Corpus Christi? Do we know what we’re doing? Will we be responsive? Will we be able to handle last minute requests? Will we know how to work with your sponsors? Will we keep TAMU-CC offices in the loop? Will we submit a proposal without your approval? Will I get a copy of what is submitted?

14. Will it be a problem that we’re in College Station but the researchers are in Corpus Christi? No We’re very used to working with researchers all over the State of Texas. We prepare and submit proposals for other campuses, such as TAMU-G as well as all of the AgriLife Research Centers throughout the state. We’re only a phone call or e-mail away, which is how most College Station researchers stay in touch with us.

15. Do we know what we’re doing? Yes You have the most senior proposal administrators assigned to you, with a total of 26 years of experience. They’ve prepared and submitted proposals from virtually every sponsor you can name. We don’t know everything… but… we’ll find out and respond quickly if we don’t know the answer.

16. Will we be responsive? Yes We’re only an e-mail or phone call away. You have a senior proposal administrator assigned ONLY to you – your priorities are her priorities.

17. Will we be able to handle last minute requests? Not always Although you are our TOP priority, we are often at the mercy of Federally-imposed deadlines and mercurial submission systems. We’ll do our best, but our very best is always guaranteed by giving us plenty of time to do an excellent job for you.

18. Will we know how to work with your sponsors? Yes Our office submitted 2,000 proposals last year, to a wide variety of sponsors, ranging from local government offices to Federal agencies. We’re accustomed to working with sponsors all over the world and we’re flexible and collaborative in our work so that we facilitate sponsored projects.

19. Will we keep TAMU-CC offices in the loop? Definitely We work as partners with your research office staff. Our experience includes developing such partnerships with AgriLife Research Centers all over the state and we’ve been successful in that through our partnerships with their staff. We’ll make sure you approve proposals before they are submitted. We’ll make sure you know about any issues of concern during the proposal preparation process.

20. Will we submit a proposal without your approval? No We have electronic routing in place to make sure you approve proposals before they are submitted. Please let us know if you have any issues with what you see in routing and we’ll address them before the proposal is submitted.

21. Will I get a copy of what is submitted? Yes The proposal will be scanned at the time of submission and a PDF version will be e-mailed to everyone who signed the electronic routing sheet within two weeks.

22. Still have questions? Please contact us: Sue Hibbs, Senior Proposal Administrator II shibbs@rf-mail.tamu.edu, or 979-845-8630 Or Sue’s back-up, in case she is out of the office: Shelly Berry, Senior Proposal Administrator II mkb@rf-mail.tamu.edu, or 979-845-8758 If further questions: Jane Zuber, Associate Vice President jxz@rf-mail.tamu.edu, 979-845-8615 Becky Carranza, Coordinator II hrb@rf-mail.tamu.edu, or 979-845-8652