I want to submit a proposal, what do I do now?

The Grants and Contracts Development team works with Principal Investigators/Projects Directors to understand the scope of the proposal submission and its requirements and facilitate campus authorization for the submission. The following timeline provides an overview of the major milestones in the proposal development process. 

Required Proposal Milestones 

Download a PDF of the above image. 

*Some proposals, such as those involving subawards, those involving space requests, those that include cost-sharing requirements, those with extensive data needs, or those with more complex compliance aspects (i.e., involving the disclosure of potential conflicts of interest, involving industry partnership and intellectual property) require greater than twenty (20) business days for notification. 

You may reference the Pre-Award Review and Approval ProcedurePre-Award Review and Approval Procedure which detail the roles and responsibilities in the process.

• Intent to Submit IDEAL: 60-180 days prior to deadline MINIMUM: 20 business days prior to deadline

  You’ve come across a funding opportunity that you are interested in applying to, so what happens next? Email grants@csusm.edu regarding your intent to apply. Within two business days, a specialist will be assigned to assist you throughout the proposal process and submission and contact you to get started.

  Once a specialist has verified that the Principal Investigator (PI) and institution are eligible to apply to the opportunity, they will notify necessary parties of your intent to submit a grant proposal. They will also discuss if portal registration is required for that grant, as well as the PI’s writing and editing needs for their proposal (including supporting documents). It is important to disclose if your proposal will involve Co-PIs, collaborators, or subawards.

  If your project involves hazardous or controlled substances; new space or renovation needs; intellectual property considerations; extensive institutional data; or cost-sharing/matching, please be aware that each of these requires coordination with other campus units and the Grants and Contracts Development Specialist will work with you to involve those units.

  Draft Budget – The PI will need to send the grants specialist an anticipated list of project expenses, including quotes for equipment and specialized supplies. With this information, the specialist will draft a budget, including the federally negotiated indirect cost (IDC) rate (currently 49% for on-campus projects). If the notice of funding opportunity does not allow IDC or has an IDC ceiling that is lower than the campus rate, we still encourage you to submit a proposal. 

• Budget and Routing IDEAL: 30 days prior to deadline MINIMUM: 10 business days prior to deadline

  Finalize Budget and Provide a Short Project Summary – The PI will confirm the final budget and initiate the proposal record in Cayuse. 

  Visit CSUSM Cayuse and use your CSUSM credentials to get started!

  • Guide for Users - Creating and Completing a Proposal Record (PIs/PDs/Co-PIs/Co-PDs)
  • Guide for Reviewers  (Signers) of Proposal Records

  Supporting Documents – If your proposal requires supporting documents, including but not limited to a biographical sketch, current and pending support, and collaborators and other affiliations, ther GCD lead will provide you with the allowable forms and/or guidelines for the funding agency that you’re applying to. 

• Final Full Proposal Documents IDEAL: 7 Days MINIMUM: 72 hours prior to deadline
  Finalize All Required Documents – PI will send finalized proposal documents to the GCD lead so that they can review for compliance (not editing at this stage) and upload into the proposal application. This allows GCD to thoroughly ensure all required documents are completed properly. Once all forms are uploaded into the application, the GCD lead will download the full proposal and send to the PI for review.
• 1 business day prior the submission deadline: Submit Proposal Application
  Submit Proposal Application – Once the PI and GCD lead have reviewed the application and the PI has approved it for submission, the GCD lead will officially submit the application to the funding agency (unless otherwise discussed). The final version of the proposal is requested the day prior to the official deadline to allow time for unforeseeable circumstances that may prevent the proposal from being submitted on time.
• Day of Submission
  Congratulations! Now that you have officially submitted your proposal, take a breather and wait to hear back from the funding agency (often a 6-12 month process). Interested in submitting more proposals in the near future? Let the Grants and Contracts Specialist know. They can either assist in finding funding or beginning a new proposal process. Prefer to take some time to recuperate? We support that too! Either way, well done!