OHSU

Frequently Asked Questions

Who signs a grant application or award?

Research Grants & Contracts (RGC) is the only official authorized office to sign applications for the institution. Please be reminded that both OHSU and the investigator are being placed at risk (legal and financial) whenever agreements to conduct sponsored activities are signed by investigators without the required input from RGC. This is particularly true if research is conducted away from the campus, but the investigator's OHSU appointment is part of the reason why he or she has been sought out to conduct the study. Thus, everyone is required to bring all proposals for sponsored activities to the RGC office early in the application process so that we can protect both the investigators and the university. 

Jesse Null (Manager, Research Grants & Contracts) or Deborah Golden-Eppelein (Director, Research Grants & Contracts) should be listed as the pertinent signing official on any sponsored application being reviewed by RGC.

How do I know if a proposal has been awarded?

When a sponsor is considering funding a proposal, there will generally be some verbal contact between the sponsor and the investigator. If the sponsor is a federal agency, this contact will usually be in the form of a request for Just-In-Time information, including a revised budget, other support, and written verification that approvals have been received for human subjects or vertebrate animals, as required, as well as written verification of Human Subjects Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) education.
 
Following resolution of these issues, a formal notice of grant award will be sent to OHSU's RGC Office. In some cases, a sponsor will send an award notice directly to the PI, at which time the PI should make a copy of the document and forward the original to RGC.
 
Once a project is funded, RGC has received a notice of grant award, and the application file is complete (final copy of proposal received), the file is then sent to Sponsored Projects Administration for account set-up with the original file maintained in RGC. Unless there is a need to gather additional documentation or there is some other delay, an account should be set up and a fund number assigned in approximately five working days.

What happens when a proposal is declined?

If a sponsor decides against funding a proposal, a form letter or electronic notification will be sent to Research Grants & Contracts, typically with a copy to the PI, explaining the decision not to fund the project.
 
If the proposal has been submitted to the NIH, it may be rejected without review or it may go through the peer review process and ultimately be rejected because the priority score is not high enough. Occasionally, even though the priority score is high, government funds are not available to fund beyond a certain level on the priority scale, thereby precluding funding of proposals just outside that level.

How do I resubmit a proposal?

If a proposal application has been through NIH peer review and received a summary statement, it may be resubmitted in the form of a "Resubmission" application. A resubmission application is one that is modified in response to the critique in the summary statement. This type of application generally carries the same title as the previous application. The application must comply with the following requirements:
  • The PD/PI(s) must make significant changes to the application.
  • An Introduction must be included that summarizes the substantial additions, deletions, and changes to the application. The Introduction must also include a response to the issues and criticism raised in the Summary Statement. The Introduction is separate from the Cover Letter. Page limits for the Introduction should not exceed one page unless otherwise stated in the the Program Announcement (PA).
  • The substantial scientific changes must be marked in the text of the application by bracketing, indenting, or change of typography. Do not underline or shade the changes. Deleted sections should be described but not marked as deletions. If the changes are so extensive that essentially all of the text would be marked, explain this in the Introduction. The Preliminary Studies/Progress Report in the Approach section should incorporate work completed since the prior version of the application was submitted.

For the most up-to-date information, refer to the NIH Notice on resubmissions, issued April 15, 2010.