The proposal submission process involves determination of the appropriate mechanism, preparation of the required documentation needed for submission, and the routing of the proposal for review and approval. Under no circumstance should a proposal be sent to a sponsor/client on behalf of the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania without the School's review and approval.
1. Determine Mechanism
Weitzman School faculty who are interested in submitting a proposal should immediately contact the School’s Financial Manager of Grants and Contracts, Kimba Johnson kdsmith@design.upenn.edu 215-573-7286, to discuss the appropriate mechanism. Please note, only standing and associated faculty (adjuncts and professors of practice) are allowed to submit proposals. ORS requires proposals submitted by associated faculty to have a standing faculty sponsor. Associated faculty can submit proposals through PennPraxis without a standing faculty sponsor. Academic support faculty are not allowed to submit proposals.
2. Minimum Proposal Documentation
At minimum, a proposal should have the following documentation in order for the proposal to be considered for review and approval by the School;
- Scope of Work – research/task objective(s)
- Scope of Services – precise services to be performed to accomplish the objective(s), expected outcomes/deliverables, and time frame
- Detailed Budget – direct and indirect/overhead costs
- Budget Justification
Proposals that require new space, or changes to existing space, computing support, and/or additional administrative support need to be discussed with the Directors who oversee those areas.
The School is seeking the maximum indirect cost rate allowed by the sponsor/client.
All ORS proposals should be submitted 10 business days prior to the sponsor’s due date. Proposals submitted in less than 10 business days are not guaranteed to be submitted to the sponsor on time.
3. Review and Approval
The review and approval process differs for an ORS proposal from a PennPraxis proposal though the outcome is the same - to guarantee that the proposal will be properly supported by the School if it were to get funded.
a. Office of Research Services
ORS proposals must be routed electronically through Penn's Electronic Research Administration (ERA) system and reviewed and approved on-line by the faculty making the proposal, the faculty's Chairman, Weitzman School Finance, and the Dean's Office prior to being routed to ORS for final review and approval.
b. PennPraxis
PennPraxis proposals are routed as email attachments for review and approval by the Executive Director of PennPraxis, Weitzman School Finance, and the PennPraxis board.
