Proposal Routing and Approval

Funding opportunities come with specific requirements for information and documents to provide in proposal submission applications. The Office of Sponsored Programs is here to ensure that proposals meet all federal, state, other sponsors, and university guidelines and requirements. Our team  performs a multi-level compliance review on proposal applications prior to submission.

Refer to the Proposal Submission Policy (including timeline) [pdf] to review critical milestones and the actions needed to meet sponsor deadlines.

The timeline applies to: 

• All extramural proposals (including proposals for sub-awards) for which there is a sponsor mandated deadline
• Letters of Intent
• White papers
• Other pre-proposal submissions that contain or propose institutional commitments, including budgets or cost share

Review Time Needed

A full detailed proposal review and complete routing prior to submission require that proposals be submitted to the Research Foundation for approval ten working days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.

The Proposal Routing and Approval Form

The Proposal Routing and Approval Form (PRAF) with instructions [pdf] summarizes important proposal information such as the project abstract, budget, and approval for human or animal subjects.

Other Important Routing and Approval Details

• Routing Requirements
  • To facilitate effective and efficient proposal development and on-time submission, in addition to the funding agency’s deadline, which is absolute, adherence to the established proposal routing and submission timeline is required. All funding applications must go through a number of on-campus institutional reviews before receiving final authorization for submission to the targeted funding agency. The Proposal Submission Timeline Chart [pdf] has been provided to assist with planning and facilitation.
    
    In order for the proposal routing process to begin, final budget and budget justification, as well as a completed draft of the proposal abstract or a scope of work, that addresses all elements of the proposed scope including details of any cost share or use of facilities required must be submitted to OSP at least seven working days prior to the sponsor mandated proposal submission deadline. Any changes to the scope of work, personnel, facility usage, final budget/budget justification or cost-share elements after the routing has initiated will require the routing process to begin again, and can potentially delay the submission.
    
    In most cases, routing will be initiated in Cayuse424, a system which automates the routing process and allows for submission of proposals via grants.gov. Cayuse provides each reviewer a full view of the entire proposal package and internal documents in real time. It also provides a history of all activity and is a cloud based system which stores information for later reference.
    
    Occasionally, routing may happen via DocuSign or via email. Please note that the Research Foundation recognizes electronic signatures delivered via DocuSign as official authorizations and considers such signatures legally binding. In these cases, the sponsored programs manager will route up to the chair and then convert the routing to Cayuse before routing to the dean and the final reviewers. All proposals will be approved by the authorized official representatives in Cayuse.
• Approvals
  • Each proposal for funding must be reviewed and signed by all of the signatories, as listed below, by using either the Cayuse Routing System (required from dean through the associate vice president for the Office of Research) or DocuSign. For proposals that involve more than one department or college, appropriate signatures from all academic units must be obtained prior to submitting a proposal.
    
    • Principal Investigator
    • Department Chair
    • College Dean
    • Sponsored Programs Manager, SJSU Research Foundation
    • Sr. Sponsored Programs Manager (Lead), SJSU Research Foundation
    • Sponsored Programs Senior Director, SJSU Research Foundation
    • Campus Chief Financial Officer/Vice President of Administration and Finance
    • Associate Vice President for Research (SJSU President’s designee)
    
    There are certain circumstances which require additional routing approvals, which conform to the Institutional Compliance Requirements. In these cases, the Sponsored Programs manager will inform the PI of the routing timeline needed to accommodate these individuals. As an example, in cases when a proposal identifies a college dean as the PI, the provost will approve in lieu of the dean, who signs as the PI. Allow 2-3 additional days when provost approval is needed.
    
    The university and its authorized signers reserve the right to stop the proposal routing and withdraw any submitted proposal that does not comply with CSU and university policies, state, and federal regulations.

Related Resources

Find required/related forms and documents

Proposal Routing and Submission FAQs