Proposal Timeline

Recommended proposal development and preparation timeline

MN-GEMS deadline

• In order to accommodate collegiate approval processes, final proposals must be routed for "department review" in MN-GEMS by 9:00 a.m., four business days before the sponsor's deadline.

• Sponsored Projects Administration will review and submit all proposals for external funding prior to the sponsor's deadline.

1 week before deadline

• Grant coordinator completes proposal forms and readies proposal for submission

• Request ancillary reviews in MN-GEMS for department- and college-level approvals from all participating units

2 weeks before deadline

• Finalize budget and budget justification

3 weeks before deadline

• Finalize budgets and gather documents from subcontractors, consultants, and other partners

4 weeks before deadline

• Draft specific aims, research plan, and other narrative elements of the proposal

• Send drafts to external reviewer, if using

• Write human subjects protocols, if applicable

• Work with grant coordinator on budget drafts

• Prep biosketches for all participants

• Fill out CEHD Intent to Submit form, if you haven't already

2 months before deadline

• Finalize title

• Select and contact co-investigators, subcontractors, consultants, and other partners

• Solicit letters of support

• Identify and contact external reviewers, if using

• Meet with grant coordinator to set proposal timeline

• Fill out CEHD Intent to Submit form, if you haven't already

3-4 months before deadline

• Generate proposal ideas

• Check if a letter of intent is required by the RFP

• If the sponsor is new to you, check with grant coordinator about submission method

• Discuss proposal idea with subject matter expert(s)

• Fill out CEHD Intent to Submit form

CEHD's Approach to Timely Proposals

While the timetable above is a recommended approach, not all successful proposals follow the same timeline.  CEHD's goal is to support all proposals, but those that come up close to the sponsor deadline put stress on our system and on our grant coordinators. At the beginning of the proposal development process, grant coordinators will typically provide a checklist that summarizes the necessary proposal pieces, who is responsible for each of them, and the internal deadlines for each component. These checklists are agreements for how the PI and grant coordinator will work together, and grant coordinators use them to plan their workloads and determine how many proposals they can support at any given time.  If the internal deadlines identified pose problems for PIs, that should be discussed early on in the process so that the checklist and timeline can be adjusted as needed.

While our goal is to support all proposals, there may be occasions when grant coordinators cannot provide support for particular proposals. We do not come to that decision lightly, and will say "no" only if no other option is available. 

CEHD Resource: Go/No Go Decision Chart