Faculty & Staff

In addition to the review of high-risk international projects, all funding applications must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Research Administration with approval of the Department Chair or Center Director. The procedure is as follows:

1. Proposals to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requiring electronic submission through grants.gov – and in the future all funding applications – must be written in InfoEd.
2. Research Administration requires submission of the final version of the proposal at least 5 business days in advance of the agency deadline – with no exceptions. If any special approvals are required (see Proposal and Budget), additional processing time may be necessary, especially if the funding agency requires such approvals at the proposal stage.

   Note: The deadline used by electronic systems such as NIH’s eRA Commons or grants.gov is the actual moment the agency’s computer receives and logs the proposal as received. Adequate time for transmission and Internet traffic means that Research Administration must have the final application for submission five business days prior to the sponsor’s due date. Even if an agency states a deadline outside of normal business hours (e.g., 8 p.m. or 12 midnight), the PI must plan to submit a proposal within normal Columbia University business hours, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

3. When submitting a proposal to Research Administration, the PI includes any special program announcements or agency guidelines that one must follow in proposal preparation. This enables the RA Project Officer to review and advise the PI of any necessary changes and also any special handling requirements.
4. Research Administration reviews the proposal to ensure compliance with agency and University policies and guidelines and upon completion, contacts the PI to advise him/her of any errors or omissions in the proposal.
5. The PI and Research Administration work together to finalize the proposal.
6. The electronic approvals of the Principal Investigator, Department Chair or Center Director, and the appropriate authorized University individual (usually the RA Project Officer) are obtained. The proposal is signed on behalf of the University by a Director or Associate Director, who may, if required, countersign a covering letter certifying the University's approval of the project.
7. Once all required approvals are on file, Research Administration formally submits the proposal, if it is for any governmental entity or one of several non-governmental agencies. If for another funding agency, a hard-copy signed proposal is returned to the department for mailing. For non-electronic submission only:
8. Proposals should not be bound in any fashion. Indeed, some agencies request that proposals be submitted unbound and in most cases photocopied on single-sided sheets. Most agencies prefer that proposals be fastened with staples only. If intending to submit proposals in binders, the PI should first contact the funding agency to ensure that this is permissible.
9. The RA Project Officer keeps two full copies of the final application submission, while the PI and Department Administrator should each keep one full copy on file, bearing in mind the need to maintain the confidentiality of salary information.