Guidance to Principal Investigators: Internal Review & Approval of Proposals for Submission to Sponsors When Seeking External Support

Effective immediately, all proposals for external support of research, public service, and training must be approved by Touro's Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) prior to signature by Touro College's authorized institutional official and submission to sponsors.

OSP is charged by the President with the review of proposals to assure conformance with the policies of Touro College and all sponsor requirements. As part of this process, OSP also requires prior approval of the proposal by the Dean of the School in which the Principal Investigator holds his/her appointment (along with that of the Department or Program Chair, if required by the Dean), as confirmation that all commitments made are consistent with the respective School's objectives and resources.

Full-time regular faculty may serve as Principal Investigators on sponsored projects. On occasion, other individuals with appointments at Touro College may serve as Principal Investigators with the endorsement of the Dean of the School in which the sponsored project will be based and approval by the appropriate Divisional Vice President.

Principal Investigators are strongly encouraged to begin the proposal preparation and review and approval process well in advance of the sponsor's submission deadline. There are several steps in the review and approval process and coordination among the individuals involved can be time-consuming, especially given the geographic dispersion of the Touro College community. OSP is committed to providing prompt feedback at every stage of this process as all parties work together effectively to meet sponsor deadlines.

The timeframe outlined below for guidance should be considered a minimum standard to follow:

1. At least 30 days prior to the proposal submission deadline, the Principal Investigator (PI):
   • Informs the Dean (and the Department or Program Chair, if required by the Dean) of the intent to submit a proposal, provides either a link to the submission announcement or a hard copy, and schedules appropriate meetings with School officials as directed by the Dean to discuss proposal plans.
   • Informs the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) of the intent to submit a proposal, provides either a link to submission announcement or a hard copy, and schedules a meeting with OSP staff to discuss proposal plans.
2. As soon as possible after signaling the intent to submit a proposal, the PI:
   • Meets with the Dean (and Department or Program Chair, as required) to discuss the programmatic content of the proposal and how it fits in with the goals of the School and professional development/research objectives of the PI. Also discussed should be the scale of the project, any School space or financial commitments that will be required as part of the proposal, and the project budget. With respect to preparing the budget, the PI should work with appropriate School officials.
   • Meets with OSP staff to discuss, at a minimum, both sponsor and Touro institutional requirements associated with submission of the proposal and key proposal administrative details. The PI may also use OSP services regarding the overall project design.
   • Initiates proposal discussions by any other Touro College Co-PIs with their own School officials, following the proposal review and approval process required of the prime Touro College PI.
   • Initiates and secures any subrecipient organization/institution proposals
3. At least 10 business days prior to proposal submission deadline, the PI submits to the School and to the OSP a copy of the draft budget and budget justification for purposes of eliciting feedback. Additionally, at that time the PI provides OSP (for its review) draft copies of proposal administrative pages identified during the preliminary proposal discussion.
4. At least 7 business days prior to proposal submission deadline, the PI submits the draft full proposal for review and approval by the Dean (and Department or Program Chair, as required). That approval, which includes agreement to all commitments included in the proposal, ultimately is forwarded to OSP along with the final proposal.
5. At least 5 business days prior to proposal submission deadline, the PI submits the final, School-approved proposal for review and approval by the OSP. The OSP then obtains signature by the Touro College Authorized Institutional Official (the Controller).
6. Three (3) business days in advance of the proposal deadline, the final version of the proposal must be ready for submission at which time:
   • If the sponsor requires institutional submission, OSP submits all hard copy or electronic proposals, OR
   • If the sponsor requires PI submission, the PI submits all hard copy or electronic proposals, but only after first obtaining OSP approval and Touro College institutional signoff.