URA Pre-Award Review and Endorsement

The complete proposal must be submitted to URA via the AURA Grants system and AOR/SPO/URA access granted to the proposal in the relevant sponsor portal as applicable. All administrative portions of the proposal must be complete and final.

This means:

• Complete AURA Grants Funding Proposal (FP)
• Complete Proposal/Application
• Budget and Budget Justification
• Relevant Approvals and Waivers, as applicable
• Documents for URA Signature, as applicable  
• Subaward Documentation (i.e., at minimum: Endorsed LOI or Subrecipient Commitment Form, Scope of Work, Budget and Budget Justification)

The technical Scope of Work may be a draft but should not require significant changes prior to submission.

The complete and final proposal must be ready to submit to the sponsor and received by your URA Pre-Award Administrator and released in the relevant sponsor portal, as applicable (i.e., Research.gov, eRA ASSIST, NSPIRES, etc.).

This means:

• Complete AURA Grants Funding Proposal (FP)
• Complete and Final Proposal/Application Provided
• Budget Direct and Indirect Totals Match (in AURA Grants and Proposal)
• Relevant Approvals and Waivers, as applicable
• Documents for URA Signature, as applicable
• Subaward Documentation Provided (Budgeted Total Matches in AURA Grants and Proposal)

Notes:

• Complete and final proposals received less than 4 full business days* in advance of the sponsor’s due date will be reviewed as they come in for review subject to proposals already received and other existing commitments.
• Proposals received by URA in this timeframe will receive a (contingent) limited review to ensure compliance with University policies and requirements only.
• Efforts will be made to submit the proposal, but there is no guarantee that the proposal will be submitted in time to meet the agency’s deadline.

When proposals are routed less than one full business day* before the deadline and/or if time does not allow, URA will endorse and submit the proposal as it is (As-Is) or without a standard institutional proposal review.

This means:

• Complete AURA Grants Funding Proposal (FP)
• Proposal/Application Provided
• PI Eligibility Confirmed/Status Approved
• Personnel (to determine Conflict of Interest or Research Security Training Requirements)
• FP-Specific Assurances
• Documents Provided for URA Signature

In the case of submissions that are submitted As-Is or without institutional review, the Department and/or PI assumes all responsibility for any/all application rejection or compliance issues. Efforts will be made to submit the proposal, but there is no guarantee that the proposal will be submitted in time to meet the agency’s deadline.

Please note that if institutional instances of non-compliance are found after submission, then the proposal may be withdrawn if the issues cannot be remedied; or the acceptance of an award may require the removal or modification of any problematic clause(s) and/or satisfactory resolution of deviations from University or sponsor policies.

Note: All applications endorsed As-Is are subject to a post-submission review and any identified issues must be addressed as soon as possible.

A proposal that was submitted to the sponsor without URA involvement in advance of the deadline or without using the internal AURA Grants routing process for institutional review and approval, and is subsequently routed for review and approval through the AURA Grants system after it has been submitted, is an After-the-Fact (ATF) proposal.

This means:

• Complete AURA Grants Funding Proposal (FP)
• Submitted Proposal/Application Provided
• Budget
• Budget Justification (as applicable; required if an incoming subaward proposal)
• Relevant Approvals and Waivers, as applicable
• Subaward Documentation (i.e., at minimum: Endorsed LOI or Subrecipient Commitment Form, Scope of Work, Budget and Budget Justification)
• Any Award Documentation Received with Award Signature Deadlines Indicated

Notes:

• The AURA Grants FP deadline should be listed as the date the proposal was submitted to the sponsor (i.e., a date in the past for ATF proposals).
• The submitted proposal should be routed ASAP after it is/was submitted without delay.

• It is the responsibility of the unit/PI(s) to ensure all sponsor requirements are met for final submission, including any items not provided for review at the time of proposal routing.
• In addition to timing and submission deadlines, please consider the following to avoid delays in institutional approval or endorsement:
  • Ensure that the proposal is complete and not missing standard proposal items as that may require returning to the Department for further review;
  • The complexity of the proposal when routing it to URA for institutional review as that may necessitate extra reviews and approvals;
  • Approval of Terms and Conditions at proposal stage/time of submission may require additional review by other entities/Teams;
  • Ensure that any URA requested changes/review comments are addressed prior to the deadline (as applicable)
• Proposals with external deadlines earlier in the day (e.g., before 5 p.m. Central Time) should be treated as if they are due by 5 p.m. Central Time on the prior business day to ensure timely completion. This must also be appropriately indicated in the AURA Grants Funding Proposal (FP) when routing the proposal for institutional review.
• For proposals that require submission by URA via SF424 or System-to-System (S2S), ASSIST, Research.gov, other sponsor submission portals or via email, please note URA recommends that departments plan as much time as possible, but at least 30 minutes prior to submission to execute final steps and to ensure successful submission to the sponsor.
  • See additional considerations for electronic submissions here: https://ura.uchicago.edu/policy-library/agency-electronic-submissions-andor-ura-submissions. 
• The AURA Budget Grid should not be revised at any point after submission of a proposal. If a Just-In-Time (JIT)/post-submission request requires a revised budget, then this will be handled by the JIT Activity workflow.