SUBJECT:

Notice of Timely Submission of Proposals

I am writing to strongly encourage the timely submission of proposals to the Central Office of Contract and Grant Administration (OCGA) and affiliated offices at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Health Sciences.

Increasingly, proposals have been arriving at the Office of Contract and Grant Administration the day before or even on the same day they are to be mailed out to the agency. OCGA and the staff of affiliated offices always do their utmost in emergencies, but with the heavy proposal load, they cannot guarantee that any proposal submitted less than 48 hours before the deadline can be processed.

Late proposal submission does not allow sufficient time for the staff of these offices to perform their review of essential documents, including

· interpreting and meeting the written application guidelines established by the funding   agencies,
· assessing compliance with University of California and UCSD campus policies,
· reviewing budgets to verify that expenses are presented in the appropriate cost            categories, and
· analyzing up-front award terms and conditions and preparing or signing applicable       certifications, as required

Please ensure that copies of all proposals submitted to these offices for review (hard copy and electronic) contain finished or near final draft versions of the completed agency forms, final budgets and budget justifications, and any description of animal and/or human subject use. We recognize that the research plan may be in draft form and will continue to undergo revision by the Principal Investigator during the review process.

In summary, proposals need to be received at least 10 working days prior to agency deadlines in order to receive full review by OCGA staff. Proposals received between 3 and 9 days prior to agency deadlines risk being subsequently withdrawn from competition, or having the award not accepted, if it is later determined that the proposed research does not comply with University policies. Proposals received at the last minute (i.e., 2 or fewer working days before the agency deadline) risk not being forwarded to the agency due to lack of time to review.

For these reasons, I urge all researchers who submit proposals for extramural funding to make every effort to meet the campus deadline for submission of ten (10) full working days prior to the agency due date.

Richard Attiyeh Vice Chancellor for Research