Submit Proposal

The Office of Sponsored Programs Research Administrators begin working on your proposal using the electronic Proposal Clearance Form (ePCF). Please refer to the Full ePCF instructions for guidance and access to the form. You will need to have a NETID established by your home department prior to access. Investigators should use the budget template provided by the sponsor or utilize one of the MSU templates [single dept template; cross-departmental template]. The MSU templates have embedded rate estimates for such things as Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) stipend ranges by division, various employee benefit rates, and overhead formulas to help calculate MSU’s indirect cost amounts (also referred to as overhead, F&A, or IDCs) [MSU’s NICRA]. 

The Research Administrator will work with investigators to finalize their budget and budget justification. Proposal documents need to be provided to the Research Administrator  at least three business days (or 72 hours) prior to the sponsor deadline. It is the investigator’s responsibility to read and comply with the sponsor solicitation including page limits, correct formatting, and required documents for each submission.    

If your proposal includes cost-sharing (if required by the sponsor – (see MSU’s cost-sharing policy), or involves sub-awards to other institutions and colleagues, or requires commitment letters from other collaborators, that process can take additional time and should be started as early as possible and well in advance of the three business day requirement.

Faculty and staff are not authorized to submit proposals directly to external funding agencies.