Notify Your Research Administrator & Start Early

Once you identify an opportunity you are likely to pursue, notify your departmental research administrator or budget manager and your OSP Administrator as early as possible. Early communication allows time to review sponsor requirements, develop the budget, address special circumstances, and prepare the proposal for institutional review.

MSU requires the final, fully reviewed proposal package to be loaded in Cayuse Sponsored Projects and the appropriate sponsor submission system at least three business days before the sponsor's deadline.

PRO TIP: Don't wait until the proposal is finished to begin the administrative process. Administrative review and proposal development can—and should—happen concurrently.

Start Your Proposal in Cayuse Sponsored Projects

Once pursuing an opportunity becomes likely, create the proposal record in the Cayuse Sponsored Projects (SP) module. At minimum, OSP asks that the initial record include the Lead Administrative Unit, Fund Type, Sponsor, and Deadline, and that the funding announcement or RFP be attached for review.

Your OSP Administrator will add the applicable OSP deadline and establish a “Do Not Close” task, which is used to communicate and exchange proposal materials among the PI, department/division, and OSP during development.

Cayuse Research Suite Resources & Training

Confirm Sponsor Registrations & Accounts

Review the solicitation carefully to determine how the sponsor requires the application to be submitted. Sponsors may use systems such as Research.gov, eRA Commons/ASSIST, Grants.gov, or their own submission portals. Some systems require individual investigator accounts or institutional registration.

If an account or institutional action is required, begin that process early. OSP maintains information about commonly used sponsor submission systems and can assist with institutional requirements.

Build the Proposal in the Sponsor Submission System

Prepare the application in the submission system identified in the funding opportunity. For Grants.gov opportunities, MSU may use Cayuse Proposals S2S, which supports proposal development and electronic submission to Grants.gov. Other sponsors may require their own systems.

Work with your departmental administrator and OSP Administrator to ensure that required institutional information, forms, budgets, certifications, and attachments are complete.

Complete RCR, FCOI, and Research Security Requirements

Identify potential compliance and research security requirements early in proposal development. Depending on the project, additional review or approvals may be required for activities involving human or animal subjects, biological or hazardous materials, conflicts of interest, export-controlled technologies, sensitive or restricted data, international activities, foreign travel, or foreign involvement in the project.

Cayuse Sponsored Projects includes dedicated Research Compliance and Research Security sections. Complete these questions carefully and provide requested information when an answer triggers additional review.

Researchers should pay particular attention to foreign affiliations and activities. Federal sponsors have increased requirements related to disclosure, research security, foreign talent recruitment programs, international collaborations, foreign support and appointments, and access to certain technologies or information. Ensure that required disclosures are complete, current, and consistent across the proposal, sponsor systems, biosketch/current and pending support documents, and University records.

Projects involving controlled technology, international shipments or transfers, foreign persons, foreign travel, restricted data, or other security-sensitive activities may require additional review. Contact the appropriate MSU research compliance or research security office as early as possible if you are unsure whether your project presents a compliance or security concern.

Pay particular attention to foreign involvement, international collaborators, foreign travel, export controls, data security, foreign talent recruitment programs, and other outside interests. 

Verify your certifications and ask about other requirements with the Office of Research Compliance and Security.

PRO TIP: Don't assume that an international collaboration or foreign affiliation makes a project ineligible. The key is identifying potential concerns early, making complete and accurate disclosures, and allowing enough time for any required University review.

Check Your Training Status

Coordinate with your collaborators

If your proposal will include external partners (public or private) begin thinking about their role and understand the types of mechanisms needed to work with them on the project, such as subaward agreements, non-financial agreements, contracts or consultant agreements, and vendors.

Potential subawardee organizations which are not a member of the Federal Demonstration Partnership Clearinghouse, will be required to complete the Subrecipient Commitment Form and provide related documents. You may check to see if your partner institution is a part of the FDP Clearinghouse. For all types of collaborators, the PI should work with collaborators to collect collaborators’ agency credentials if needed, collect required proposal components (narrative contributions, budgets and justification, biographical documents, etc.,) and procure required letters.

Develop & Review the Budget

Work with your departmental administrator or budget manager to develop a budget that complies with sponsor requirements and MSU policies. OSP reviews proposal budgets and can assist with interpretation of sponsor guidelines.

Pay particular attention to requirements involving cost share, F&A limitations, subawards, consultants, equipment, participant support, and other special budget considerations.

If cost sharing is proposed, it must be identified in the Cayuse Proposal Form and receive the appropriate institutional approvals.

Complete & Upload Proposal Documents

As proposal components are finalized and reviewed by the appropriate department and division personnel, add them to the proposal's “Do Not Close” task in Cayuse SP and assign the task to the appropriate departmental, division, or OSP contact. OSP indicates that administrators will strive to review submitted documents within one business day and provide comments as needed.

Finalize the Proposal for OSP Review

At least three business days before the sponsor deadline, the final proposal package must be complete and available in both Cayuse SP and the sponsor's submission system, as applicable. The package should already have received the necessary department and division review.

OSP will conduct its final administrative review and work with the department to resolve any outstanding issues before routing.

Route for Institutional Approval & Submission

Once the proposal is complete, required corrections have been addressed, and there are no outstanding errors in the sponsor submission system, the OSP Administrator will confirm with the department/division that the proposal is ready to route.

OSP then initiates routing in Cayuse for institutional approval. Cayuse will not allow the proposal to route if required Proposal Form fields remain incomplete. If changes are required after routing begins, the proposal may be returned to In Development, corrected, and routed again.

After routing is complete, OSP submits the proposal to the sponsor.

Remember: Proposals are submitted on behalf of Mississippi State University. OSP is the University's authorized office for proposal submission and institutional endorsement.