Limited Submissions Grant Programs: Internal Procedures & Guidelines
Effective: January 11, 2006
Updated: April 3, 2024
Background
In Limited Submissions Programs, the sponsor restricts the number of applications or proposals an organization such as FSU can submit. The guidelines for these programs require organizations to screen pre-proposals or nominations to determine which applications will be submitted for competition.
Research Development (RD) Procedures
The Research Development (RD) team checks the Pivot database and other resources weekly to identify new limited submissions opportunities and post them on the FSU Limited Submissions website. Although RD makes every effort to find limited submissions NOFOs, the website’s listing is certainly not comprehensive. Thus, anyone interested in applying to a limited submissions program that is not posted on the website should contact RD immediately. RD will review the NOFO guidelines, establish an appropriate internal review date, and post the program to the website.
RD includes the following information on each Limited Submissions program posted on the website:
- Agency name (e.g., United States Department of Education)
- Program name (e.g., Research in Innovative Approaches to Fusion Energy Sciences)
- Agency deadline (e.g., August 4, 2022)
- Notice of Interest Deadline (e.g., May 26, 2022)
- Short description of the program
- Specific limitation (e.g., two applications per institution)
- Link to website with full text of NOFO
- Internal status (whether a PI has been chosen or not; if not, notification to “contact RD")
The website allows for opportunities to be sorted by the fields listed above.
Typically, RD will set the Notice of Interest Deadline as 10 weeks prior to the agency deadline. (In general, RD presents the “agency deadline” as the deadline for applications to the agency. However, if the agency requires PIs to submit a pre-application letter of intent [LOI], RD presents the “agency deadline” as the date when the LOI is due.) In some cases, a NOFO is not released in time to allow for 10 weeks’ notice; in these cases, the Notice of Interest Deadline will be set 8 weeks before the agency deadline if possible, or simply made available on a first-come, first-served basis. When the PI(s) are chosen, the program will be marked as “closed” on the website, and the chosen PI(s)’ name(s) will be listed on the website.
On rare occasion some grants may require a variation to these guidelines due to the individual grant program’s policies and competitiveness. For example, grants that often go to internal competition may start out as an internal competition requiring pre-proposals as opposed to merely notifications of interest. Therefore, PIs are encouraged to check the website before assuming an Notice of Interest Deadline for a limited submissions.
Faculty procedures
How does the process work at FSU?
The Research Development (RD) team tracks the limited submissions programs and posts them to this website. RD sets a Notice of Interest Deadline for each limited submissions program. All Limited Submissions deadlines are set for 5pm Eastern Time of the posted dates.
Prior to the Notice of Interest Deadline, individuals interested in applying to a limited submissions program submit a Notice of Interest to the RD team through this site by clicking the Notify hyperlink associated with the program.
- If, by the Notice of Interest Deadline, the number of interested Principal Investigators (PIs) is equal to or lower than program limits, an automatic email will be sent to faculty to approve these PIs to represent FSU and to submit an application to the agency.
- If, by the Notice of Interest Deadline, the number of interested PIs exceeds program limits, FSU will host an internal competition to determine which PIs will be permitted to advance applications to the external funding agency. Upon the Notice of Interest Deadline, interested PIs will be prompted to submit a formal ‘pre-proposal’ to the site within two weeks. Two weeks after the Notice of Interest Deadline, all ‘pre-proposals’ will be due. A review panel approved by the Vice President of Research will then read over the ‘pre-proposals’ and select the most promising projects.
After the Notice of Interest Deadline, if slots remain available, individuals interested in applying to a limited submissions program still have the option of submitting a Notice of interest through this site in the same way by clicking the Notify hyperlink associated with the program. These projects will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.
If your project is selected from the internal competition, you will need to work with the appropriate office (Sponsored Research Administration [SRA] for publicly-funded grants, or the FSU Research Foundation for privately-funded grants) to prepare, route and submit your proposal to the agency.
Notice of Interest Requirements:
- To submit a Notice of Interest, complete the Limited Submissions Pre-Application Form, and click Save. Do not submit a pre-proposal at this time.
Internal Competition Requirements (only applicable when, by the Notice of Interest Deadline, the number of interested PIs exceeds program limits):
- Upload to the Limited Submissions Pre-Application Form a ‘pre-proposal’ formatted as a single PDF comprising*:
- A description of the scope of the project, expected/intended outcomes, the personnel involved, and existing resources, no more than 2 pages in length (Note: references are not included in the 2-page limit.)
- A description, if applicable, of any conversations with the program officer, words of encouragement from prior reviewers, or other occurrences which indicate that the project is apt to be funded, no more than 1 paragraph in length
- Detailed budget (i.e., salary, fringe, travel, tuition, equipment, subcontracts, indirect costs, as applicable), if applicable, no more than 1 page in length**
- 2-page curriculum vitae (Note: if multiple faculty members are part of the proposal, provide a 2-page CV only for the Principal Investigator, and then list the names of the other collaborators on the pre-proposal.)
- Cost-sharing commitment letters, if applicable, each no more than 1 page in length
- Obtain digital approval from your Director/Department Chair and Dean (due by the Internal Competitions Requirement Deadline at 5pm ET). Once you submit the ‘pre-proposal,’ your Director/Department Chair will be contacted automatically via email for approval of the submission. It is your responsibility to contact your Director/Department Chair and Dean beforehand to alert them to this upcoming email and to ensure that they have sufficient time to review the ‘pre-proposal’ and approve it by the Internal Competition Requirements Deadline.
*Frequently, RD has reason to modify these ‘pre-proposal’ requirements. After the Notice of Interest Deadline passes, the Limited Submissions Coordinator will contact all pre-applicants by email with ‘pre-proposal’ instructions specific to the internal competition in question. PIs should not attempt to submit a ‘pre-proposal’ before receiving this email.
**If the funding opportunity does not require a budget, do not include one in your pre-proposal.
Competition review:
The FSU Notice of Interest Deadline is selected to ensure that, if the Limited Submissions program goes up for internal competition, the Vice President for Research has adequate time to assemble an internal selection committee of FSU senior experts to evaluate the pre-proposals, and that the PI(s) who are ultimately selected have sufficient time to complete a full proposal. The ‘pre-proposals’ will be assessed according to the agency’s criteria for that program as well as the university’s own strategic mission and plans.
Selection:
If the program does go up for internal competition, RD will notify all applicants of the Vice President for Research's decision when it is made as well as post the names of the successful PIs on the Limited Submissions posting. The PI will need to work with the appropriate office (Sponsored Research Administration for publicly-funded grants or FSU Research Foundation for privately-funded grants) in the usual way to prepare, route and submit your proposal to the agency.
Withdrawal of selected applicant:
Any faculty member who is chosen but decides not to apply must notify RD immediately. If a chosen PI withdraws his/her application, the PI who received the next highest ranking from the Vice President for research will be notified that s/he may submit a proposal.
Submissions without approval:
If a PI submits a proposal to a limited submissions program through SRA or the FSU Research Foundation without following these procedures and receiving approval to submit, the University will not allow the proposal to go forward.