The Principal Investigator is responsible for preparing the proposal, but normally does so with the assistance of a business manager within their unit.  It is everyone’s responsibility to review sponsor guidelines carefully.  When reviewing the guidelines, make sure you meet the eligibility and date requirements.  If your project involves consultants, subawards or brand specific equipment, you will need to allow additional time to gather necessary documentation for these specialized costs to accompany your proposal submission. 

Some sponsors (National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Health Resources and Services Administration) require financial conflict of interest disclosures (FCOI) from PI’s and senior/key personnel for new proposals and annual disclosure updates for awards.  FCOI disclosures are submitted electronically through USCeRA.

Once all sponsor-required forms are completed, the Principal Investigator (PI) should begin preparing the proposal submission in the appropriate sponsor system. In parallel, the proposal must be entered and routed in USCeRA, USC’s electronic research administration system, for institutional review and approval.

The SAM office requires the final version of the proposal—including all documents and the complete budget—to be submitted no later than three business days prior to the sponsor’s submission deadline. This allows time for a comprehensive review to ensure accuracy and compliance.

If the proposal is not routed in USCeRA and finalized in the sponsor’s system by the SAM submission deadline, it will not be reviewed and may not be submitted to the sponsor.