Each proposal is carefully reviewed by a dedicated team member prior to submission.
The review by the RA will consist of the following core tasks. After the RA’s review, the RA will respond in writing to PI with results of review. Please review the Proposal Submission Policy for more detail on the proposal submission process, including roles and responsibilities for SPSponsored Programs (SP) is the coordinating office for all p..., PIs and administrators and deadlines for the review process.
Proposal Review Process
Compliance Review
The SP RAResearch Administrator
A Sponsored Programs team member w... will ensure that the submitted proposal is compliant with the sponsor guidelines and BU policy.
Detailed Budget Review
The RA will:
review salaries to confirm that they are based upon actual Boston University salaries or applicable standard rates and appropriately escalated during the proposed period of performance.
Note: 3% escalation is the standard, unless prohibited by the sponsor or funding mechanism. Exceptions should be documented in the file.
Confirm that fringe benefit and indirect cost rates have been appropriately applied and accurately calculated (including appropriate designation of on/off campus).
Review non-personnel direct costs to determine that they are allowable, accurately calculated, and appropriately categorized by sponsor and Boston University accounting standards.
Review proposed direct and indirect cost sharing to confirm that it has been documented and approved in accordance with BU Cost Sharing policy.
Review budget justification notes for accuracy, responsiveness to sponsor requirements, and consistency with proposed budget and scope of work.
Costs requested must meet standards for allowability, reasonableness, and allocability to the project being proposed.
Full Review of Sponsor Application Guidelines & Program-Specific Solicitation
Full Review will be initiated when the full Reviewable Package has been received by SP.
The RA will understand and consider the following key information when reviewing the sponsor guidelines.
Program purposes
Eligibility restrictions
Anticipated funding levels and stated limitations on funding
Sponsor deadline
Earliest start date and allowable period of performance
Allowable direct and indirect costs
Cost sharing requirements, if any
Required budget presentation to support technical review (e.g., by task or government fiscal year)
Required proposal components (including special, mandatory sections such as data management plans, postdoctoral mentoring plans, detailed plans for the protection of human subjects, and the responsible conduct of research [RCR] plans required for some training grants)
Formatting standards
Anticipated terms and conditions of award to identify terms which may not be acceptable to the University
Required representations and certifications
Application procedures–including sponsor and program-specific variations on the standard application forms (e.g. instructions for completing applications to specific agency and programs within the Grants.gov system)
Preliminary High-Level Review of Proposal Package
The Preliminary Review is a high level overview of the application package to ensure it is complete and ready for full SP review. It is done within 24 hours of receipt of the first documents in SP at the latest, barring extraordinary circumstances.
The review consists of the following verification steps:
Verify all necessary proposal documents required by the sponsor per the solicitation guidelines are included and complete.
Verify the required BU documents including the PSF and any additional internal documents are included, complete, and signed
If the package is incomplete, the SP RA will email the DA and/or PIPrincipal Investigator
View Boston University's policy on... to request the missing items
Review of Sponsor Specific Required Forms & Components
The RA will review proposals to determine that all required forms have been included in the proposal, that they are prepared in the format required by the sponsor, and that the information included is reasonable and accurate.
Technical Narrative Review
The RA will review technical narrative to understand the scope of the project, implementation details (particularly relevant for budget development), and any University commitments being proposed which may not be evident elsewhere in the proposal. Particularly important for consideration:
Type of research
Location of research (on/off site)
Who is working on the proposal? Who are the BU key personnel?
Where will personnel be working/travelling?
Are there potential export control issues
Does the work involve humans, animals, hazardous chemicals or biohazards?