New Proposal Notification Process
Principal Investigators planning to submit a proposal for external funding will now need to notify SPA of their submission by completing SPA’s new Proposal Intake Form. After a PI completes the form, they will receive confirmation that their proposal was received, and their Proposal Coordinator will contact them shortly thereafter (generally 1-3 business days) to prepare plans for submission.
The Proposal Intake Form will assist with more timely recording of proposal submissions in InfoEd and provide SPA and campus units with improved real-time tracking of current proposal volume and SPA workloads.
New Proposal Submission Deadline Policy
Principal Investigators must also now plan to notify SPA at least 30 business days before the proposal deadline, which will allow SPA to keep pace with the volume and complexity of proposals as well as changing agency requirements and electronic submission systems.
Timelines necessary to ensure an accurate and on time submission are below. Principal Investigators should contact Dara Little at dlittle@niu.edu to discuss the need for any exceptions to these timelines.
| Action | Who to Consult | Days/Weeks Prior to Sponsor Deadline |
| Notify SPA of proposal via Proposal Intake Form | Proposal Coordinator | 30 days (6 weeks) |
| Route proposal through InfoEd | Proposal Coordinator | 10 days (2 weeks) |
| InfoEd routing complete; full proposal ready for submission | Proposal Coordinator | 5 days (1 week) |
Additional information to assist with managing proposal review and submission through SPA can be found on the new SPA Submitting Proposals resource page.
