The best administrative approach in grant and contract application procedures is to involve the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) as early as possible in the planning of the application. Nothing is more frustrating, to us and you, than to see a grant/contract proposal (just before a deadline) that has major errors in its budget and administrative sections. The earlier we see an application, even in rough form, the better chance the final application will go through the approval process with minimal difficulty.
Getting a grant or contract application through the Cal Poly Pomona bureaucracy may seem intimidating, but it is actually quite simple. Step #1 is to use an External Funding Approval Form (EFF), available on our Forms page. The form has several components that the PI must fill out, most of which are self-explanatory. However, it is important that the "Project Costs" section and the "Checklist" be addressed. The "Comments" section should be used to explain all the specifics of the "Cost Sharing Budget" and release time issues. Please note that for all the official proposal documents, the fiscal agent and legal applicant organization for most proposals is Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc., not the University.
While there are several signatures required to completing approve the EFF, the PI is only responsible for obtaining the first three (PI, Chair/Director, and College/Division. Dean). At that point, the application with the final copy of all proposal documents should be delivered to ORSP in Building 1, room 224. Please do not sign any certification sections, as only the Institutional Official is legally authorized to do so. ORSP will circulate the form and application, and contact you should any problems develop. It takes about 7-10 business days to get a form through all the required signatures. While this may seem lengthy, it results in an application that has the full support of the University.
Find the External Funding Approval Form on our Forms page.
Many of the grants require some type of "match" or cost sharing by the recipient institution. It is best to speak to the ORSP to better understand what constitutes a valid match, including which components of University support are allowed to be budgeted as cost sharing/match. Federal agencies are taking a much more stringent view of matches, demanding that some aspects of matching be verifiable on a quarterly or monthly basis! Thus, justifying a dollar amount of matching is no longer something that can be done at the end of a grant period or award. A suggestion would be to obtain a memo/letter detailing out what is being supported, by whom and how much, i.e., hours, dollars, items. All cost sharing/matching must be detailed in the budget and included on the EFF prior to routing for signatures. As the College/Division Dean is required to approve any match, excluding this information from the EFF prior to obtaining the first three signatures will potentially cause a delay in processing while the forms are re-routed to the Dean for approval.
Proposals for contract work are similar to grant proposals in that they include a detailed budget, a specific description of the proposed work, and must be approved through the External Funding Approval Form process, preferably prior to submission to the funder, before a Foundation account can be opened or project work can begin. The difference is that contracts require the additional step of negotiation prior to acceptance of an award.
In this negotiation process, ORSP acts as a broker or intermediary between the funder and the Foundation to ensure that all documents are prepared and executed in accordance with University and Foundation policies. As such, it is best to plan for additional time for this negotiation step, which can take often take 2-6 weeks, depending on the circumstances.
The Foundation has developed a sample contract that includes language that protects both University and Foundation interests and provides the information necessary for fiscal management. You can download a copy of this sample contract from the Foundation's Grants and Contracts Administration page. Though we understand that many funders prefer to use their own prepared contracts, the Foundation, as fiscal agent, must approve all contracts prior to officially accepting the funds and opening an account. As such, contracts that most resemble the Foundation contract may be processed more quickly than those that require extensive negotiation. Regardless of the form of the contract, the negotiation process takes time, so please plan accordingly.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Education
