Grant Process

A very crucial first step in your grant submission progress is to contact your research administrator (Mary Paskey). The research administrator will assist you in navigating you through the process of grant submission and, if successful, grant administration. Most grants submitted with involvement of UW faculty, staff, or students require approval of the research sponsored program (RSP) and frequently the creation of a WISPER (Wisconsin Proposal Electronic Routing) record. Once you have identified a program announcement of interest, enter the details into the department’s Grant Submission Portal and contact the Research Administrator and set up a time to discuss the submission process. The announcement will be reviewed prior to your meeting. At the first meeting you will discuss the project, the submission deadlines (internal deadlines are usually preceding the external deadlines) and start discussions about the costs of your research project. In preparation for the budget portion of this meeting think about the personnel that will be participating in your research project as well as any other costs associated with the project. Please note that this also applies to subcontracts, fellowships submitted by your students, and collaboration roles to any agency, institution, or organization.

KEY Tools and programs on campus

RSP: One of the sources utilized for grant submission is The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP). The staff in this office are the authorized representatives who submit proposals for extramural support on behave of the researchers of the UW-Madison. If an “official” signature is needed on any document, work with the Research Administrator to create a WISPER record and route it to RSP for review and signature. The RSP website also houses many helpful tips and guideline for submitting and managing grant awards.

WISPER: The WISPER system is an internal UW system used to electronically route documents for approvals and signatures of both other departments as well as institutional approval and submission. The WISPER record is an electronic file of the history of the application. It also allows everyone to see what stage of approval the document is at. This replaced the previous process of sending hard copies of documents through interoffice mail.

Cayuse: Cayuse is a web based system used to submit grant applications via grants.gov. It is an easy to use, provides auto-filling of forms, and error checking of proposals prior to submission.

WISER: This is the shared financial system utilized by the UW. For the purpose of a grant award, it houses financial transactions using the number assigned to your award funding.

When developing your plan for writing your proposal be sure to keep in mind the internal as well as external deadlines. Continue to touch base with your Research Administrator throughout your writing process to ensure you are meeting these deadlines. Ask your collaborators for biosketches early (when applicable). Develop the budget in parallel so you propose research that is fundable. Reach out to statistical support early on if applicable. Consider taking advantage of our mock review of grant applications in the department.

Your budget will be developed together with the research administrator based on the guidelines of the program announcement you are responding to. If necessary, different scenarios will be reviewed and modifications will made to assist you with utilizing the estimated funding efficiently. A carefully developed budget is essential to a grant proposal’s success. Once the budget is completed it will be routed to SMPH for approval using the WISPER system.

Communicate with the Research Administrator as you finish sections of the grant application. If you finish some sections early they can be uploaded into the Cayuse system ahead of time. If you don’t get them done early, be mindful of the established internal deadlines discussed earlier during the meeting in Step 1. General, non-science sections are due 5 business days prior to grant due date. Science sections are due 2 business days prior to grant due date. Once all of the parts of your grant are completed and the grant is ready for submission, it still has to be routed to (1) SMPH and then to (2) RSP for approval prior to the actual submission to the agency to which you are applying to.

Depending on the agency you apply to, you may be asked for additional information prior to funding being awarded (e.g. just in time information by the NIH). This request may be emailed directly to the PI or it may be routed to you via email from RSP. When these types of requests are received, please contact the Research Administrator for assistance with providing the information requested. These requests could be for Other Support documents, clarification of grant information, clarification of budget information, etc. Once the requested information is gathered it is uploaded to the WISPER record and sent to the funding agency by personnel at RSP. Always respond to these requests in a timely manner. If the funding agency is satisfied with the information provided they will issue a Notice of Award telling you the specifics of your award. Please be sure to read the award completely. Within the notice there is typically information about personnel, reporting timelines, etc. So it is important to read the award notice.

Congratulations, you have a funded research project!!! What happens next? An account is established for your project and the expenditures you will have for the project in WISER. You will need to talk to a Financial Specialist to set up the personnel effort that will be charged to this account If there are subcontracts associated with the project the Research Administrator can assist you with establishing those contracts. Oh, and you can start your research. Costs associated and allowable for the award can be charged to the account. Be careful about stipulations on the budget, e.g. can travel costs be used for domestic and international travel; can you transfer expenses between categories (salary vs travel/instrumentation) etc. You are responsible for monitoring your account in WISER and reviewing the monthly project reports sent out by the Financial Specialist. Questions regarding the status of your account, transactions posted to your account, etc., are always welcomed. Along the way you will most likely be required to submit progress reports to the funding agency. Be sure to be mindful of those reports as they are often required in order for you to receive next years of funding. There will often be additional responsibilities for you along the way. To name a few: publications might need to be entered in specific databases and or made publicly available. No cost extension have to be filed ahead of time when applicable.

Once your research project has been completed the account in WISER must be reconciled and closed out. While the funding agency for your research project most likely requires a final report on the project they funded there is also a financial close out process. You, along with the Research Administrator and the accountant from RSP that has been assigned to your account, will be responsible for verifying that costs charged to that account were allowable for this award. Typically this is a process of verifying (auditing) any transactions that are not clearly described. There are times when we have to research the transactions to provide documentation that is was allowable. Upon completion of this process and submission of your final report the account is closed.