Over the last 12-months, a combined effort between the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), the Chief Research Officer (OCR) and our research community have reviewed the current UTMB proposal submission policy and compared it with submission policies around the US.  This was done to address concerns and complaints that the UTMB policy – especially the 10-Day Rule - was overly burdensome administratively and confusing. 

The review is complete and both the CRO and OSP are happy to announce that starting Monday, April 19, a new internal submission process will replace the 10-Day Policy.  This date was chosen to give everyone working on a June 5 NIH submission deadline ample time to learn the new process.

The new process will be based on a five-day proposal deadline. 

• After completing the Intent to Submit Form approximately four weeks prior to the sponsor’s due date (three months if a large or complex project), the PI or representative should submit the grant proposal, including all administrative portions, to OSP five days prior to the sponsor’s due date to the OSP mailbox esubmit.osp@utmb.edu.
• Proposals submitted late will be reviewed on a “first in, first out” basis, subject to proposals already received and other existing commitments.
• Two days prior to the sponsor’s due date, the complete and final scientific content of the proposal should be submitted by the PI or representative to OSP or released in the sponsor portal. Subaward proposal documents for incoming subawards that require a signature will need to be submitted for review at the two-day mark.

The timeline below explains the new policy in detail.

Everyone involved recognizes that the new policy is significantly different than what PIs have been doing, but once implemented and used this policy should reduce administrative burden and simplify submission.  To assist PIs and staff in understanding the new process, OSP will also be hosting a virtual Grants Management Roundtable on May 13 to discuss this topic. To attend, please register at https://research.utmb.edu/register or email research.education@utmb.edu. You must be on the UTMB network to access the registration link.  Additionally, PIs and staff can reach out to the Sponsored Programs Analyst who works with their Department and schedule a 1-on-1 meeting.

For more information, please check out the website for additional details and timelines, https://research.utmb.edu/submissions. If you have any questions, please reach out to any of the Research Administration contacts on the website.