Guide to the Preparation of Proposals for Grants and Contracts

APPENDIX I- CHECKLIST

The following is a checklist of items to be considered in the preparation and review of grant and contract proposals at Western Kentucky University. While completion of the checklist is not required, its use will help to insure rapid review of proposals within the University, avoid delays for rewriting and revising; and facilitate planning for the initiation of the proposed program. The checklist also offers guidance in amplifying answers to questions contained on the sign-off form.

I. Facilities

A. Will space presently available to the University be adequate?

1. Has approval been given to use the rooms needed for the project?
   
2. Are any of the following renovations required?
   
   • Partitions, ceilings, or walls shifted?
     
   • Painting?
     
   • New lighting arrangements?
     
   • Additional electrical power?
     
   • Water?
     
   • Services or facilities, new telephone, plastic pipe, drains, fumehoods, etc.?
   
   
3. If renovations are required:
   
   • Have costs been estimated and approved by the appropriate University officer (dean, head, Facilities Management Office)?
     
   • Are funds included as direct costs in proposal?
     
   • Are any of the funds to be provided from University budgets? Are these funds available?
     
   • Are non-recurring telephone costs (installation or moving) included as direct cost in the proposal?
     

1. If non-University space is required:
   
   • Have rental or lease arrangements been confirmed with appropriate parties?
     
   • Are the telephone costs (both installation and recurring) included as direct costs in the proposal?
     
   • If renovation of non-University space is required, has cost of remodeling been included in proposal?
     
   
   
2. If new space is to be constructed:
   
   • Have requirements been discussed with appropriate University officers (dean, head, Facilities Management Office)?
     
   • Are funds for planning and construction requested in grant?
     

C. If the facilities of special research centers will be required, has the director of the center been consulted regarding availability and costs and has the sign-off form been appropriately signed by the director of the center?

II. Staff

A. If the following are provided in the proposal, have they been approved by the department head and dean?

1. Release time of faculty?
   
   
2. University faculty salaries pledged for cost-sharing?
   
   • Are the pledged salaries already provided in the University budget?
     
   • Does pledged salary for this and other sponsored activities exceed 50% of any regular faculty participant's salary?
     
     
3. Direct faculty salary supplementation by:
   
   • Compensation for additional duties during regular academic appointment? (Supplementary pay of salary in excess of 100% of basic salary is normally not allowable.)
     
   • Summer salary support?
     
   • Other?
     
     
4. Are faculty or staff salaries divided between the grant and regular University budgets?
   

B. Have salary arrangements and staff positions for non-academic personnel been discussed with the Human Resources Office?

C. Do staff budgets make appropriate provision for expected salary increases?

D. Do budgets include proper support for fringe benefits, i.e., retirement, insurance, etc.?

III. Equipment, Supplies, and Services

A. If the proposal requests funds for expensive equipment, surplus equipment, or equipment from foreign countries:

1. Have costs and sources been discussed with the University's Purchasing Department?
   
   
2. Has State sales tax been included in budget?
   
   
3. Has the equipment been screened in the Department, Dean's office, or Inventory Control Office (Ron Slavic in Services and Supplies Building, extension 3056) to avoid duplication?
   
   
4. Has the acquisition been specially justified in the proposal if it will duplicate equipment already on campus?
   

B. If office equipment will be needed:

1. Has it been budgeted as a direct cost through purchase or rental?
   
   
2. Does the proposal justify requested office equipment, in terms of project requirement?
   

C. If the proposal will use services available through various agencies of the University such as the Institute for Economic Development and Public Service, has the director been consulted about availability and costs and has the sign-off form been signed by the director to confirm support?

IV. Special Considerations

A. If the proposal involves the use of human subjects in research, has provision been made for review in accordance with current University policy on the use of human subjects and has an application for the review of projects involving human subjects been completed and forwarded to the Office of Sponsored Programs?

B. If the proposal involves the use of any live, vertebrate animal used or intended for use in research experimentation, testing, training, or related purposes, has provision been made for review by the University's Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC)?

C. If the proposed project involves radiation safety hazards, environmental hazards, or recombinant DNA, has the University's Radiation Safety Director or the Environmental Health & Safety Director been consulted?

D. If restrictions on information or security classification will be required:

1. Has the project been discussed with the unit head, dean, and Sponsored Programs?
   
   
2. Have security matters, including safekeeping facilities and security clearances, been discussed with the University Security Officer?
   
   

E. If proposal does not provide for full reimbursement of indirect costs has this been discussed with Sponsored Programs?

F. If other institutions are participating in the proposal, has appropriate institutional approval from the participating institutions been obtained? Is the role of each institution clearly stated in the proposal?

G. If the proposed project is likely to result in the publication of a book or monograph:

1. Has publication cost been included in proposal?
   
   
2. Have publication arrangements been discussed with presses?
   

H. If proposal is for the conduct of a summer institute, has the Registrar's Office been consulted and furnished with a copy of the proposal? (Sponsored Programs can coordinate this for you.)

I. If budget splitting between departments or colleges is proposed, are all account numbers with costs inserted on the sign-off form? (Remember to list salaries and fringe benefits as two separate entries.)

J. If the proposal involves a University researcher with any potential conflict of interest, such as a substantial economic interest, directorship, or other significant involvement in any company or competitor company from which research funding is sought, has the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statement on the sign-off sheet been completed and other explanations that might be required attached?

V. Transmittal

A. Has the sign-off form been properly completed?

B. Has a signed statement Disclosure of Financial Interests been completed by the project director, co-director(s) and other key personnel in the project? (This is part of the sign-off sheet for the PI, but additional pages may be added for other key personnel.)

C. Have the necessary number of copies of the proposal been assembled, including:

1. Complete budgets?
   
2. Biographical information on principal professional personnel in the format and length requested by the potential sponsor?
   
   
3. Any special enclosures?
   
   

D. If special information should be included in the transmittal letter from the University, has it been drafted and included with the sign-off form?

E. If more than one department or college is involved, has provision been made to ensure that each one has approved the sign-off form?

Last update made March 2, 2005.
Send comments to: Sponsored Programs Webmaster sponsored.programs@wku.edu
All contents copyright (C) 1997. Western Kentucky University.