What are RSP's business hours? RSP's business hours are 7:45am - 4:30pm, Monday through Friday.

Please note: Proposal submissions are only made during these hours.

Who should I contact if I have a proposal question? Please contact your Department Administrator and/or your Dean's Office first. Your Department Administrator and Dean’s Office are aware of department and School/College requirements and policies. They will escalate any issues to the RSP Proposal Team as necessary.

Which proposals need to be processed though RSP? All sponsored project proposals must be reviewed and receive approval from an authorized official (RSP) before they can be submitted to the sponsor.

As the PI, can I submit to the sponsor directly if no signatures or approval is required? Yes. However, RSP must review and approve all proposals to external funding agencies before they can be submitted to the sponsor. This is the case regardless of whether or not the sponsor requires an authorized signature.

Can a proposal be submitted when I am absent from the office? If the Principal Investigator (PI) is unable to be present during a proposal submission, it is expected that the PI reviews and approves as much of the final submission as possible before their planned absence. It is critically important to have someone from the department available for the entire proposal submission in case any issues need to be addressed.

What do I need on a RAMP record? The proposal team expects the following to be included in the RAMP record:

1. Funding announcement
2. Scope of Work
3. Budget (preferably in an Excel Spreadsheet)
4. Budget justification
5. Screen shot from the Training Information Lookup Tool (TILT) or certificates showing completion of Research Security training for the PI and all senior/key personnel, if applicable
6. For internal limited competitions: OVCR approval to submit to the sponsor
7. For Subawards: Scope of Work, budget, budget justification, letter of intent (LOI), and Research Security training certificates, if applicable
8. Any other required documents, per sponsor guidance, request for application, or other funding opportunity documentation

When submitting proposals, please remember to:

• Carefully read the application guidelines and instructions to ensure the correct forms are being used, all requirements are met, and all necessary information and documentation is included.
• Provide clear and concise submission instructions for the RSP Proposal Team in the “submission instructions” field in the RAMP record. Include details such as the proposal submission deadline time, email address for proposal submission, and application number. This will help specify what and how the RSP Proposal Team should finalize and submit the proposal.
  • If the submission time is earlier than 4:30 pm, include the deadline time in the RAMP record title.
• Compile all application files into a single PDF while following the sponsor application guidance and requirements. Submitting one file reduces the number of files the RSP Proposal Team needs to review.
• We ask departments to verify that each individual listed as PI or senior/key personnel in the proposal has completed Research Security training.
  • Upload a screen shot from Training Information Lookup Tool (TILT) or certificate showing that the individual has completed training in the RAMP Funding Proposal (FP) record.
  • We ask that Deans’ Offices verify that RS training completion records have been uploaded in RAMP prior to routing the FP to RSP for submission.
• Ensure that all necessary reviews and approvals have been acquired and are in place before submitting to RSP.
• Clearly specify any documents/pages that require an RSP signature and the RAMP attachment naming convention (i.e., RSPSign) in the submission instructions.
• Submit as far ahead of the deadline as possible. While submission times are not guaranteed, the Proposal Team will make every effort to ensure timely submission to the sponsor. If you are submitting on the day of the deadline, especially late in the day, please inform the Proposal Team via email: preaward@rsp.wisc.edu
• If any proposal documents (e.g., forms, terms & conditions, Reps & Certs) need review or signature while the RAMP record is still in draft, contact the Proposal Team via the RAMP “Send Email” activity and select the RSP Proposal Team as the recipient.
• If the PI is submitting the proposal and needs signed documents, route the FP record as described in the RAMP Record Routing and RSP Approval section below.
• If you need a form signed that will be compiled into an electronic application, please contact the Proposal Team via the RAMP “Send Email” activity and select the RSP Proposal Team as the recipient.

Principal Investigators (PI) are responsible for seeking external sources to fund their research or public service projects. They can request assistance from their department administrators in identifying potential funding opportunities. Once investigators have identified a funding opportunity, they should inform their department research administrators, who will help prepare and submit a proposal to the sponsor.

RSP has developed the Finding Funding page to assist the campus community in finding suitable funding sources.

Building a budget is one of the most important aspects of putting together a proposal. Creating a suitable and accurate budget takes time and effort. RSP provides several budget spreadsheets to assist in budget calculations. When used, these spreadsheets provide accurate calculations of salary, fringe benefits, and Indirect costs (also referred to as Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs). See the Budget Development Tools for further guidance.

Your College/School Research Administrator can also assist in budget development.

Note: RSP strongly suggests including the specific F&A rate language listed in the Budget Justification Wording to Include in Grant Proposals in the Budget Justification.

Before a proposal is submitted to RSP, the Principal Investigator (PI) must demonstrate that the proposal is compliant with Sponsor, Federal, State, and University regulations. If there are any questions regarding compliance, please contact the appropriate campus compliance office for assisstance and more information.

Proposals must be reviewed and approved prior to submission (as indicated by an approval or signature in RAMP) by:

• The Principal Investigator
• The Department (Not every Division requires Departmental approval. Please check with your Department and Division)
• The Dean or Director (or designated College/School Research Administrator)
• RSP Proposal Team

The following additional reviews and approvals are required before your proposal is submitted to RSP for review via RAMP:

• If the principal investigator is an academic staff member, follow the procedures outlined in the Limited or Permanent Principal Investigator Status for Academic Staff policy.
• If proposals involve the resources of more than one department, school, or college (including university cost sharing), appropriate staff/officials from each unit must review the proposal using an ancillary review in RAMP.
• See Extramural Support Policies & Procedures - Required Approvals for more information.
• Proposal budgets must incorporate indirect costs in accordance with UW's Official F&A and Fringe Benefits Rate Agreement unless an exception applies.
• If a PI is applying to a funding announcement that included a limit:
  • If a waiver of indirect cost rates is desired, requests must be submitted through the Dean’s Office:
    • A letter requesting the waiver and justification must be uploaded to the RAMP record
    • An ancillary review request must be sent to your Dean or Director (designated College/School research administrator)
    • After receiving Dean or Director approval, an ancillary review request must be sent to Brenda Egan to receive RSP approval from the Director/Vice Chancellor of Research.
• If a PI is applying to a funding announcement that includes a limited number of applications UW-Madison can submit, please obtain approval from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) and include the approval on the RAMP record. More information can be found on the OVCR website.

The Research and Sponsored Programs office closes at 4:30pm. To ensure sufficient time for review and approval, we ask that all proposals be sent to your Dean's Office and routed to RSP at least five (5) days before the submission due date. Although we strongly discourage doing so, if you need to submit on the day of the deadline, especially late in the day, please inform your Dean’s Office and the Proposal Team as soon as possible. The Proposal Team will make every effort to ensure timely submission to the sponsor, but we cannot make any guarantees.

Beforea a RAMP record is routed to RSP for review and approval, the following steps must be completed:

• The SmartForm must be completed and pass the validate check.
• All Ancillary Reviews must be completed and, if appliable, the PI must certify the record.
• The record must be submitted for Department Review and the Department Reviewer must approve the proposal.

After the Department Review has been completed, the proposal moves to the Specialist Review state. A member of the RSP Proposal Team performs the Specialist Review, including but not limited to:

1. Content and Documentation

   The Proposal Team expects the following to be included in the RAMP record:

   • Funding announcement
   • Scope of Work
   • Budget (preferably in an Excel Spreadsheet)
   • Budget Justification
   • Screen shot from TILT or certificate showing completion of Research Security training for the PI and all senior/key personnel
   • For internal limited competitions: OVCR approval to submit to the sponsor
   • For Subawards: Scope of Work, budget, budget justification, letter of intent (LOI), and Research Security training certificates, if applicable
   • Any other required documents, per sponsor guidance, request for application, or other funding opportunity documentation
   • For NIH Fellowships: the DHHS Fellowship Assurance Form

   Additional documentation that may be in the RAMP record:

   • When possible, the Principial Investigator (PI) or department should upload a complete copy of the proposal document under the Attachments tab.
     • If the PI or department is submitting the proposal, a copy of the full submitted proposal and all attachments (i.e., after submission) should be uploaded under the Attachments tab to ensure a complete record of the proposal is maintained in RAMP.
   • If applicable, clear, detailed, specific submission instructions should be included under the Submission Instructions tab. Include details such as: the proposal submission deadline time, email address for proposal submission, application number. This will help specify what and how the RSP Proposal Team should finalize and submit the proposal.
     • If the submission time is earlier than 4:30 pm, include the deadline time in the RAMP record title.
   • If the proposal is being submitted to a foreign sponsor in foreign currency, the currency conversion used at the time the US dollar budget was created should be included under the Attachments tab.
   • If the proposal includes an F&A rate other than the UW's official F&A and Fringe Benefits Rate, a justification and documentation should be included under the Attachments tab.
   • Any legal documents, such as Representations and Certifications, subrecipient forms, or questionnaires.
     • Note: These documents require significant processing time. Please send a RAMP email to the RSP Proposal Team while the record is in Draft Status. This will allow sufficient lead time for RSP to work on the documents. Note also that the RAMP record will still need to be routed as usual prior to the submission deadline.

2. Ancillary Reviews and Certification

   The Department/Dean’s Office confirms PI Certification and all required Ancillary reviews are complete.

3. Proposal Review

   The Proposal Team reviews the proposal against sponsor, federal, state, and UW-Madison guidelines.

Please contact your Dean's Office or visit our RAMP Resources Page for more information or guidance. Additionally, you can reach out to the RSP Proposal Team.

Sponsors typically accept applications electronically through their own application system or via email. However, most sponsors require an Authorized Official (RSP) to submit the application. In some cases, sponsors may allow the Principal Investigator (PI) to submit the final RSP-approved application.

Sponsors may have terms and conditions or other information that should be reviewed and approved by an Authorized Official (RSP), even for sponsors that allow the PI to submit applications. If you have any questions, please consult with your Dean's Office. The Dean’s Office will escalate any concerns to the Proposal Team, if necessary.

If you are working on a proposal in a sponsor system that is new to you or you are unfamiliar with the proposal process, please contact your Dean's Office. We are always happy to work with campus research teams in advance to ensure the proposal is completed correctly and submitted on time.

The following are some RSP guidelines for common sponsor application systems.

• Cayuse Submission Reminders
• eBRAP Submission Guidance
• NASA FINESST Guidance
• NIH Information
• NSF Information
• USDA NIFA Indirect Cost Limit
• Data Management Plans

After the proposal is submitted, the sponsor may have questions or require additional information before making an award. This is commonly referred to as a Just-In-Time (JIT) request. It's important to note that certain sponsors like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) only accept JIT responses from an authorized official - specifically the Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) Office's Proposal Team.

When RSP receives JIT requests, the proposal team will upload a copy of the request to the RAMP record. Afterward, the Proposal Team will send an email via RAMP to the campus contact to complete the request. Once the request has been completed, the campus contact will upload the information as instructed to RAMP, and the RSP Specialist assigned to the RAMP record will submit the materials to the sponsor.

If the Department or PI receives a request for information other than scientific information, please send an email via RAMP to the RSP Specialist on the RAMP record. When the request is ready to be submitted, there may be times when additional Division approval will be necessary - such as a revised budget that changes the total dollar amount of the funding proposal.

Requests for additional information and JIT may include a request for the PI to submit other support and approvals for clearances, such as IRB and IACUC.

For IACUC AND IRB approvals:: Unless the animal or human subject work begins after the project's start date, RSP needs to see documentation that this specific project has been approved or determined congruent with the approved protocol. The congruency letter must be uploaded in the Attachments tab of the RAMP record or the project must be listed in PLuS.

Below is a list of references that may be helpful in completing these requests.

• Current and Pending Support Tool
• Human Research Protection Program (HRPP)
• NIH Single IRB Guidance
• Research Animal Resources Center (RARC)
• CITI Training

Here is a list of other forms and templates that you may need in the lifecycle of the project.

• Intellectual Property Agreement for Project Participants
• Request for Limited PI Status
• Principal Investigator Status (includes Limited PI process)
• Clinical Trial Agreement, Standard
• HHS Fellowship Assurance Form
• Material Transfer Agreement Research Guide
• Standard Research Agreement

Additional forms are available on the RSP Forms page.

Here is a list of other information and resources that you may find helpful:

• Gift Information
• Wisconsin Discovery Portal
• The Office of Campus Research Cores
• Research Education Development (RED) Training
• Definition of a "Year" for NSF Proposals
• Extramural Support Policies and Procedures
• Contracting External Services Guidance
• UW Capacity Statement for Proposals
• Small Business Subcontracting Plan (SBSP)
• RED Hot Topic: Common Form Requirements (10/22/2025)

For any questions on the above information or if you need immediate assistance please contact the Proposal Team.

• Brenda Egan (Managing Officer) 608-262-9029
• Lisa Grady 608-890-2087
• Darlene Holte 608-890-3509
• Briana Kleinfeldt 608-262-9028
• Annie Studer 608-265-3227
• Angela Walker 608-262-9028

For more information on the functions and responsibilities of the Proposal Team, please click here.