Steps in Proposal Submission at UW-Madison

Page Updated: January 27, 2020

Congratulations! Your proposal is written! What are your next steps?

All proposals for extramural support must be routed via the new online routing tool, WISPER.

Required Clearances

Before you may submit a proposal, you must demonstrate that the proposal is in compliance with Federal, State, and UW-Madison regulations. If departmental staff cannot answer your compliance questions, contact the appropriate compliance office for more information.

Timely submission of your proposal to a sponsor depends on your providing complete and accurate information.

Review and Approval

Proposals must be reviewed and approved (as indicated by approval or signature in WISPER) by:

• The Department Chairperson
• The Dean or Director (or designated College/School Research Administrator)
• RSP (i.e. Transmitting Officer)

The following additional reviews and approvals are required before your proposal is submitted to RSP, 21 North Park Street, Suite 6301:

• If the principal investigator is an academic staff member, follow the procedures outlined in "Limited Principal Investigator Status for Academic Staff" or the "Permanent Principal Investigator Status for Academic Staff" policies.
• If proposals involve the resources of more than one department, school, or college (including university cost sharing) the proposal must be reviewed by appropriate officials of each unit (use an approval in WISPER).
• If a waiver of indirect cost rates is desired, a letter requesting the waiver and justification should be uploaded to WISPER and an Approval sent to your Dean, Director or College/School Research Administrator as indicated above.

On-Campus Deadlines

You should allow sufficient time for on-campus processing of your proposals. Your proposal should reach the Dean's or Director's Office in final form at least seven (7) working days before any sponsor deadline. Requests for Proposal (RFP) or Requests for Quotation (RFQ) documents, which usually include representations, certifications, and special terms and conditions, may require additional review time. "Walking a proposal through channels" should occur only in the most exceptional circumstances.

Lead Times

The average interval between the submission of a proposal and the award of a grant from Federal agencies is from six to ten months. Principal investigators should take this delay into consideration in planning for the submission of proposals.

Budget Modifications to Pending Proposals

If the proposal budget needs to be revised and resubmitted to the sponsor, an approval must be added to your existing WISPER record requesting Dean, Director or College/School Administrator review.

Negotiations with Funding Agencies

RSP is the designated signatory and negotiating agent for the UW-Madison.