Limited Submission Policy

100.00 Introduction and Purpose

Many funding agencies place limits on the number of pre-proposals, proposals, or applications that any one university may submit in response to a request for proposals. In order to prevent any potential disqualification of submissions by Montana State University, the following policy has been established. This policy applies to all grants and contracts including awards made directly to faculty members.

200.00 Policy

Due to the large number of programs, it is not possible for the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) to provide notification of every limited submission opportunity.  Therefore, it is the principal investigator’s responsibility to notify the Office of Sponsored Programs if s/he intends to make an application to a limited submission opportunity. 

In order to be considered for limited submission opportunities, MSU departments and principal investigators must coordinate with OSP/Pre-Award staff as provided in the   procedures outlined below.

300.00 Procedures

310.00 Summary of Proposed Project

Principal investigators interested in a limited submission opportunity must submit a summary of the proposed project to the Office of Sponsored Programs sixty (60) days prior to the sponsor’s submission deadline, or such other deadline established by OSP.  OSP will post select program opportunities on the OSP website which will include notification of internal, MSU submittal deadlines.

Principal investigators who discover a limited submission opportunity not posted on the OSP website, must notify OSP immediately to ensure consideration of  his /her project for the opportunity discovered.

The summary shall be no more than three pages long.  A copy of the summary shall be submitted to the Vice President for Research, Creativity and Technology (VPR) and to the Director of OSP. The Proposal Clearance Form is not required at this stage in the process.

320.00 Selection of Projects

If fewer than the allowed number of summaries are received, the normal process for submission will be followed.

If more than the allowed summaries are received, the Provost/VPR will select the project(s) to be put forth on behalf of the university.  They may convene an ad hoc committee to advise them in their selection process.

Evaluation criteria will include, but not be limited to, order of submission, quality of the proposal and the work described therein, probability of successful funding, and support of the mission of the University.

330.00  Full Proposal Submission

Summaries selected will result in proposals or pre-proposals submitted in accordance with sponsor guidelines through OSP following normal submission procedures including the Proposal Clearance Form and other required submittal documents.

340.00  Resubmission

If a proposal is submitted for a limited submission opportunity and is not funded, that proposal will have no preference over other projects in any subsequent limited submission opportunities.  In order to be considered for any subsequent limited submission opportunities, such proposals must be resubmitted and will be evaluated against competing projects.