Proposal Preparation & Submission

PIs must personally participate in the project to a significant degree. 

Appointees who hold the following titles are automatically eligible:  

• Associate Professor, Assistant Professor or Instructor 

• Research Professor, Associate Research Professor or Assistant Research Professor 

• Librarian, Associate Librarian, Senior Assistant Librarian or Assistant Librarian  

• Center Director, Research Associate, Senior Research Associate or Research Scientist

Others must obtain prior written approval by submitting a completed PI Eligibility Determination Form to [email protected]. For example: 

• Researchers who do not have faculty status at the time of application but expect to be appointed at the time of award are eligible. However, at the time of application, the appropriate chair or dean must have already filed a memo with SPA indicating the faculty appointment will be completed. 

• Academic appointees with the titles Emeritus, Adjunct or Visiting Professor must have prior written approval from the relevant dean to be eligible. 

• Professional staff must have prior written approval from the Vice President for Research & Economic Development to be eligible. 

• Pre- and post-doctoral students are only eligible if the sponsor requires them to serve as a PI. In these cases, students must have prior written approval of their school or college’s dean. Note: For internal RF business systems, the faculty advisor will be listed as PI. The title of the research will begin with the student’s name followed by the title submitted to the sponsor. For example, “(Student Name) Fellowship Research for the study of …”

• If a UAlbany employee wants to serve as a PI but does not meet any of the above criteria, they may request an exception from the Vice President for Research & Economic Development to be eligible. Note: Exceptions are rarely granted. 

Principal Investigator (PI): A University at Albany faculty or staff member who bears responsibility for the intellectual leadership of a project. The PI accepts overall responsibility for directing the research, financial oversight and compliance with relevant University policies and sponsor terms and conditions. 

Multiple PI and Co-PI: Some sponsors use the term Co-PI or Multiple PI to indicate the role has equal responsibility and authority as the lead PI (for example, NIH uses the term Multiple PI, and NSF uses the term Co-PI). Other sponsors, such as the USDA, use the term to represent that the individual has more authority than a co-investigator but not equal authority as the PI. Additional sponsors use the term to represent an alternative title for a non-lead PI on a multi-PI project. Not all sponsors use this role.

Sponsored Project: Any externally funded research, training, evaluative testing or public service project directed by UAlbany faculty or staff, as part of their University work, that requires UAlbany to perform a specified program or deliver a specified product.

The following individuals are responsible for understanding UAlbany’s rules and protocols for PI eligibility: 

• Provost and other Vice Presidents 

• Deans and Associate Deans 

• Department Chairs 

• Principal Investigators (PIs) 

• SPA staff 

A Principal Investigator’s responsibilities include: 

• Obtaining eligibility to serve as PI before applying for sponsored project funding 

• Complying with these rules and all other applicable UAlbany, Research Foundation and SUNY policies 

A department chair’s responsibilities include: 

• Ensuring faculty and staff are aware of and understand these rules 

• Approving sponsored project application submissions only if the identified PIs are eligible to serve 

• Ensuring the sponsored project is in keeping with the research mission of the University 

• Ensuring that the necessary space, equipment, facilities, qualified personnel and other required resources will be available through the completion of this project  

Note: If a project is funded and the PI leaves the University prior to its completion, the endorsing academic department agrees to ensure the project is completed.

A dean’s responsibilities include: 

• Approving PI eligibility for students and for employees with Emeritus, Adjunct or Visiting Professor status 

• Ensuring the sponsored project is in keeping with the research mission of the University 

• Ensuring that the necessary space, equipment, facilities, qualified personnel and other required resources will be available through the completion of this project  

Note: If a project is funded and the PI leaves the University prior to its completion, the endorsing school or college agrees to ensure the project is completed.

The Vice President for Research and Economic Development’s responsibilities include: 

• Approving PI eligibility for professional staff 

• Approving exceptions to PI eligibility 

SPA staff’s responsibilities include: 

• Submitting sponsored project funding applications only if the identified PIs are eligible to serve

Eligible PIs must submit the Proposal Request Form at least 20 business days before the sponsor’s deadline. 

After submitting the form, you’ll receive an email within two business days with the following information: 

• The Research Administrator assigned to your proposal 

• A PACS record number 

• A suggested timeline for preparing various documents 

• A deadline for SPA to receive all documents (must be received at least five business days before the sponsor deadline) 

• A Sponsor Site ID number, if applicable

• Identify internal and external collaborators. Complete a Subrecipient Commitment Form for any external collaborators. Provide your Research Administrator with the contact information of your internal and external collaborators. 

• Draft your budget and budget justification — including personnel, fringe rates, Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Rates, supplies, equipment, travel, cost-sharing, etc. 

• Register for the sponsor’s submission portal. For example: NIH Registration, NSF Account Registration & Management or Proposal Central. 

• Use the Data for Sponsor Forms section to complete required elements. 

• Complete one biosketch for each senior personnel, following the sponsor’s formatting guidelines. Use the SciENcv tool for this step. 

• Complete one Other Support document for each senior personnel, following the sponsor’s formatting guidelines. Use the SciENcv tool for this step. 

• Complete project-related documents as required by the sponsor. For example, many sponsors require a Project Summary, Project Description, Facilities & Resources, etc. 

• Complete all research and regulatory compliance steps, including training, Conflict of Interest Disclosures, data use agreements and institutional approvals (IRB, IACUC, etc.). Note: Approvals are required to accept an award and start a project. 

• Obtain Office of Environmental Health & Safety approval for any projects that involve biological, chemical, radiological substances or equipment, or any hazardous materials or substances. 

• Review institutional data resources and requirements for finding, storing and managing your data. 

• Obtain department chair approval for any special circumstances (such as course release, space requests, etc.). 

Email the following documents to your assigned Research Administrator at least five business days before the sponsor's submission deadline: 

• Final Budget and Budget Justification, including outside collaborators 

• Any supplemental documents required by the sponsor 

• Final Data Management Plan 

• Final Project Description (narrative, research strategy, etc.) 

• Executive Summary 

• References Cited 

• Letters of Support 

The Research Administrator will ensure all appropriate documents are loaded into the PACS Portal. Then institutional approvers (such as department chairs, deans, directors, etc.) will review and approve the proposal using the portal.

The Research Administrator and PI will work together to ensure the proposal has been properly uploaded to the sponsor’s submission portal. 

Access the most current negotiated rate agreement.

The rates in this chart are subject to Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC). However, there may be other sponsor rates that are applicable to a different base.
 

Total Direct Costs (TDC) Base 

• Multiple Sponsor: 15.0% for 2023 

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) are all direct salaries and wages, applicable fringe benefits, materials and supplies, services, travel, and sub-awards and subcontracts up to the first $25,000 of each sub-award or subcontract — regardless of the period of performance of the sub-awards and subcontracts under the award.

Other items may only be excluded when necessary to avoid a serious inequity in the distribution of indirect costs and with the approval of the relevant agency for indirect costs.

The Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base excludes: 

• Equipment 

• Tuition and fees 

• Facilities rental 

• Sub-awards after the first $25,000 

• Patient care 

• Participant support 

• Alterations and renovations totaling $15,000 or more

An off-campus rate is applicable to projects largely conducted at facilities not owned or operated by the University, which include charges for facility rental as a direct expenditure.  

Subawards, consultants and vendor services are not considered under this off-campus determination. Convenience, telecommuting, conferences and summer travel are not justifications for the off-campus determination. 

If an agency has a published policy with a restricted F&A rate lower than UAlbany’s current F&A rate, and the agency doesn’t specify how the rate is to be applied, the agency’s lower, restricted F&A rate will be applied to Total Direct Costs (TDC). 

If the agency does not have a published policy, exceptions to UAlbany’s F&A rates are rarely granted but can be requested. You must contact Pre-award Research Administrator at least 10 business days before the proposal submission deadline. 

Acceptable policy documentation of a restricted F&A policy includes the sponsor’s RFP, the sponsor’s guidelines, or an email or letter obtained from an authorized representative of the sponsor stating they have an approved, uniformly applied rate for all funded projects.

State- or RF-funded Users — any animal facility user who is funded by the state, University or Research Foundation — are charged the following rates: 

Affiliated Users — any animal facility user who has an appointment or direct affiliation with the University or SUNY but does not receive state, University or Research Foundation funding — are charged the following rates: 

External Users — any animal facility user without a University or SUNY affiliation — are charged according to their contract with UAlbany. 
 

Review detailed information on the use of animals (IACUC).

Budgeting with Fringe Rates 

Access the Research Foundation fringe benefit rates for Fiscal Year 2024.

The approved fringe benefit rates must be used in all applications that request salary support beyond June 13, 2023.

For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2023, we recommend the approach outlined in the tables below. Note: Rates that have not yet been approved can be used according to sponsor guidelines.

Regular Employees

Graduate Student Employees

Undergraduate Student Employees

Summer-only Employees

Post-doctoral Employees

SUNY Employees (IFR)

National Science Foundation (NSF) Consultant: Fair market value 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Salary Maximum: $212,100 

UAlbany Tuition & Fee Charges

Per Diem & Mileage

Foreign Per Diem