uconn health

Active and Pending Support

General Information/Introduction

UConn researchers should be transparent regarding their other research support, other research activities, and research collaborations when submitting grant proposals to external sponsors. Disclosure of such support, via forms commonly referred to as “Current and Pending” or “Other Support,” allows the identification of potential duplication of funding, assessment of the investigator’s capacity/available effort to complete proposed projects, the evaluation of potential conflicts of interest, and the overall protection of national security and economic interests.

While the format/form being provided to the sponsor may vary, if applicable to a proposal under development, PIs should include ALL support, including grants and contracts from all domestic and non-U.S. sources, including support internal to UConn. Additional guidance is generally available in the specific funding opportunity announcement to which the proposal is responding, and MUST be followed to avoid return without review or other negative consequences.

Federal agencies are increasingly placing additional scrutiny on potential foreign influence and its impact upon the U.S. research enterprise. Efforts at the federal level are currently underway to standardize disclosure requirements, forms, and other requirements, and some agencies have provided additional guidance on completing disclosure documents. For additional assistance, or to report changes to disclosure documents related to existing awards, please contact your department administrator or SPS@uchc.edu.

Active and Pending Support

EpicCare Link at UConn Health for Clinical Trial Studies

EpicCare Link at UConn HealthEpicCare® Link at UConn Health is a secure web portal that offers site monitors easy access to clinical trial study data. There is no cost to access the portal, and there’s no software or hardware to maintain. EpicCare Link is available 24/7 via any computer with an Internet connection and an up-to-date browser. Supported browsers include Chrome version 50 or later, Microsoft Edge version 79 or later, and Internet Explorer version 11.

In order to provide a site monitor with access to EpicCare link and a specific clinical trial, an EpicCare Link Agreement between the sponsor and UConn Health needs to be completed first. Once the agreement is executed, we will add the sponsor to the EpicCare Link. A site monitor can be added once the sponsor is added to EpicCare Link. You can learn more about our process via the following documents:

To start the process, please complete the EpicCare Link Request Form and send it to octrclinicaltrial@uchc.edu.

If you any questions, please contact us at octrclinicaltrial@uchc.edu.

Chemical Safety Data Sheets (SDS)

To access a Safety Data Sheet (SDS), search for it either with a general search engine, such as Google, or use of the specific manufacturer’s or SDS service websites listed below. Specific instructions for each website are listed in the table below.

COMPANY SITE INSTRUCTIONS
Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. Enter the search criteria: SDS + product name + manufacturer (if known) and SEARCH button to bring up link to SDS.
3M Under Search, down arrow until you find “with Product Name/Number” and under the search (magnifying glass) type in the product you are searching for and on the magnifying glass.
Acros Organics Type in the product name in the “Product Code” box and “Go”.
Avantor Performance Materials, Inc “Certificate/SDS search” and type product name in the “text search” box under SDS and “SDS Search”.
Bio-Rad Laboratories Got to “Literature Library” – Check mark “SDS” and type product name in the search box and press “Search Documents”.
Certol International, LLC Click on whether medical/dental/industrial then on products located in the middle of the page and find the product name and “Safety Data Sheets”.
Eastman Kodak Company Enter product name and search for SDS.
ECOLAB Type in product name and search for SDS.
Fisher Scientific Type in SDS product you are searching for SDS
GC America Inc. Look for product name you are searching for SDS.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Search by typing in product you are looking for and scroll down to find the SDS.
Ivoclar Vivadent Search for product you are looking for. Click on product and to get information.
Lang Dental Manufacturing Company, Inc. Search by product name for SDS.
Promega Search by product name under “Search SDS”.
Pharmco-Aaper Find the product name to get SDS.
Sigma-Aldrich Under “Data Specific Search” search by “Product Name” and under “Search Term” enter product name and click “Search”.  Find the phenol description you are looking for and find “SDS” (next to Pricing) with and click on download arrow.
Sterilex Find product name, “Learn More” and “Resources” to get SDS.
Steris Corporation Search by product name, product number, document title, or key word and “Search SDS”.
Temrex Corporation Click on product name for SDS.

New England University Collaboration on Renewable and Sustainable Energy (NEUCORSE)

Purpose

UConn’s NEUCORSE initiative is designed to catalyze collaboration among universities in New England to address our nation’s urgent need for renewable and sustainable energy.  Building on UConn’s existing strengths in clean energy engineering, this program seeks to support the development of cross-institutional teams with the expertise and capacity to successfully tackle the most challenging scientific and technical problems in this area.  NEUCORSE awards should be thought of as planning grants that will provide seed funding and support team development activities to prepare teams for larger-scale activities in the future.   We welcome proposals focusing on any topic that is relevant to the larger goal of developing renewable and sustainable energy solutions and that can be best addressed through sustained, interdisciplinary efforts within New England.  It is expected that proposed teams be diverse, including investigators from underrepresented groups and a mixture of early-career and more senior investigators.  It is also expected that the planning activities proposed include activities that prepare for future work that will have significant broader impacts, including workforce development.

For more information, please visit the program’s website here.

HCRAC Newsletter

We are happy to introduce our new Health Center Research Advisory Council newsletter. Under the leadership of the Office of the Vice President for Research, the members of HCRAC are working hard to support the research mission at UConn Health. HCRAC plans to release a newsletter twice a year that will highlight our excellent research core facilities, as well as you make you aware of the resources offered. These resources include: Emergency bridge grants, travel support for students and postdocs, and Equipment programs.

Research Development Services (RDS): Proposal Development Services Overview

Overview

As a University, we’ve committed to work together to substantially grow UConn/UConn Health’s capacity for high-level research, scholarship, and creative endeavors.  As part of its Research Development (RD) efforts, the Office of the Vice President for Research now offers proposal development services to increase the competitiveness of proposals UConn/UConn Health investigators submit to funders.  The services offered include consultation, brief and in depth proposal reviews, and large and complex proposal support.

Proposal development services build on the success of OVPR RD initiatives such as grantwriting training and seed funding programs by providing grantwriting support, including grantsmanship reviews, proposal editing, and project management support for large and complex proposals.  These services are designed to ensure that high-quality science and scholarship proposed by UConn investigators can be as competitive as possible.

To learn more about the role and mission of our Research Development Services team, the services we offer, and to submit requests for service, please visit this link.

Proposal Development, Review, and Submission Timeline

Full Business Days Before Submission Deadline

>6 days: PI provides application components to local grants administrator (or Faculty Services)

5 days: Complete application (plus draft scientific components) and IPR submitted to SPS

5-2 days: SPS reviews proposal and provides feedback

2 days: Corrections made and all approvals in place

Noon day before deadline: Final proposal and PI authorization to submit to sponsor provided to SPS

1-0 days before deadline: Proposal submitted

 

Important Notice on Proposal Submission Policy

Posted on by

Revision Date: March 8, 2021 – revisions in italics

As an applicant organization, UConn/UConn Health has an institutional responsibility to verify the accuracy, validity, conformity, and eligibility of all applications submitted to a sponsor on behalf of the University. We have been exploring how to ensure the best delivery of services, meet sponsor and institutional policy requirements that were highlighted in the recent NSF audit, and to ensure that the University has sufficient time to review and certify proposals and increase the number of successful applications. To that end, we have conducted a survey of all faculty who submitted grant proposals within the last two years, listened to the research community’s comments at town halls, and solicited input from the President, Provost, deans, associate deans for research, the President’s Research Advisory Council, University Senate, and other faculty groups.

This listening process revealed that one of the main challenges for both investigators and staff is the bottleneck that occurs immediately prior to proposal submission. In recent years, nearly two-thirds of proposals submitted (with all components ready) are received by Sponsored Program Services (SPS) within one working day or less of the sponsor deadline.

Numerous proposals are being submitted just barely in time, meaning there is little time for a thorough review. Additionally, proposals that have been submitted to SPS far in advance also routinely lack a timely and thorough review because other proposals with an earlier deadline came in and “cut the line.”

To begin to remedy the proposal submission bottleneck, beginning May 5, 2021, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) will implement the current policy on internal deadlines for the review and submission of sponsored project proposals. The process change aims to reduce last day proposal submissions and will prioritize proposals as received. Once the policy is implemented, final administrative components of a proposal must be received by SPS Pre-Award at least five full business days in advance of the submission due date (along with a draft of the scientific components). The final submission ready proposal is due to SPS no later than noon the day before the sponsor deadline.

Exceptions include short turnaround RFPs, last minute sponsor requests, or a last minute opportunity to join a proposal under submission by another institution. Also, each UConn investigator will be given one pass to use in the event they are not able to meet the internal five-day deadline. As is the current practice, SPS Pre-Award will make every effort to submit these proposals when possible. Please visit the OVPR website for additional information and FAQs regarding the internal deadline policy.

To increase faculty support related to proposal preparation, the OVPR will be taking the following additional steps:

  • The OVPR is working to address situations where investigators do not have dedicated administrative support for the preparation of a proposal; we will continue to increase staff training opportunities, extend faculty service offerings, and work to simplify the submission process.
  • The OVPR will implement a dashboard to increase transparency and provide information on the status and order of review.
  • The OVPR will provide additional research development services, such as grant editing and proofreading, proposal review, large and complex grant support, and research funding consultation. Further information regarding these services and how to request them is available on the OVPR Research Development section of this website.
  • The OVPR will continue to work with and incorporate feedback from faculty working groups.  Upon recommendation of the University Senate, the President formed a sponsored projects working group to identify impediments to the expeditious review of sponsored project proposals in advance of deadlines.  The group’s report is available on the University Senate website.

Development, review, and submission timeline:

Full Business Days Before Submission Deadline

>6 days: PI provides application components to local grants administrator (or Faculty Services)

5 days: Complete application (plus draft scientific components) and IPR submitted to SPS

5-2 days: SPS reviews proposal and provides feedback

2 days: Corrections made and all approvals in place

Noon day before deadline: Final proposal and PI authorization to submit to sponsor provided to SPS

1-0 days before deadline: Proposal submitted

SPS is responsible for ensuring that applications are compliant and that institutional and sponsor guidelines are met including administrative, management, and scientific information. Please contact Paul Hudobenko (hudobenko@uchc.edu/UConn Health) or Mark Reeves (mark.reeves@uconn.edu/Storrs and Regionals) with questions as we move to a consistent and sustainable process.

Thank you for your continued cooperation in our collaborative efforts to advance UConn’s mission through innovative research, scholarship, and creative pursuits.

Proposal Submission Policy & Due Dates

The purpose of this website is to provide information, guidance and answer FAQs on the proposal processes that will go into effect on May 5, 2021 consistent with our current Proposal Submission Policy.  Over the next three months, the OVPR will be collaborating with a Faculty Senate working group and other faculty and staff groups to identify additional ways to improve University support for proposal preparation and submission.

Information on this webpage will be updated periodically with additions being noted in the text.

Resources:

Frequently Asked Questions

Have a question that isn’t answered here?  Send your question to kim.benoit@uconn.edu and SPS will respond to you.

Procedure Related

ARE THERE EXCEPTIONS TO POLICY REQUIRING SPS PRE-AWARD TO RECEIVE PROPOSALS 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPONSOR DUE DATE?

Potential exceptions to the 5-day due date include:

  • One pass allowed for each faculty
  • Short turnaround RFPs, last minute sponsor requests, or last minute opportunities/collaborations
  • If no other proposals are ahead in the queue

WHAT PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED WHEN SUBMITTING TO SPS 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPONSOR DUE DATE?

All final proposal documents except for the scientific narrative as noted below:

  • IPR (completed and signed)
  • Final budget
  • Final budget justification
  • Solicitation/Guidelines (if there is no solicitation, please indicate this)
  • Other internal forms, completed and fully approved (cost sharing, PI eligibility, etc.), if applicable
  • Subrecipient documents, if applicable
  • Complete proposal with all documents included/uploaded
  • Narrative documents including abstract, project description, and references cited may all be in draft

HOW ARE THE 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS CALCULATED?

The 5 full business days before the sponsor due date equate to one week prior (e.g., if the due date is Thursday, the proposal and internal documents [except final narrative] are due the Thursday prior to the due date). Weekends and holidays do not count in the calculation.   For more information and a helpful graphic, please see the Proposal Development, Review, and Submission webpage.

WHAT ARE THE SCIENTIFIC COMPONENT DOCUMENTS THAT CAN BE SUBMITTED IN DRAFT OR FINAL FORMAT 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPONSOR DUE DATE OR DAY OF SUBMISSION?

The scientific component documents include abstract, project narrative, and references cited.

 

WHEN ARE THE FINAL SCIENTIFIC COMPONENTS REQUIRED?

Final scientific components should be submitted to SPS Pre-Award 1.5 full business days prior to the sponsor due date or day of submission.

 

ARE ALL SIGNATURES ON THE IPR FORM REQUIRED 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPONSOR DUE DATE OR ON DAY OF SUBMISSION?

All signatures except for the Dean are required.

 

MY PROPOSAL INCLUDES ONE OR MORE SUBAWARDS. WHAT SUBRECIPIENT DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE SPONSOR DUE DATE OR DAY OF SUBMISSION?

The UConn/UConn Health Information and Compliance Form for Subrecipients, scope of work, budget, budget justification, and F&A Rate Agreement are required for each subrecipient.

MY PROPOSAL DOES NOT HAVE A HARD DUE DATE. WHEN WILL THE REVIEW AND SUBMISSION OCCUR?

Beginning May 5, 2021, SPS Pre-Award will review proposals in the order they are received in full.  Only exceptions such as the use of a one-time pass by an investigator or a short notice opportunity will fall outside this review order.

 

A SPONSOR REACHED OUT TO ME WITH A FUNDING OPPORTUNITY, BUT THE PROPOSAL REQUIRES SUBMISSION WITH LESS THAN 5 FULL BUSINESS DAYS’ NOTICE OR IN A TIMEFRAME WHERE I CANNOT MEET THE 5 FULL BUSINESS DAY REQUIREMENT. WILL SPS ACCEPT AND REVIEW THE PROPOSAL?

Yes. Contact SPS Pre-Award as soon as you learn of the opportunity to coordinate review, certification, and submission of the proposal. Best efforts will be made to complete and submit the proposal on time.

Exception Pass

HOW DO I REQUEST AND USE THE PASS?

Faculty should request that the pass be used in the email when providing the proposal documents to SPS Pre-Award.

HOW DOES THE PASS WORK?

Each faculty member has one exception pass that may be used to advance a proposal for review by SPS when the proposal misses the required 5 full business day internal due date. Any investigator on the proposal may use their pass and only one pass per proposal will be needed. A pass is used when an investigator tells SPS that they wish to use their pass. SPS will approve and track the use of a faculty pass and document its use over email. Approval of passes will be contingent upon proposal volume and ability to provide timely and thorough reviews prior to sponsor due dates.

HOW MANY PASSES WILL EACH FACULTY MEMBER GET?

Each faculty member has one exception pass that may be used to advance a proposal for review by SPS when the proposal misses the required 5 full business day internal due date.  Once used, no more passes will be issued. (Passes are not issued annually - this is a once in a lifetime pass.)

Other Questions

HOW DO OTHER INSTITUTIONS HANDLE INTERNAL PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DUE DATES? WHAT ARE BEST PRACTICES?

An internal proposal due date is a best practice at many peer institutions. Many have policies and procedures that are like UConn/UCH's. One key difference is that most also include hard due dates for science whereas UConn/UCH allows for the science to be submitted 1.5 days in advance to ensure a successful submission.

WHAT ARE THE SUCCESS RATES OF PROPOSALS THAT ARE SUBMITTED LATE?

At UConn/UConn Health as well as many other institutions, junior faculty proposal submissions fare worse when they are received close to the submission due date. Senior faculty proposals fare about the same and in some cases better (those serving on panels may submit late, for instance).

IS THERE A PLAN TO SCALE UP SPS SERVICES GIVEN THE UNIVERSITY GOAL TO DOUBLE RESEARCH FUNDING?

SPS has been working diligently to address staffing levels against growing research volume and to improve tools available to investigators and staff. The internal proposal due dates will allow for higher quality and timely review and certification of proposals.

The OVPR is working to implement additional research development and proposal support services such as editing, large/complex proposal support, and consultation to assist investigators to develop the best possible proposals.

WHAT DOES RECENT DATA ON PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS SHOW?

Nearly two-thirds of proposals are completed with all sections submitted to SPS within 24 hours of the sponsor due date. The data is based on when SPS Pre-Award receives the complete proposal for submission - it does not include the time of a local administrator (Department, Center, School, or Faculty Services) in preparing the proposal.

IS THE PROPOSAL BOTTLENECK DUE TO THE PANDEMIC?

No. The bottleneck preceded the pandemic.

HOW MANY LAST-MINUTE GRANTS WERE COVID-19 PROPOSALS?

Reviewing all submissions since March 2020, COVID-19 research grants represented only 8.5% of last minute submissions at Storrs and 11.9% of last-minute submissions at UConn Health.