The Vice Chancellor for Research Office (VCR) and the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) jointly announce new campus procedures for Limited Submission Programs.

In Limited Submission Programs, the sponsor restricts the number of applications or proposals a campus can submit to the agency. The guidelines for these programs require institutions to screen pre-proposals or nominations to determine which applications will be submitted for competition. Generally, institutions are allowed to submit one or two proposals or nominations to the sponsor.

Effective immediately, SPO will be responsible for announcing all limited submission programs to the campus and will gather the limited submission applications and nominations. The Vice Chancellor for Research Office will coordinate the internal campus review and will notify the selected applicants.

There are two Limited Submission Programs at Berkeley. One is for nominations for faculty prizes which are reviewed by the Senate Faculty Awards Committee. The other program involves large-scale proposals to sponsoring agencies. These are reviewed by ad hoc faculty committees coordinated by the Vice Chancellor for Research.

The new campus procedures which relate to both programs are as follows:

1. ) Announcements will be made via a new SPO email listserv that has been specifically developed for the limited submission programs. The initial list of email addresses will be taken from SPO’s current Quick News Bulletin. To be added to the listserv, please contact Nancy Han (@ mailto:nthan@uclink4.berkeley.edu ) in the Sponsored Projects Office.

2. ) Whenever possible the limited submission programs will be announced two to three months prior to the sponsor’s due date. SPO will also keep an up-to-date list of limited submission and direct prize announcements on the SPO Web site. A special edition of the SPO’s Research Advocate Funding Guide on the limited submission programs will be forthcoming and will be reproduced annually.

3. ) A new cover sheet has been developed which requires Department Chair or Dean approvals. Approvals will also be sought if the full application has been selected to go forward to the funding agency. The cover sheet can be downloaded from the SPO Web site at http://www.spo.berkeley.edu/Forms/UCForms.html. [This url will be included in all announcements of opportunities from SPO.]

4. ) The Vice Chancellor for Research Office will notify PIs of the results of the internal review process. The selected project(s)/nominees must follow university and agency guidelines for submission. Proposals must be submitted through SPO, with the Proposal Review Form (PRF) and all the appropriate campus approvals.

Under the Limited Submission Program for the large-scale proposals, the campus has eliminated the need for investigators to prepare a full proposal until the final selection is made. Pre-proposals will include:

1. ) A three-to-five page project description, a curriculum vita for each investigator, and a one-page budget that summarizes the total project period.

2. ) Requests for matching funds or exceptions to campus policies must be identified at this stage and included in the budget page. Requests will be negotiated if the project is selected for submission.

Under the Limited Submission Program for faculty prizes, the Faculty Awards Committee would like to see:

1. ) A two-to-five page letter of nomination or application (depending on the requirements of the program);

2. ) A letter of support from the department chair or ORU director (in addition to the signed cover sheet);

3. ) Two to three nomination letters (depending on the requirements of the program).

4. ) Budgets are NOT required by the Faculty Awards Committee. However, if the nomination is selected to go forward then a budget might be required by the program.

If you have any questions about these new procedures for the Limited Submissions Programs, please contact Laura Mays in the Vice Chancellor for Research Office at redbeard@uclink4.berkeley.edu or Shelley Sprandel in the Sponsored Projects Office at spore@socrates.berkeley.edu.

Beth Burnside
Vice Chancellor Research

Joyce Freedman
Director Sponsored Projects Office