Preliminary Proposals

I. PURPOSE

To establish the requirement to notify the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) of all preliminary proposals and contracts, ensuring that preliminary proposals are not constructed outside of established University process.

II. REFERENCES

WSU Policy 4-25

III. DEFINITION

Preliminary Proposal

A preliminary proposal is a brief document generated for the main purpose of arousing interest in a future project with potential for funding.

IV. PROCEDURE

A. Occasionally some principal investigators may find it desirable to submit a draft of a preliminary proposal to program mangers at an agency for a draft review or comments before an official proposal is submitted through regular channels. Normally a funded project would not be possible through such a preliminary contact. A preliminary proposal must meet University criteria set forth in Policy 4-25.

B. In order that the administration may be aware of such contracts and OSP can be prepared to monitor preliminary contacts, such a preliminary proposal should be labeled as to its unofficial nature. This can be done by the principal investigator noting the following on the proposal:

THIS PROPOSAL IS SUBMITTED FOR PRELIMINARY REVIEW AND FEASIBILITY BY YOUR AGENCY. IT WILL REQUIRE AN ADMINISTRATIVE SIGNATURE PRIOR TO ACCEPTANCE AND IS SUBJECT TO ANY REQUIRED NEGOTIATIONS.

C. The Principal Investigator should forward a copy of the preliminary proposal to OSP.