Research proposals submitted to NIH, NSF, other governmental agencies, and private sponsors for funding are legally binding, and must be reviewed and officially submitted by the university. Columbia's Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) is responsible for final proposal review and institutional sign-off. Because this review step is required for all submissions, it is recommended that proposals be submitted in advance of major submission deadlines.
Although every department is assigned a SPA Project Officer who can be contacted with questions, most VP&S departments/centers/institutes have a pre-award grant administrator that will provide you with personalized help. The pre-award grant administrator will work directly with you to compile your application, prepare budgets, upload your documents, and send the application to SPA for final review.
Several VP&S departments/centers/institutes utilize the VP&S Grants Management Services to perform this function. You can use an online form to determine whether the Grants Management Services provide pre-award support to your department. If you are still unsure who provides pre-award support for your department, please contact your department/division administrator.
