University Policies and Procedures Manual (previously Business Policies and Procedures Manual)

Proposal Processing and Development

UPPM 40.02

For more information contact:
   Office of Research 

1.0   Overview and Purpose

WSU investigators seeking extramural support must obtain approval from the following officers, or their delegates, as appropriate prior to submitting a proposal to the Office of Research (OR):

  • Department chair
  • Area Dean
  • Associate Dean for Research (ADR)/ Vice Chancellor for Research (VCR)
  • Chancellor (if applicable)
  • Vice President

University endorsement must be obtained before the submission of any grant, contract, or other agreement that obligates WSU facilities, equipment, and personnel.

All proposed project activities must conform to all Washington State University policies.

2.0   Applicability

This policy applies to requests for support of research, training, education and other scholarly activities that are funded through grant functions.

3.0   Approval Process

The Office of Research-Support and Operations Team reviews the proposed application, coordinates University approval, and facilitates the proposal submission to the external funding source with the PI and their Research Administrators (see Section 4.0 for letters of support).

The OR executes the proposal review and approval process. All written contracts, including grant proposals and funding agreements, must be approved by and, when applicable, transmitted by the OR.

3.1   eREX Form

Principal Investigators (PIs) or their Research Administrators complete an electronic Request for Approval of Application for Extramural Support (eREX) form, which is routed with the proposal through the indicated review chain. A link to the eREX form is located on the Support and Operations Forms and templates website.

3.2   Deadlines

Principal Investigators (PIs) are required to submit the eREX form along with all proposal documents and approvals to the OR. This submission must be made with sufficient time for the routing process to obtain all necessary approvals.

The deadline for submission is no later than 9:00 a.m. PST/PDT, five business days prior to the sponsor’s deadline. This timeline includes the sponsor’s deadline date. Submitting by this deadline ensures that there is enough time for a full proposal review before it is submitted to the sponsor.

A business day is defined as 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding University holidays. If the sponsor deadline falls on a non-business day, Support and Operations must be in receipt of the eREX by 9:00 a.m. PST/PDT, five days prior to the last business day before the sponsor deadline (or 9:00 a.m. PST/PDT five days prior to the business day the deadline shifts to, per sponsor guidelines).

It is strongly recommended that colleges/areas implement an internal deadline policy for their faculty/researchers.  This policy should provide area Research Administrators with three to five business days to support on-time proposal submissions to the system Office of Research.

For proposals eligible to utilize the Narrative Hold option for the technical/programmatic portions of the proposal, PIs should follow the “eREX Narrative Hold Policy information” guideline found on the OR Guidelines Index.

3.2.a   Waivers

Proposals that do not complete the approval process before the OR review deadline require a waiver as part of the eREX routing process. The Support and Operations Team makes all reasonable efforts to submit a proposal received under an approved waiver.

Waivers to the minimum five business day rule may be made only for the following reasons with an appropriate written justification:

  • Official University suspended operations as defined in UPPM 50.40 (e.g., inclement weather).
  • Serious injury or death of a PI, Co-PI, or any other key personnel or immediate family member.
  • Agency announcement of the funding opportunity was published less than two weeks prior to the sponsor deadline (documentation required).

Waiver requests require a PI waiver justification that includes a reasonable rationale and written endorsement by all individuals, via email, in the following approval chain before the eRex is submitted to OR for routing:

  • Department chair/school director and/or research director
  • Area dean or Associate/Assistant Dean for Research and/or Chancellor or Vice Chancellor for Research
  • Office of Research Associate Vice President for Operations (AVPO) or designee (for review and approval)

Approved waiver requests should be included in the corresponding eRex when it is submitted to OR for routing.

Note: In these cases, the Support and Operations Team does not ensure that a proposal requiring electronic submission can be transmitted in time to meet the sponsor’s deadline.

4.0   Executive Signatures

It is the PI’s responsibility to obtain any documents requiring executive-level signatures (e.g., letters of support) prior to the OR review deadline. Signatures from leaders such as Executive Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, Chancellors, the Provost, or the President require at least four weeks for processing, making early requests from the PI essential. Proposals submitted without these completed documents will be considered incomplete.

5.0   Funding Search

PIs in all disciplines who are searching for a funding source are encouraged to sign up to receive e-mail funding alerts from the University subscription to the PIVOT database.

For PIVOT to validate investigators’ affiliation and set up the email alert function, a WSU email account must be used.

Funding sources found in PIVOT may be private or public.

Office of Research-Advancement and Strategy Team personnel are available to assist investigators with completing the online registration for PIVOT.

6.0   Proposal Preparation

The PI determines the most appropriate funding source and prepares a proposal in accordance with the sponsor’s guidelines.

The Office of Research Advancement and Strategy personnel are available to assist investigators in grant writing, grantsmanship, and proposal preparation. The Advancement and Strategy team also offers grant writing workshops and seminars.

PIs should work closely with their Research Administrators (RAs) during the development of the proposal to ensure that all University and agency policies and guidelines are met.

A departmental contact list is available in the MyResearch database.

6.1   Guideline 1 and Guideline 2

Office of Research OR Guideline 1 and OR Guideline 2 provide information regarding proposal preparation and necessary procedures to follow to obtain institutional (WSU) endorsement. PIs should obtain current copies from the Guidelines Index website.

6.2   Budget Approval

The PI obtains approval of the proposal’s budget from a budget-certified individual within their department, unit, college, or campus a recommended two weeks prior to routing the eREX form and proposal through the review chain.

6.3   Private Sponsors

Some sponsors have regulations requiring that proposals be submitted only by institutions that comply with tax code 26 USC 501(c)(3). While WSU has a similar status, the University is not a 501(c)(3) institution. Also, the WSU Foundation (WSUF) serves as the primary contact for some private sponsors.

If the sponsor requires the requesting institution to have 501(c)(3) status or if the sponsor relies upon the WSU Foundation as the primary contact, the Support and Operations Team routes the proposal to the WSUF for submission once review of the approved proposal has been completed. For additional information regarding private sponsors that fall into these categories, review the WSU/WSUF Private Grant Sponsors web page.

6.4   eREX Form

A completed eREX form accompanies all proposals submitted for institutional review and approval (see Section 3.1).

The eRex is for WSU use only. It provides the Support and Operations Team and other WSU personnel with a concise summary of the proposal, including the budget, names of all PIs, special considerations, and an abstract of the proposed work.

6.4.a   Completing the eREX Form

The PI or their Research Administrators completes the form according to directions indicated in OR Guideline 1 and OR Guideline 2. Investigators may obtain current copies of Guidelines 1 and 2 from the Guidelines Index website.

6.4.b   Approval

The eREX form and proposal are routed through the review chain and signatures obtained from administrators indicated on the form, or their delegates.

Proposals involving multiple colleges, departments, campuses, or programs must be reviewed and approved by each unit’s administrator (dean, chair, ADR/VCR, and/or chancellor), or their delegate.

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Revisions:  Feb. 2026 (Rev. 652); Oct. 2022 (Rev. 599); Jan. 2021 (Rev. 560); Aug. 2019 (Rev. 534); April. 2017 (Rev. 489); April 2007 (Rev. 296); Feb. 2007 (Rev. 293); July 1995 (Rev. 97).