Review and Submission

Acting in the capacity of the University's designated authorized institutional official, ORSP staff review and approve all sponsored research proposals on behalf of the principal investigator and the University.  ORSP provides a comprehensive pre-submission administrative review to ensure a complete and accurate proposal and compliance with sponsor and MUSC institutional policies.  When the proposal is complete, ORSP provides institutional endorsement of the proposal.

Institutional Deadlines

The University policy for proposal submission requires that a completed proposal must be submitted to ORSP three (3) business days in advance of the sponsor's deadline.  This allows your grants administrator adequate time to conduct a thorough review of your proposal and budget, and time to make corrections, if necessary.  This also allows us to submit any electronic applications before the last day of the deadline, thus avoiding any transmission problems that could prevent the successful submission of your proposal.  A sponsor system crash or slow down can result in delayed notification by the sponsor.  If there is an error in your application that requires a revision before it can be accepted, it could result in a missed deadline.  The best way to avoid these problems is to submit your proposal as early as possible.

Complete proposal package defined:

A complete proposal package means ALL of the *sponsor-required-sections/forms (e.g. face page, budget, research aims, biographical sketches, etc.) of the proposal are completed and submitted to ORSP along with a fully routed and approved Internal Processing Form (IPF).

Note the official 3 business day count begins when the complete proposal package is sent to ORSP. Often this is the date of the last non-ORSP approver on the required IPF form, provided the proposal is attached to the IPF or has already been received by ORSP.

ORSP understands and anticipates improvements, tweaks and/or revisions may be necessary during the 3 business day window prior to the actual submission date.  However, if any required section (e.g. face page, budget, research aims, biographical sketches, etc.) is missing or incomplete inside of the 3 business day window, then the proposal would not be approved as having met the 3 business day deadline.

*Sponsor-required-sections/forms may also include MUSC forms such as up-to-date MUSC VA Memorandums of Understanding (VA MOUs), Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) External Investigator forms or any other form (internal or external) required for a fully compliant proposal submission.

Required Institutional Approval

The Institutional Processing Form (IPF) contains information required for institutional approval to perform the work proposed in the research contract or grant application. This information is used for reporting to the University, the Board of Trustees and the General Public. This form is web based and must be completed on-line.  Signatures/Approvals are used as follows:

REQUIRED:
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator's Department Chair or Division Head

If proposal is being managed by a department or unit other the PI's home department:
Managing Unit Chair or Director

If any faculty investigators listed on the budget are in a different department from the PI:
Department Chair or Division Head

Signatures

Official Signing for MUSC

R. David Azbill, Associate Director
Research & Sponsored Programs
Phone: (843) 792-3838
Fax: (843) 792-6447 

Heather A. Ferguson, Assistant Director
Research & Sponsored Programs
Phone: (843) 792-2040
Fax: (843) 792-6447 

Official to be notified if an award is made:

R. Darren McCants, Director
Research & Sponsored Programs
Phone: (843) 792-3838
Fax: (843) 792-6447

Routing - Office Locations

WHAT	WHY	WHERE
Application, proposal data sheet & associated forms	Institutional Review, Approvals and signature	606 Harborview Tower 604 Harborview Tower (Corporate only)
Human research review protocols	IRB approval	601 Harborview Tower
Animal research review protocols	IACUC approval	601 Harborview Tower
Use of microorganisms, rDNA, and/or biotoxins	IBC approval	601 Harborview Tower
Invention disclosure forms	Intellectual property rights	909 Harborview Tower
Material Transfer Agreements	Institutional Review and Signature	604 Harborview Tower