Principal Investigator Resources

Getting Started

I want to...

The Research and Innovation Office provides support and information to CU Boulder PIs about funding opportunities and sources. In addition, the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) provides general and sponsor specific guidance for building proposals.

Start a proposal

OCG Proposal Analysts work closely with Principal Investigators (PIs) and Department Administrators, providing expertise in budgeting and proposal preparation to help PIs prepare the best possible, compliant proposal.

Submit a completed PSR form and budget to your Proposal Analyst at least five business days before the deadline. Proposals that require subcontractors or cost share should be submitted ten business days before the deadline.

Prepare & Submit Proposals provides detailed information on the proposal process.

Request an extension

Use the No-Cost Extension Request Form to initiate the process. The request will be submitted according to the procedures of the sponsoring agency. With some sponsors the request will be submitted through an online system, such as Fastlane, NSSC, or ERA Commons. In other situations a request will be submitted via email to the Sponsor's authorized signing official. Please note that there are deadlines for submitting these requests, which will vary according to sponsor requirements. Contact your Grant or Contract Officer about the requirements for submitting an extension request. Find your Grant or Contract Officer in the Unit Directory.

Check the status of an award

After an award is received, it is logged into infoED and routed to your OCG Grant or Contract Officer for review and processing before being routed electronically to the Campus Controller's Office (CCO) to be input into the financial system, which generates a SpeedType. Learn more about the definitions of the various statuses and where to locate them in infoEd:

Award Statuses

Add a sub to my award

If a subrecipient was not identified as part of the proposal documentation, the sponsor usually requires prior approval to add them to the sponsored project. Work directly with your OCG Grant or Contract Officer to get sponsor prior approval for the subrecipient request.

New Researchers

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Who to contact in OCG

OCG staff is divided into teams with expertise specifically tied to functions used throughout the award lifecycle. Proposal Analysts and Grant, Contract and Subcontract Officers are all assigned to departments. You can locate your OCG team in the Directory.

Transferring in awards from my last institution

As soon as you know you will be coming to CU Boulder, notify your unit and the OCG staff assigned to your unit about all awards that may be transferring to get help get the process started.

Resources for Transferring Awards INTO CU Boulder

How sponsored project offices are structured at CU Boulder

The Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) is the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) responsible as the Office of Record for the administration of sponsored research agreements and funding on the CU Boulder campus. View our organizational chart. The Campus Controller's Office oversees the post-award financial administration of sponsored research for CU Boulder and directly managing accounts for Restricted Funds 30, 31 and 33.

Developing a proposal budget

To start your proposal budget, contact your Proposal Analyst and provide either a draft budget on the budget template or email a narrative of what you want to include. Your Proposal Analyst will need some project details, which are best provided on the Proposal Submission Request (PSR) form.

Your Proposal Analyst will review or draft your budget and work with you to finalize budget numbers and any additional required forms. Detailed budget information about requirements and components is available on the Detailed Proposal Process page.

Submitting a report

Information on various reports required by sponsors and how they are submitted can be found on the Reporting and Deliverables webpage. If you need assistance, email ocgreports@colorado.edu or contact Betty Rasmussen at 303-492-9660.