Routing Policy

As required by University of Iowa Policy Manual section V.5.2 all external funding requests and related documents (i.e. proposal, budget, and sponsor-required materials) must be routed through departmental, collegiate, and institutional channels before submission to an external sponsor. The Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) must receive the complete proposal and routing form at least five working days prior to the sponsor deadline. No exceptions are allowed. Principal Investigators (PIs) and Departmental Administrators are responsible for monitoring routing progress. Click here to initiate a routing form and information on creating and maintaining workflow routes.

The routing requirement applies to:

• Preliminary applications, including letters of intent, white papers, or similar documents, that include a detailed budget, require an institutional signature, and/or submission by DSP.
• Full applications that represent new, revised, competitive renewal, or supplemental funding requests. For Cayuse applications: the PI must check the box on the Cayuse "Routing & Approval" page to indicate that the entire proposal (including forms and attachment contents) is 100% ready for review and submission to the funding agency by the Division of Sponsored Programs).
• Non-competitive renewal applications/progress reports that include a budget, require an institutional signature, or require DSP to submit in an e-submission system.
• New and renewal contracts, including subawards and non-monetary agreements.
• Incremental-funding contract amendments reflecting a change in the original estimated total cost or a change in the statement of work.
• Budget revisions.
• Changes to Project Director/Principal Investigator.
• Other actions requiring institutional approval.
• Administrative changes or other actions as requested by DSP. 

*Due to the potential volume, concerns noted in review, technical difficulties with online systems, and other possible complications, applications failing to meet the internal routing deadline may receive limited or no review, or miss the sponsor’s deadline.

*DSP/UI reserves the right to administratively withdraw the proposal if critical issues are later identified, and the PI’s department will be responsible for any financial costs, including direct and F&A costs, that were excluded from the proposal or proposed or calculated incorrectly. There are no central UI funds available to cover such costs. 

PI Responsibilities

• The PI assurance on the proposal routing form indicates their agreement to assume responsibility for project fiscal management and to abide by all University, governmental, and sponsor certifications, policies, and regulations.
• The PI must accept the assurances on the routing form. Acceptance of assurances may not  be delegated to another individual.

Departmental Responsibilities

• Create and update workflow paths associated with the routing form.  
• Review the routing form and proposal for accuracy and compliance with University, sponsor, and org/departmental requirements.
• The Departmental assurance on the proposal routing form indicates their agreement to assume responsibility for project fiscal management and to abide by all University, governmental, and sponsor certifications, policies, and regulations.

Org/Collegiate Responsibilities

• Create and update workflow paths associated with the routing form.  
• Review the routing form and proposal for accuracy and compliance with University, sponsor, and org/collegiate requirements.
• The org/collegiate assurance on the proposal routing form indicates their agreement to assume responsibility for project fiscal management and to abide by all University, governmental, and sponsor certifications, policies, and regulations.

Division of Sponsored Programs Review

The DSP provides the final review and authorizes the application for submission on the institution's behalf. Specifically, the DSP:

• Reviews the Routing Form and application/documentation in relation to institutional concerns and administrative issues, with particular attention to budgetary matters, effort commitments, cost-sharing requirements, institutional information, institutional resources, conflicts of interest, export control issues, and other assurance/compliance issues, and ensures the required signatures are in place for principal investigator(s), department(s), and college(s).
• Reviews the application/documentation in relation to sponsor requirements, with the goal of forwarding complete, compliant, competitive applications/documentation that merit full consideration.         
• Authorizes the application/agreement on the University's behalf, providing an institutional signature when required.
• Completes the submission when required by the sponsor or requested by the principal investigator.
• Establishes and maintains application- and agreement-specific records in a computerized tracking system, providing various campus offices and the State Board of Regents with reports of applications submitted/awards received.