Dear all,

It was brought to my attention again that there were still confusions about how proposal reviews are being handled. So below are a few quick reminders re the now-not-too-new practices established and enforced by the ORS/VPRIO.

- Internal review deadline = 14 work days before the agency/sponsor deadline for any and all types of externally-funded proposals (grants, contracts, research agreements). This is the deadline you submit to the Riddell Faculty (Sadia and me) your next-to-final version of the proposal (including budgetary details) and a FAAF that has already been signed by your Dept. Head. We will review, sign the FAAF, and then submit your package to ORS, on your behalf, for their compliance review. You are allowed (and encouraged!) to keep polishing your proposal while it’s under internal reviews.

- Overhead costs (aka “institutional costs”, “indirect research costs” or "facilities and administrative costs”): Whenever allowed, UM requires overhead cost be included in the budget. Typical rate is 25% for NFRF grants, 15% for other non-Tri-Agency grants, and 30% for contracts/research agreements. Details can be found at: https://umanitoba.ca/research/office-research-services/funding-application-a....

- Exception requests: Request for either deadline extension or overhead exception will need to be approved directly by VPRI under truly exceptional circumstances, and I can attest that such approval has been rare (if any!).

I understand not everyone is happy with these practices, but they are "the law of the land” and I am afraid I don’t see any appetite from the Admin to make any changes anytime soon.

Any further questions please drop me a line anytime!

Fei