Who can be Principal Investigator?  

Others may request approval to serve as a Lead PI or Principal Investigator (Co-PI). For persons with the following job titles, Lead PI or Principal Investigator status may be considered as PI eligible. Please contact your grants and contracts specialist for further information. 

How do I calculate the budget?

Preparation of the budget is, for many researchers, the most difficult section of the proposal. Granting agencies see hundreds of proposals yearly and are proficient at comparing level of funding requested to the scope of research work proposed. Therefore, it is important that the budget section of the proposal reflects, as accurately as possible, the funding needed to carry out the proposed research.

The Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA) created a budget tool to assist in completing a budget request, applying fringe benefit and facilities and administrative cost rates, documenting sub recipient agreements, consultants, matching funds, and cost sharing. Prepared to handle a simple survey to a complex five year study, the budget tool takes care of the complicated calculations involved in drafting any budget. GCA highly recommends that Investigators use a budget tool to estimate costs for all proposals. The latest version of the budget builder tool can be found under GCA forms. 

What if cost sharing is required?

Complete a separate budget for your cost-shared expenses and items. After completing a cost share budget, complete a Cost Share Approval form and obtain required approvals. The cost share budget and cost share approval form should be uploaded as attachments in the proposal in Cayuse SP. Departments and Colleges will be required to approve proposals in Cayuse SP when items are noted or implied as cost share in the proposal documents. A blank copy of the current budget tool and Cost Share Approval form can be found under GCA forms.

What if I want to include a relative in my budget? 

The University's policy on nepotism is found in Section 1.2.6 of the UNT Policy Manual

When do I need to submit a Significant Financial Interest Disclosure? 

 All applicants for external funding and all researchers with active externally funded projects must complete and submit a Significant Financial Interest Disclosure form annually and upon acquiring new significant financial interests. Complete the online disclosure webform. For additional information, the Policy is found in Section 13.005 of the UNT Policy Manual.  

What if human subjects are involved?

Any research involving the use of human subjects is required to secure Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval prior to any contact with human subjects. While the typical connotation of human subject research suggests projects such as medical experiments, applications reviewed by the UNT IRB range from simple surveys to intense biofeedback research. It is recommended that Investigators review the guidelines, application, and training available from the IRB home page.​  

What if animals are involved? 

Any research involving the use of live vertebrate animals is required to secure Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval prior to beginning the project. It is recommended that Investigators review the guidelines and applications that can be found on the IACUC page.​

What if recombinant DNA or biohazardous reagents are involved?

Projects involving the use of recombinant DNA molecules, human materials, or biohazardous reagents require prior approval by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). An IBC application for the registration of such projects should be completed, signed, and sent to the Office of Grants and Contracts Administration for forwarding to the IBC for review. These requirements apply to both funded and non-funded research. Please contact Jamie.Peno@unt.edu for questions. 

What if my project involves radiation or lasers? 

Researchers who are planning projects involving radiation/radioisotopes and/or lasers should contact the Grants and Contracts Administration. 

After Proposal Submission   

I have heard my proposal will be funded. What does that mean?

 Principal investigators are often notified by their program director, technical monitor, etc., that their proposal is to be awarded.  At that point, it is assumed that an award is forthcoming, but the process of receiving the official award documents from the sponsor is quite involved.

Once the program officer recommends a proposal for award, it usually has to be approved by a division director.  After which, it goes to procurement and finally it reaches the sponsor's contracts or grants office. At this point, the sponsor may issue an official notification that the proposal is awarded. This process takes anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks or longer.  Note: The award is not official until the  Grants and Contracts Administration receives an official award document from the sponsor's contracts office.

What is involved in accepting an award?

Before accepting an award on behalf of the University, the Grants & Contracts Specialist who worked on the proposal submission will, in most cases, review all terms and conditions and process. The Grants & Contracts Specialist may work with the GCA Contracts team to negotiate award agreements. 

These items are checked during the review of an award and must be complete before being routed for a Project ID set up:

• A current Financial Conflict of Interest on file with UNT Research Integrity and Compliance
• Human and/or Animal Subjects Approvals with IRB/IACUC/Biosafety (if applicable)
• Proposal on File
• Budget and Budget Justification matching the award
• Cost Share Approval form fully signed (if applicable)
• Subrecipient Documents (if applicable)
• Export Control review for licensing (if applicable)

My award has been accepted, now what? 

Once all documents have been received and your project has been reviewed and processed, it will be routed to the GCA signing representative, who will post the new Project ID (ProjID) assigned to the award. The ProjID account should be used for the processing of project expenditures. ​