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Office of Research and Innovation
Research Administration and Compliance

SPARCS Timely Proposal Submission Policy

Statement of Need

The Office of Sponsored Programs endeavors to advance the research, education and service missions of the university by supporting its colleges, programs, centers and institutes in the timely and compliant application for and administration of external resources. While Sponsored Programs staff are dedicated to enabling proposals and awards to meet sponsor deadlines and expectations, more proposals now require SPARCS input as a result of increasing caseload and complexity of proposal submissions. 

To continue to manage proposal submissions in a timely, thorough and efficient manner, SPARCS is establishing the policy below to: (1) standardize and simplify timeliness requirements; (2) establish clear, consistent and understandable rules for what to include in RUSH request; and (3) encourage accountability and timeliness by internal stakeholders across the university to try to reduce the overall number of RUSH requests.

When is a proposal request a RUSH?

When reaching out to SPARCS for input at proposal stage, requests should be considered RUSH if provided to SPARCS with less than either two (2) or five (5) business days ahead of the due date.

Proposal Requests Requiring Two (2) Business Days Advance Notice

  • Letters of Intent or other transmittal letters
  • Cover pages
  • Submissions to a sponsor portal in which SPARCS has an existing registration

Proposal Requests Requiring Five (5) Business Days Advance Notice

  • Solicitations, Request for Proposals (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), Broad Agency Announcements (BAA) that contain contract terms and/or other relevant terms requiring SPARCS review
  • Representations and Certifications documents
  • Proposal Stage Agreements requiring review/negotiation and signature (Allocation of Rights, Intellectual Property Management Plans, Teaming Agreements, etc.)
  • Submissions requiring new registration in a sponsor portal

How do I route a RUSH proposal request?

Any proposal-stage request made to SPARCS with more than the required advance notice above should not be marked as a RUSH request, but should be routed to SPARCS via PINS, and may also be sent to sps@ncsu.edu for any required review or input.

RUSH Processing Instructions

When sending documents to SPARCS for review outside of PINS with sufficient advance notice, email the RUSH request to SPARCS with the required information below:

  • Send email to sps@ncsu.edu with the following individuals copied: (1) Director of Sponsored Programs (kgschroe@ncsu.edu); (2) Associate Dean for Research (ADR) for the relevant College; (3) sparcs-ops@lists.ncsu.edu.
  • Format the subject line of the email as follows: “RUSH PROPOSAL REQUEST [PINS #] [Required Document(s) (e.g. Reps & Certs, LOI, IPMP, RFP review, etc.)] due by [date/time]
  • Include in the body of the email a description of why the request was not submitted to SPARCS ahead of the relevant two (2) or five (5) day standard deadline.
  • Attach all documentation relevant to the request to the email for SPARCS to use in it’s review and response

Upon receipt of the RUSH request, SPARCS will flag the project to prioritize resources to make every reasonable effort to meet the deadline.  However, please be advised that following the guidelines above does not mean that SPARCS will handle the request immediately, nor does it guarantee that SPARCS will be able to accommodate the request prior to the deadline in all circumstances.

How do I route a non-RUSH proposal request?

Any proposal-stage request made to SPARCS with more than the required advance notice above should not be marked as a RUSH request, but should be sent to sps@ncsu.edu.

Non-Rush Processing Instructions

Email the request to SPARCS with the required information below:

  • Send email to sps@ncsu.edu
  • Format the subject line of the email as follows: “[PINS #] [Required Document(s) (e.g. Reps & Certs, LOI, IPMP, RFP review, etc.)] due by [date/time]
  • Attach all documentation relevant to the request to the email for SPARCS to use in its review and response
Note: Emails to SPARCS for input at proposal stage can be sent to SPARCS via email in accordance with the outlined processes above while a proposal’s associated PINS record is still in progress and has not yet been routed for approvals.  Please reach out to sps@ncsu.edu with any questions.