OSP will also assist to facilitate review and completion of any required university upper administration Letters of Commitment (and similar such documents) per the process below. Note: Proposal teams working with the Research and Faculty Development group will also follow the process below.
The above documents are distinguished from the standard letters of commitment, letters of support, letters of intent provided to lead institutions where UI is subaward and to sponsors that request one. For purposes of the process below, we are discussing any letter of commitment required by the sponsor that signals institutional commitment to the program.
Sponsors, particularly Federal sponsors, may require a Letter of Commitment (or similar title) as part of the required proposal submission in the Request for Proposal (RFP) guidelines. For best results, the content of that letter should be prepared by a member of the proposal team as the required signatories will ordinarily not have the time or specific technical knowledge to do justice to the letter and the proposal.
OSP will review the letter for compliance with the proposal guidelines as well as check for voluntary cost share or other problematic commitments. They will also coordinate the review and signature process with the appropriate offices.
Note that the Provost and President's offices request at least 14 business days for review of a requested letter; please plan for this timeframe.
- Proposal team prepares text of the letter and submits a ticket (this service request) via # 2 below.
- Provide text of letter to OSP Pre-award Sponsored Programs Administrator (SPA) via VERAS AT LEAST 16 business days in advance of the submission deadline (or planned submission date), as well as a link to the solicitation/request for proposal (if not already in VERAS Section 4)
- SPA will review the text and may request revisions
- SPA will coordinate with AOR for final edits prior to 5 below
- AOR will provide the approved draft letter to to the correct contact at the the Provost or President's office AT LEAST TWO FULL WEEKS PRIOR TO THE DEADLINE.
- The request will include a copy of this process with the deadline in RED and steps remaining highlighted for convenience.
- The contact will request signature and return the signed letter to AOR who will provide a copy of the letter to the SPA and/proposal team via VERAS.