Proposal Submission Categories

This information is needed by sponsors and by the Office of Sponsored Programs for record keeping and tracking purposes. The submission categories are:

• New proposals: Original requests for funding from an agency, for projects that have not been funded by that sponsor previously.
• Renewal: Requests for continued funding for an existing sponsored project beyond the term of the current award. Renewal proposals (unlike supplements, described below) typically ask for funding at annual levels similar to those requested in the original proposal. The NIH uses the term “Competing Continuation” instead of “Renewal.”
• Continuation: Requests for additional funding for an existing project.
• Supplemental: Requests for additional funds for an existing sponsored project, typically for a particular item of equipment or subproject not anticipated in the original proposal. Supplemental funding requests are typically smaller than the original request, and usually for a shorter term. Supplements only rarely extend the period of performance.
• Limited Submission: Certain agencies limit the submissions to a call for proposals to one or two from the university. To ensure U of I does not exceed the specified limit, the University Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) will normally conduct an internal selection process prior to agency submission to determine which proposals will go forward to the sponsor.
• Preliminary: This type of request is made in advance of a full proposal and is sometimes submitted for consideration of a formal invitation to submit a full proposal and other times to assist the sponsor to estimate and adequately plan for the volume of full proposals to expect. These requests sometimes called letters of intent (LOI), notices of intent (NOI) or white papers.
• Training: Requests designed to support the research training of scientists for careers as well as to help professional schools to establish, expand or improve programs of continuing professional education.
• Proposal Revision: Requests for significant changes to a project, such as a major change in the budget, a change in the scope of work, or both.
• Resubmission: Typically a response to a request from the program officer of the sponsoring agency after submission of an unfunded request for funding. The resubmission will generally contain responses to the review panel’s comments from the first submission.