Frequently Asked Questions

You can browse Federal Agencies, State Agencies and Foundations websites to search for funding announcements. In GeauxGrants you can search using the Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN) module.

As an estimate of project costs, the budget should reflect the decisions you have made in planning the project. A budget should list in detail all expected items of costs (ex. salaries, wages, fringe benefits, operating services, supplies, equipment, publications, travel, tuition, other direct expenses, and facilities and administrative costs). Section I.C.7. of the OSP Guide provides further detail on typical cost categories.

To assist PI's, OSP has created Budget Worksheets. PI's can also contact the Office of Sponsored Programs for questions regarding budget preparation.

In order to ensure compliance with university regulations and policies, the principal investigator (PI) and co-principal investigator (Co-PI) must be an employee of the institution unless the proposal involves one of the following:

  • Non-LSU employees will participate on the project as part of a proposed subcontractor
  • The sponsor requires the proposal to include non-LSU employees as Co-PIs (i.e. NSF GOALI proposals)

For collaborative proposals where LSU is the lead institution, non-LSU employees should be listed as investigators on their institution’s proposal cover sheet. A joint project narrative for the collaborative proposal may include the non-LSU employees as co-PIs.

With department and college approvals, the following may be named as PI:

  • Full or part-time faculty and staff
  • Prospective full or part-time faculty and staff who will be on the university payroll (i.e. in a paid status) during the time of the award.
  • Visiting faculty who will be on the university payroll (i.e. in a paid status) during the time of the award
  • Adjunct or gratis faculty who will be on the university payroll (i.e. in a paid status) at the time of the award
  • Emeritus faculty may serve as PI provided they can fulfill the technical and administrative responsibilities of the project as well as meet Sponsor's approval

With department and college approvals, the following may be named as Co-PI:

  • Anyone who can be named as PI
  • Graduate assistant (a faculty member or unit head must be listed as the PI)
  • Adjunct or gratis faculty not on the university payroll (i.e. not in a paid status)
  • Visiting faculty not on the university payroll (i.e. not in a paid status)

Sponsors may impose stricter regulations. Accordingly, PIs and Co-PIs currently not in a paid status must disclose their current position classifications. If changes to position classifications occur during the course of a funded project, sponsor approval may be necessary.

Proposals must be routed in GeauxGrants at least seven (7) business days prior to the proposal deadline. This lead time is needed to accommodate the review, approval and submission processes now embedded within GeauxGrants.  

Streamlined Review (Required)

The following sections (tabs) must be completed prior to routing:

  • Setup Questions
  • LSU Questionnaire
  • Budget (including the budget justification)
  • Personnel
  • Internal Uploads and Routing
    • This tab includes uploading additional forms such as any sponsor forms which contain budgetary information and/or require Authorized Organizational Representative signature. If the proposal is submitted in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP), a copy of the RFP must be loaded on this tab as well.

Expanded Review (Optional)

OSP staff is available to review the complete proposal for adherence to sponsor guidelines at the request of PI/PD provided that the final proposal is submitted timely (seven (7) business days for standard proposals) through the GeauxGrants system. In addition, a complete review of proposals to private entities will be conducted since a "Standard Research Agreement" will be prepared and submitted with the proposal.  Proposals will need to be in the final format and all components in GeauxGrants should be marked Completed.
In order to be ready for submission, all institutional approvals must be received and all components of the proposal must be complete,  in final format, and entered in the GeauxGrants system at least 24 hours prior to the electronic submission deadline.

Important:  Proposals that do not meet the above routing deadlines run the risk of not being fully reviewed and approved prior to the submission deadline.  Routing incomplete proposal packages to satisfy the seven (7) business days deadline is not acceptable and can delay processing.

The university has Cost Sharing Guidelines for proposing and documenting cost share. It is important that researchers have an understanding of these guidelines since there has been a renewed emphasis placed on cost sharing and its administration by the Federal government.

No, current and pending support is not part of the budget and so does not meet the definition of cost sharing 2 CFR 200.306.

The following documentation is required for each subrecipient. All documentation should be obtained prior to routing the proposal to OSP for review.

  • Letter of collaboration signed by the collaborating researcher and the authorized representative for the organization. The letter should include the requested amount and cost share amount, if applicable. See sample letter
  • Scope of work (only required for OSP expanded review)
  • Budget and budget justification
  • Copy of fringe benefit and indirect cost rate agreement (not required if subrecipient is a domestic university)

Sample Letters

A list of approved Service Centers is available on the Office of Budget and Planning website. In order to charge sponsored projects for on-campus facilities usage, the facility must be an approved Service Center.

OSP has created an internal excel spreadsheets for some sponsor budget forms as well as a Proposal Toolkit page with some useful information and templates. Other sponsor forms can be found on the respective websites.

Each oversight committee has established requirements for obtaining approval. You should contact the committees or persons responsible for approving proposals to discuss requirements for approval. Final approvals by committees are given electronically in GeauxGrants.

Extra compensation requests require approval from the following:

  • The department head of the department initiating the request and the department head of the employee's primary home department and their respective deans/directors
  • Human Resource Management
  • The Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development.

See PS-43. PI's must upload the justification for extra compensation in GeauxGrants prior to routing their proposal or prior approval request. Approval for extra compensation is given in GeauxGrants.

All award documents are forwarded to the Principal Investigator for review in GeauxGrants.

If during the proposal submission process only a streamlined review was conducted by the Office of Sponsored Programs, a complete review of the full proposal is required prior to award acceptance. Principal Investigators must provide a copy of the full proposal submitted to the Sponsor.

Instructions on how to approve an award can be found on the GeauxGrants Sponsored Projects Helpdesk. If the funded amount is reduced, the PI should include a revised budget, and a revised scope of work (if applicable).

OSP forwards the fully executed award document to Sponsored Program Accounting (SPA) for award/grant set-up in Workday.

If you need an account number before your agreement is fully executed, you can complete a Request for Tentative Account Number Form, obtain department head approval and forward to [email protected]. A tentative account should only be established when the PI is sure of funding and all compliance special approvals have been obtained. The department will be responsible for any unallowable charges, or for costs incurred should the project not be funded.

The Principal Investigator (PI) holds primary responsibility for the technical conduct of the project, and for administrative and budgetary management. The PI is responsible for complying with all contractual obligations, including technical and administrative requirements. PI's should carefully review the terms and conditions of their awards to ensure compliance.

When an award is received which includes a proposed subaward, the PI should complete and forward to OSP the OSP-3 Form. See issuing a Subaward for the process

If an amendment to the subaward becomes necessary, the PI should complete and forward to OSP the OSP-4 Form.

During the course of the project it may be necessary to make modifications (ex. no-cost extension, rebudget, change in scope, change PI, etc). All prior approval requests to modify a sponsored project must be approved by OSP and Sponsored Program Accounting prior to submission to the Sponsor. PI's should prepare a letter of request, create a Modification request/Prior Approval request in GeauxGrants, and route electronically to OSP for review/approval.

Upon approval, OSP will return to PI for transmittal to Sponsor. Contact your departmental grant administrator for assistance or email [email protected].

Many federal agencies have authorized universities to approve a number of post award modifications internally. Agencies can authorize universities to:

  • rebudget
  • incur pre-award costs 90 days prior to award
  • initiate a one-time, no cost extension up to 12 months
  • approve equipment purchases
  • carry forward unobligated balances

Modifications/Prior Approval Requests that can be approved internally should be created and routed electronically in GeauxGrants.  Contact your departmental grant administrator for assistance, or email [email protected].  Upon review and approval, OSP will notify the awarding agency when required and forward request to the Sponsored Program Accounting Office.

Further information regarding post-award modifications is available in the LSU Post Award Administration User's Manual.