As of August 15, 2025, the OSP Proposal Approval Form (PAF) replaces the OSP Internal Routing and Review (IRR) Form as the internal document that summarizes a sponsored project proposal, including period of performance, effort commitments of key personnel, budget, cost share, related certifications, and other pertinent information. The Principal Investigator (PI) and the PI’s Associate Dean for Research (or equivalent) must review and approve the PAF prior to proposal submission.
Approvals are obtained via email. The PI or Departmental Research Administrator (DRA) enters proposal data via a Qualtrics form (link below) to create the PAF, reviews for accuracy, and then routes for requisite approvals as determined by the nature of the proposed project. Once all approvals are obtained, the PI or DRA sends the PAF with the proposal documents to the OSP Research Administrator (RA) for review and submission of the proposal to the sponsor.
The PAF is due on or before the proposal submission deadline.
While the PAF is an internal document and not a sponsor requirement, it is important to obtain appropriate approvals of commitments of effort, cost share, and other resources prior to proposal submission. The PAF is the document of record should questions arise at award or during the project’s period of performance.
Resources
PAF – Form Preview, including screenshots and institutional definitions
PAF – Form Instructions, including process steps, roles and responsibilities, and FAQs