Pre-Award Services

ABOUT US:

TIMES – Pre-Award is a decentralized office, managed by Fauzia Nisar, Research Liaison officer, who provides services directly to the TIMES Investigators for the review and submission of research, training, and community service proposals and acceptance of externally funded awards. TIMES Pre-Award works very closely with the Office of Contract and Grants to negotiate contracts, sub-awards, and other agreements, also provides research-related information for Investigators. TIMES Pre-Award strives to provide excellent customer support to Investigators. Lead time required for review of a proposal varies with the project’s size, complexity, completeness, accuracy, and care taken in its preparation and prior review. It also depends upon the amount of work and the availability of staff when the proposal is received. To allow for necessary corrections and revisions, and for greater assurance that sponsor deadlines will be met, allow at least three full working days for TIMES Pre-Award to review and submit the proposal.

WHAT WE DO…

Proposals:
  • Review funding opportunities with Investigator.
  • Interpret agency guidelines and provide administrative information for applications in accordance with agency, University policy and procedures proposal preparation.
  • In order to Prepare and track Internal Proposal Transmittal Approval Forms in Peoplesoft Grant, please complete and submit this online form. Please use your TIMES credentials to login and access the form. To determine whether a transmittal form is needed for your proposal, please click on this link to be directed to the Transmittal Information tab on the right menu.
  • Provide agency checklists to Investigator (if needed).
  • Prepare detailed proposal budgets according to Investigator’s budget summary.
  • UH Summer Salary: According to the UH Faculty handbook, faculty who are on less than a twelve month contract may conduct research and be paid from research funds during the time not covered by that faculty member’s contract. Faculty members who engage in advising, teaching, or other paid activities must reduce their grant-funded salary accordingly, such that the sum from all sources does not exceed 3/9ths for faculty on 9 month appointments, 2/9ths for faculty on 10 month appointments, and 1/9th for faculty on 11 month appointments.
  • Submit Proposal. Please note: As an Authorizing Official I am able to sign off on behalf of the University of Houston.
Non-Competing Continuation and Second No-Cost Extension Budgets
  • After Investigator receives a final balance of their current project from TIMES RFA, pre-award will prepare the detailed budget with the summary received from the Investigator and submit the request to the agency on the sponsor specific forms on all non-competing continuation and second no-cost extension.
Pre-IRB Spending
    • Purpose: This policy applies to Sponsor project awards involving human subject research reviewed by the University of Houston’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). The purpose of this policy is to define non-human subject research-related activities that may be permissible prior to IRB approval. This policy is not applicable to grants involving animal research.
    • Scope: For sponsored projects involving human subject research, no funds should be drawn down from the payment system and no obligations made against funds for research involving human subjects for any period not covered by Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval. However, for activities that do not involve human subjects research, Pre-IRB administrative or protocol development spending may take place if the Principal Investigator has a separate budget in place and an approved Pre-IRB Spending Request form that has been reviewed and approved by the Office of Research Policies, Compliance and Committees on file with the Office of Contracts and Grants.

Fauzia A. Nisar
Research Liaison Officer, Pre-Award
Manages UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON TIMES – Pre-Award
Health and Biomedical Sciences Center
4849 Calhoun Rd, Room 354
Houston, TX 77204-6022
(832) 842-2005