Between Days One and Three, PIs and the reviewing office (either Sponsored Projects or BMRA) review all proposal documents against both Brown University and sponsor guidelines. The reviewer ensures the specified documents are included in the correct order and format and address all questions as outlined by the request for proposal. Additionally, they ensure the content of these documents do not violate any policies or procedures for Brown University. The reviewer will provide a correction memo with suggested changes to the department administrator by the end of Day Three. 

During Days One through Three, PIs may devote extra time to “polishing” and a final read‐through of the scientific/technical sections of the application. The final science documents should differ only slightly (e.g., minor editing, figure captions, update to data tables, typo corrections) from the version originally submitted for review in Coeus. All other documents should be in their final state when submitted on Day One.

Edits to scientific/technical components made after a proposal is submitted for review may not affect any of the following elements:

• Budget, including direct and indirect costs or implied or stated cost‐sharing
• Involvement of non‐Brown employees, subcontractors, consultants and collaborators, foreign nationals or federal employees or export control concerns
• Intellectual property (patents, copyrights, licenses), proprietary, privileged or potentially patentable information or conflicts of interest
• Involvement of human research participants, laboratory animal subjects and the environment, proposed clinical trials or the use of human embryonic stem cells
• The use of recombinant DNA, potentially infectious agents, hazardous waste, select agents, radiation producing or radioactive materials or biohazards
• Use of University facilities and equipment, additional space, alterations/construction, specialized equipment or fabrication of equipment

In the event that an award is made and University obligations appear that were not present in the draft proposal, such obligations will be the sole responsibility of the PI and academic department.

PIs have until Day Three of the five-day period prior to the sponsor’s due date to replace a draft version of scientific/technical documents with the corresponding final version in the Coeus proposal record.

PIs who take advantage of the option to update their proposal according to the Five/Three Day Rule must accept the risk that a change to the technical section of the proposal may cause a submission failure. Sponsored Projects and BMRA staff will not retrieve the proposal and correct resulting submission errors caused by PI updates to proposals.

The authorized organizational representative in Sponsored Projects or BMRA will submit the final version of a proposal in advance of a sponsor’s due date whenever possible to ensure it is successfully received. In fairness to all PIs, on-time and complete proposals receive a thorough review and priority for submission.

While University policy states that final proposals are due five business days before the sponsor’s due date, two exceptions are made to help facilitate proposal preparation.

For deadlines that fall on a Monday, complete proposals may be submitted until 9 a.m. on the Monday prior to the due date to meet the five-day rule. This gives the PI an additional weekend to work through the technical portions of the application. If the Monday is a University holiday, proposals are due to either Sponsored Projects or BMRA by noon on the Tuesday prior to the sponsor’s due date.

University Holiday Schedule

In rare and extenuating circumstances, when the University’s Five/Three Day Rule cannot be met, a waiver may be requested. Approval is subject to review by the University and by the PI’s department, center, institute or other research administrator. Resources must be available locally to support proposal development. 

In such cases, an email waiver request from the PI is sent to the senior associate dean of the faculty for Dean of Faculty units or to the reviewing office, either Sponsored Projects or BMRA. A brief explanation as to the cause of the delay should be included. These requests are tracked by PI name, department and sponsor to monitor trends and offer support where needed.

There are times when a PI is informed of a potential funding opportunity within five days of the due date. An agency’s program officer may reach out directly to the PI with late notice of available funds or a collaborator may send a late invitation to participate in the project. In these cases, a waiver from the Five/Three Day Rule is not required. Instead, the process is as follows:

1. Upload a copy of the program officer’s or collaborators’ instructions to the proposal development record, as this documentation will demonstrate a late request from the sponsor. 
2. Alert your departmental research administrator and pre-award contact in Sponsored Projects or BMRA.

Expedited proposals are given a less thorough review than proposals that adhere to the University’s Five/Three Day Rule. The thoroughness of this expedited review is dictated by several factors, including but not limited to University proposal volume and the amount of time between routing and the sponsor’s due date.

Certain proposal types may not fall under the University’s Five/Three Day Rule. Consult the Proposal Submission Flowchart and consider the type of proposal to determine whether it requires Sponsored Projects or BMRA review.

Proposal Submission Flowchart