Limited Submissions
Jump to a scrollable list of federal limited submissions with deadlines in the next six months.
Oversight and Management
The Research Development department within the Office of Research and Economic Development carries out the oversight and management of limited submissions. (An official Limited Submissions policy has been submitted and is pending approval.)
What is a limited submission and why do I need to know about them?
Some grant and fellowship programs limit the number of proposals that may be submitted by an institution (and/or PI). This information is usually provided in the "eligibility" section of a funding announcement. Sponsors create limited submission opportunities for a variety of reasons, such as limiting the number of proposals that require review in order to reduce the burden on reviewers; ensuring that submissions have the endorsement of the originating institution; and encouraging submission of the best quality proposals from an institution.
A limited submission to any external funding opportunity such as a grant, fellowship, or other funding requires institutional approval.
IMPORTANT: If you submit a proposal to a limited submission program without an institutional nomination and the institutional limit is exceeded, your proposal, and other proposals submitted from USA for that opportunity, will very likely be returned without review.
Limited Submissions Procedures
See our full Standard Operating Procedures document for a detailed description of limited submissions procedures. We also have a flow chart that diagrams the process. An abbreviated description of our procedures is provided below; we have formalized a process for Notices of Intent, followed by an internal competition if necessary.
- Research Development monitors funding opportunity announcements to identify those with institutional limits and posts select opportunities on our Notice of Intent list. Our goal, when possible, is to post opportunities 12-16 weeks prior to the sponsor deadline to provide adequate time to conduct internal competitions if necessary.
- If a researcher identifies a limited submission opportunity that is not listed on the USA website they must email us immediately with a link to the solicitation, no later than eight weeks before the sponsor's deadline.
- Before opening a full internal competition, we use a Notice of Intent (NOI) process
to gauge interest.
- Under the limit: if the number of submitted NOIs is equal to or less than the sponsor's limit, we will bypass the internal competition and issue approval to applicants who meet sponsor eligibility criteria.
- Over the limit: if we receive more NOIs than the sponsor allows, we will launch a formal internal competition.
- Internal competitions will be announced and allow between one to two weeks for applicants
to prepare their pre-proposal according to our requirements.
- We will assemble an ad hoc internal review panel of faculty and/or administrators with relevant expertise.
- Short-Notice Opportunities: "short notice" refers to any limited submission opportunity with less than eight weeks remaining before the sponsor's deadline. Sponsor-driven short notice may result in an accelerated internal call with a truncated timeline (e.g. within five business days), or an expedited administrative review. Researcher-driven short notice (late notification) may result in administrative review as described in our procedures; however, repeated researcher-driven short notice may result in sanctions under our Limited Submissions policy.
- All nominees must submit a high-quality, timely proposal to the sponsor. Nominees who withdraw late in the process and fail to submit will be flagged as a risk for future competitions. PIs who bypass this process may be prohibited from current or future opportunities.