notebook
About
PRE

Central Pre-Award

Central Pre-Award provides mandatory review, approval and submission for sponsored funding.

Central Pre-Award is a function overseen by Research Administration & Development and is the only unit authorized by Tufts to sign proposals for sponsored projects and accept sponsored awards.

  • Responsible for pre-award and non-fiscal post-award administration of sponsored awards
  • Proposal review, approval and submission
  • Award negotiation and the Point of Contact with funding agencies
  • Award acceptance. Authorized representative/Signing Official that can legally bind Tufts
  • Subrecipient risk assessment, issuing subawards and amendments
  • Just-in-Time (JIT), no cost extensions, prior approvals
  • Facilitating compliance with federal, state, and agency regulations and internal policies that surround sponsored funding.

Processing Times

  • Proposal Review
    • 48 hours (or 2 business days)
    • When submission of a proposal requires accepting terms and conditions for receiving the funding, the proposal review may take more time. It is best practice to submit such proposals early. If you are unsure if the proposal requires accepting terms and conditions, reach out to your portfolio manager with the proposal announcement.
  • Processing new awards that do not require negotiation
    • 48 hours (or 2 business days)
  • Email inquiries
    • 24 hours (next business day)
  • Updates on work that is in process
    • usually once a week
  • Contract reviews - Vanilla
    • 72 hours (or 3 business days)
  • Contract/incoming subcontract reviews – Complex (requiring multiple sign off i.e. TTIC/General Counsel, or federal, or exceptions)
    • Movement within 5 business days (assumption multiple moves required)
    • PI should get updates once a week
  • Incoming subcontract contracts - Vanilla
    • 72 hours (or 3 business days)
  • Outgoing subcontracts - Vanilla
    • 5 business days to develop
    • Inquiries to sub once a week if not returned
  • Outgoing subcontracts - Complex
    • 2 weeks to develop
    • Inquiries to sub once every 2 weeks
  • NIH RPPRs:
    • 2 business days to review and submit to NIH

Pre-Award Research Administration strives to meet the posted turnaround times. During periods of high volume, delays of up to a week from posted times may occur. Please contact your Pre-Award representative with questions about a specific project.

Related Functions

RAD

Research Administration & Development

Research Administration & Development

Research Administration & Development (RAD) helps investigators to pursue their research and scholarship goals, providing expertise and support throughout the Award Lifecycle.
LRA

Local Research Administration

Local Research Administration

Local Research Administration (LRA) provides support within the schools and centers at Tufts.
DEV

Research Development

Research Development

Research Development supports grantsmanship, funding, and proposal development.
POST

Central Post-Award

Central Post-Award

Post-Award provides financial oversight of all sponsored award activities from set up to closeout, and is part of the Finance Division, office of the Controller.