Proposal Routing for Approval

Prior to submission, formal proposals must be pre-approved by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), as a proposal is a commitment of Montana Tech resources and representation to the sponsor that Montana Tech is able to responsibly perform and administer any award resulting from the proposal, including faculty time, equipment, facilities, cost share, etc.

The internal pre-approval that denotes institutional authorization is obtained through a Proposal Certification Form (PCF). The PCF includes a checklist of questions to assure the budget, technical content, and commitment of Montana Tech resources. The PCF is required BEFORE the proposal may be submitted to the sponsor, and must be approved by the department head, dean/director, other involved parties, and Research Office. The PCF must be completed by the PI for all proposals, applications, or renewals submitted to outside organizations that seek financial support of research, creative activities, education, outreach and/or any other special projects that may result in a contract, grant, or other agreement with Montana Tech.

The PCF is used to obtain required internal academic and administrative approvals, to generate a transmittal letter for the proposal, if needed, and to accurately track and report all research proposals at Montana Tech. The form is not sent to the prospective sponsor.

For proposals to industrial sponsors, although preliminary conversations may discuss scope and ballpark budget numbers, the PCF should be routed prior to sending a statement of work and delineated budget to the sponsor.

No PI may submit a proposal to an external sponsor, represent Montana Tech in contract negotiations, provide a detailed statement of work or delineated budget using Montana Tech logos, stationary, title, resources, etc. Only the AOR for the University may provide these materials to a potential sponsor on behalf of Montana Tech.