External Grant deadlines

Effective May 1, 2024, ORIS implemented a new review process for external grants.

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ORIS is implementing a framework to support researchers applying for external research funding while ensuring sufficient time for review by ORIS' grant facilitation team.

While the majority of researchers adhere to ORIS's 2-week internal review deadline - which has been in place for several years - there are some outliers who repeatedly do not. This places ORIS staff and the University in an awkward position. ORIS staff are forced to work overtime to accommodate unplanned, last-minute submissions. The institution is obligated, via research administrators, to submit applications that are often unprepared and/or have not been given time for institutional oversight to ensure compliance with institutional policies and funders' guidelines. Ultimately, the failure to enforce an internal deadline leads to low staff morale, a misrepresentation of the institution in the funding environment, higher stress levels, and the cultivation of a culture of lack of respect for research administrators' expertise.

To address these concerns, ORIS is instituting a new mandatory internal deadline of 3 business days before an external deadline, effective May 1, 2024.

How does this affect me?

Researchers will be required to submit a completed grant application to the relevant Grants Facilitator in ORIS by this internal deadline, regardless of whether notice of the intent to apply has been given to staff. If researchers cannot meet this deadline, ORIS will not agree to sign off on and/or not forward an application to an external agency.

Will there be any exceptions?

While ORIS intends to be strict with this rule, there will be allowances for exceptions (at the Vice-President Research's discretion). Some examples of exceptions include:

• Unexpected illness;
• Unexpected family issues, including an unexpected death in the family;
• Documented issues with the portal/application system;
• Early-career researchers who are unfamiliar with the application systems or requirements; and/or
• Based on estimated competition volume.

The onus will be on the researcher to contact ORIS staff immediately if faced with an exceptional circumstance which will delay their ability to meet this deadline.

ORIS administrative review includes the following:

• Checking that the proposal is complete and conforms to sponsor eligibility and guidelines, as well as University of Lethbridge policies and procedures.
• Reviewing the budget pages for sponsor and University of Lethbridge eligibility of expenses.
• Ensuring compliance with the sponsor's and University of Lethbridge Indirect Costs of Research guidelines.
• Checking for the Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy) and Risk Assessment Form - where applicable.
• Reviewing eligibility of partner organizations and contributions - where applicable.

• Reviewing letters of support to confirm they contain the required information - where applicable.

   

Deadlines by agency

If you are applying to a competition not listed below, please reach out to ORIS at oris@uleth.ca or contact the grants facilitator for your discipline: