Beginning August 24, 2026, the Office of Research – in partnership with the Office of Sponsored Research – is launching a standardized pre-award intake process to improve how proposal submissions are initiated and managed across UCSF. The first phase of this initiative, the Smartsheet Intake Form, will become the required entry point for all federal and nonprofit proposal and grant submission notifications.
Following a successful pilot that involved representatives from multiple schools, the Smartsheet Intake Form will serve as an interim solution until the launch of Research Wayfinder later this fall. Feedback gathered during this interim phase will continue to inform the development and rollout of Research Wayfinder.
Feedback received from the pilot is consistent with supporting principal investigators and department administrators with:
- A more consistent proposal intake experience across all P&G teams.
- Fewer handoffs and more streamlined collaboration throughout the pre-award process.
- Faster, more accurate routing of proposal requests to the appropriate P&G team member.
Later this fall, Research Wayfinder (previously known as the Electronic Proposal Intake Form (ePIF), will replace both this Smartsheet Intake Form and the current Word-based OSR Proposal Intake Form (PIF) to provide a single, streamlined digital experience for initiating pre-award requests. Feedback gathered through the current Smartsheet will ensure a smooth transition to this long-term solution.
With NIH implementing changes to its application cycles, including the removal of the AIDS application deadline and the introduction of the new PF5 mechanism, OSR anticipates a higher volume of proposals during NIH Cycle III. To ensure proposals are assigned promptly and appropriate staffing resources are available, PIs and departments should submit their proposal notifications through the Smartsheet Intake Form as early as possible.
Please notify OSR of your planned proposal submission as soon as possible and stay tuned for updates on the August 24 Smartsheet launch. Contact OSR with any questions.