Various OSR divisions and units, as well as other campus offices, are involved in the research administration process. 

Proposals and Grants

The Proposals and Grants team supports proposals and awards for federal grants and non-profit sponsors, either directly or flow through. 

Contracts and Awards

The Contracts and Award teams review and set up awards and subawards from federal, state, municipal, foreign governments and non-profit sponsors. The Business Contracts Unit, a sub-unit of Contracts and Awards, supports Training Affiliation Agreements, Outgoing Clinical Professional Service Agreements (PSA), including Medical Director and Call Coverage Services and Non-Clinical and Non-Research Outgoing Recharge and Sales Services Agreements.

Industry Contracts Division

The Industry Contracts Division (ICD) supports industry-sponsored research and collaborations, industry funded clinical trials, confidentiality and other unfunded agreements and material transfer/data agreements. Email your officer, assigned by department, with the relevant documents for all matters.

Office of Clinical Trial Activation

While not under OSR, the Office of Clinical Trial Activation (OCTA) also provides support to industry-funded clinical trials by creating and finalizing the budget (ICD executes the contract). Submit a Service Now Request to OCTA.

Find your department’s assigned OSR staff for your project on the Find My Support webpage. For more details see Responsibility Matrix. 

The agreement process will vary depending on the proposal/award and sponsor type. View the resources below to get started on this process.

• See the general processes by the project (or award) stage. 
• Find templates, guides and proposal development assistance
• Find guidance on determining Subawards vs. Vendors 
• OSR Internal Review and Processes/RMS Service Partnership Agreement

It is important to involve all required offices and people at the correct stage of planning the project, often early on.  All proposals for and awards from extramural funding sources must be processed through the appropriate division/unit of OSR. See the appropriate web pages based on the type of project/action. 

• For standard solicitations for proposals and standard progress reports:
  • Notify OSR at least 30 calendar days prior to submission deadline and 60 to 90 days for complex proposals such as multi-component applications and applications with subcontracts and/or international collaborations.
  • Submit the final proposal components including a draft of the Research Plan to OSR 5 full business days before the sponsor deadline
  • Submit the final Research Plan (science/research) to OSR 3 full business days before the sponsor deadline
• There are no strict deadlines for most of the agreements handled by the Industry Contracts Division (ICD). Learn more

Consider processing and review times for other supporting documentation required by additional offices, such as Office of Clinical Trial Activation (OCTA), compliance offices, department Chair review, single IRB and Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD).

A proposal budget is the best estimate of the actual cost to conduct the scope of work and includes direct and indirect/Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs. It is the PI’s responsibility to fully recover indirect costs for their sponsored research.

• UCSF guidance and resources for developing a budget, including common direct costs.
• UCSF guidance for budgeting graduate student researchers (GSR)'s on their mentor’s sponsors research grants.
• UCSF budgeting guidance for industry-supported projects.
• Find the F&A Rates, bases and project types and learn how to calculate the indirect cost base.
• NIH guidance on developing your NIH budget.
• Information for graduate and professional student fellowship support.

Work with your OSR staff to prepare a new budget for each project to ensure it meets the needs of the project and includes the current salaries, fringe benefit rates, F&A rates and recharge rates.

Complying with the regulatory compliance requirements associated with your agreement is critical and requires working with other offices. Visit the Regulatory Compliance webpage for guidelines on the different requirements based on your project’s compliance needs. 

Common Compliance Areas

• Researchers must disclose financial or personal conflicts of interest to the Conflict of Interest Division (COI). 
• If the project involves human subjects, human spcecimins or human data, ensure applicable Institutional Review Board (IRB) protocols are in place by contacting the UCSF Human Research Protection Program (HRPP). 
• If the project involves vertebrate animals, ensure the applicable Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols are in place are in place by contacting the IACUC.
• Review the Guidelines & Requirements for Funds Received from Extramural Sources. 

Additional Compliance Areas

• Chemical and Environmental Safety Committee 
• Human Gamete, Embryo and Stem Cell Research Committee (GESCR)
• Institutional Biosafety Committee
• Radiation Safety Committee
• Radioactive Drug Research Committee

OSR staff are here to guide you through the process.

Sponsors issue policies and guidelines we must adhere to when proposing, accepting and administering awards. Read all sponsor guidelines relevant to your agreement and work with OSR to ensure your project adheres to all sponsor requirements. 

• Many sponsors require proposals submission and award administration through electronic systems.
• Federal sponsors are subject to Uniform Guidance.

Guidance by Sponsor

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
• California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
• Department of Defense
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• National Science Foundation (NSF)

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

• Policy notices for AHRQ sponsored projects.
• Health and Human Services polices.

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)

• Managing Your CIRM Grant
• CIRM FAQs
• CIRM Grants Administration Webinars

Department of Defense (DoD)

• How to Apply 
• DOD Current and Pending Support
• Funding Opportunties (eBRAP)

National Institutes of  Health (NIH)

• Policies and guidance related to all NIH proposals and awards
• NIH Updates (curated by UCSF)
• Guidance for NIH application submissions
• Descriptions and information related to NIH activity codes
• NIH forms and templates
• NIH Instructions, templates and FAQs and UCSF guidance on preparing a NIH Biosketch.
• NIH Instructions, templates and FAQs and UCSF guidance on preparing an NIH Other Support form.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

• NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
• NSF Current and Pending Support

• Be proactive – Engage appropriate OSR staff member of proposals, awards and other actions early.
• Utilize grant writing resources and templates, such as the Large Grant Development Program, F and K Grant Writing Resources and the Research Development Office (RDO) templates and guides.
• View investigator training resources and opportunities offered by OSR.
• Learn how to access and find help resources for commonly used electronic research administration systems used by UCSF.
  • View guides and tutorial on the iRIS Help site (requires MyAccess login) (required MyAccess login) for finding and approving your proposals in eProposal and navigating the IRB workspace to find, submit and make changes to your IRB protocols.
  • While investigators do not have access, their department contact, and administrators can view awards in CACTAS.
• Find OSR forms used for the proposals, awards, subawards/subcontracts and business contracts.
• Check out the FAQs webpage for answers to commonly asked questions of OSR.
• Read definitions to common research administration terms.
• Read all the email notifications from sponsors, OSR staff and systems to identify action items and deadlines. Check your Spam/Junk email folder for system-generated notifications.