Much of what you have to do in the project lifecycle happens right after you submit your proposal but before the project is officially awarded. This interim phase requires significant effort and is commonly known as Pre-Award / Post-Submission or Award Negotiation and Acceptance.
In the period between the submission of your proposal and the official receipt of your Notice of Award, several important preparatory steps must be taken to set up your project:
- IRB Training: Federal regulations require education in human subject protections for all investigators and key research personnel before research may be conducted. Education must be re-taken every three (3) years. The Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) course site provides research ethics instruction in various aspects of responsible conduct of research including human subjects protection, health information privacy and security, laboratory animal welfare, research misconduct, data management, authorship, peer review, conflict of interest, mentoring and collaborative science.
- Requesting a Hardship: Before receiving an award, you might need a project grant (P/G) number established in advance for fund expenditures. The hardship process, if sanctioned, allows for the initiation of work and the appropriate allocation of costs under certain circumstances.