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Welcome to Research Services

We provide administrative and management services for sponsored projects including: grants, contracts and cooperative agreements from both the public and private sectors.

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Proposal Services

Proposals for extramural support for research, training, or other activities to be conducted by Texas Tech faculty, staff and students are required to be submitted through Research Services (RS). Texas Tech uses the Cayuse Electronic Research Administration System to submit proposals.

How To Submit:

    Note: The submission deadline is 5 pm local time on the day of the sponsor deadline, even if the sponsor allows submissions after 5 pm.
  1. Contact RS at least 2-4 weeks before sponsor deadline.

    Include a signed and completed internal routing sheet with your proposal.

    What must be routed for internal review?

    All proposals for external funding must be reviewed at appropriate administrative levels prior to submission. Internal approvals at Texas Tech University are obtained with the Internal Processing Form using Cayuse SP.

    • New proposal (research, training, community service, or other)
    • Renewal proposal–not previously committed
    • Renewal proposal–previously committed that requires an authorizing official signature
    • Continuation proposal
    • Supplemental funds–including income over budget
    • Budget revision to either an active project or pending proposal where any of the following conditions apply:
      • Increase in funding or cost sharing
      • Adding a subcontract or increasing the amount of an existing subcontract
    • Change of Project Director, Co-Project Director, or Senior Personnel
    • Change of Percentages of credit for Project Director, Co-Project Director, or Senior Personnel
  2. Administrative documents due 5 days before sponsor deadline.
      When applicable, provide the following information to your analyst at least 5 business days in advance of the sponsor deadline:
    1. Budget
    2. Budget Justification
    3. Completed Cayuse SP Routing Sheet
  3. Complete proposal due 3 days before sponsor deadline.
      Proposals should be complete and ready for final review at least 3 days ahead of the sponsor deadline. Required documents include (but are not limited to):
    1. Abstract or Statement of Work
    2. Relevant approved waivers
    3. Subcontract documents
    4. Biosketches
    5. Current & Pending Support
    6. Facilities & Equipment
    7. Letters of Support
  4. Proposal is submitted by RS.
      Most proposals are submitted electronically through sponsors’ online systems, and RS has institutional sign-ons to several systems, including:
    1. All proposals that require Grants.gov submission will use the Cayuse 424 system, which uses the System-to-System (S2S) method. “Routing” approvals will be handled electronically via Cayuse SP.
    2. Most proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be submitted through FastLane at www.fastlane.nsf.gov.
    3. Most NASA proposals are submitted online through NSPIRES at http://nsprires.nasaprs.com.
    4. Other online systems include, but are not limited to:
      1. Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas – CPRIT
      2. Proposal Central
      3. Department of Energy – EERE
      4. American Heart Association

Limited Submissions

Federal, state and private funding agencies may limit the number of proposals per institution for a funding opportunity.

Internal competitions are held if there are more internal applicants than allowed submissions. Learn more about Limited Submission Competitions from The Office of Research Development & Communication (RDC).

Note: Selected internal applicants must still submit their proposals to the funding agency through RS.

Late Submissions

Proposals are reviewed in the order they are received. A proposal submitted to RS after the applicable date (3-5 business days before the sponsor deadline) will be considered a late submission. RS will make every effort to process late submissions, but there may not be time for an adequate review.

If an award is made based on a late submission of a proposal signed by the college, school, department, and/or campus leadership, that unit will be responsible to cover costs incurred by Texas Tech as a result of proposal errors. Costs might include cost sharing commitments or unallowable commitments of Texas Tech resources.

Proposals by Mail

With the required 3-day notice, RS will make the required number of copies (black and white only) and ship via Fedex two-day delivery to the sponsor at RS expense. If color copies are required, the appropriate number should be provided to RS.

Late proposals (any proposal received less than three business days before the deadline), will be reviewed as time allows. However, the PI will be responsible for copying and shipping their own proposal.

 

With time allowing, RS will prepare overnight shipping labels but will require a FOP to charge the expense. If there is not enough time for mail services to pick up the shipment, the PI will be responsible for ensuring the shipment is received by the carrier for processing.

Award Services

Research Services (RS) is the central point of contact for agency grant or contract officers regarding administrative matters both during award negotiation and throughout the project.
Once an award or amendment has been reviewed and signed by ORS and the Sponsor, award and budget information is provided to the Accounting Services (AS). All post award services and inquiries will be handled through AS unless a change in award is required.

Award Negotiation & Acceptance
Establishing an Institutional Budget

Texas Tech requires that all sponsored projects awarded to the university be reviewed and signed by an authorized official, which is not the PI. Texas Tech faculty are not authorized to sign sponsored project agreements.


RS is the office authorized to conduct business, financial and administrative negotiations on behalf of the university, but we keep the PI/PD involved in any negotiation, and no decisions are made without full agreement of the PI/PD.


Research Services (RS) has contract negotiators that are responsible for reviewing, signing and processing awards for all sponsored projects. Texas Tech works with a wide variety of sponsors, including federal, state, industry, non-profit and foreign. Different award documents may be utilized depending on the sponsor and requirements of the project.


For more information contact Cui Romo at cui.romo@ttu.edu or Emily Everette at emily.everette@ttu.edu.

Once the award is fully executed, RS forwards award documents to Accounting Services (AS) in Administration & Finance. AS will assign a Fund, Organization, Program (FOP) and enter the award in Banner.


Once the PI/PD receives notification of the project FOP, funds may be encumbered or expended against the project.

Office of Research Services

© 2025  Texas Tech University Jul 30, 2025 8:49 AM