Preparing an NIH Proposal in Kuali Research (KR)

Kuali Research (KR) Job Aid

As we integrate Henry Ford Health (HFH) with Michigan State University (MSU), the plan is to begin submitting NIH proposals through the Kuali Research system.  This job aid details the information required for creating a system-to-system (S2S) Proposal in KR. 

Who:

• HFH Grant Managers
• HFH Principal Investigators

When:

• Creating a system-to-system proposal to NIH for the HFH+MSU HS collaboration.

How:

1. From the Welcome screen, start typing create proposal and select the Create Proposal option from the dropdown.

2. You are now in a new Proposal Development (PD) document with the Create Proposal screen displayed.

Basics Option:

3. Complete the required information in order to create and save the PD document:
   • Proposal Type – Select the appropriate Proposal Type from the dropdown list. Definitions of the Proposal Types can be found on the Prepare Proposal Development Document webpage.
   • Lead Unit – Select the Lead Unit of the HFH PI’s base appointment at MSU.  At MSU we also refer to the Lead as an Organizational Code, or Org code.  If you only have access to add proposals for one unit, the unit will automatically be displayed in this field. This field cannot be edited once the proposal has been saved and a Proposal number has been assigned.  If you do not know which department (i.e. Organizational Code) the HFH PI is appointed to, please ask your HFH pre-award contact.
   • Activity Type - Select the appropriate Activity Type from the dropdown list. Definitions of the Activity Types can be found on the Prepare Proposal Development Document webpage.
   • Project Dates – Enter the project period start and end dates.
   • Project Title – This is the official proposal title that matches the proposal to be submitted to the sponsor. If you do not know the title at the time you are creating the PD document, enter a placeholder that you will edit with the final proposal title prior to routing.
   • Sponsor – Start typing the direct sponsor’s name, acronym, or Sponsor Code and select the appropriate sponsor from the dropdown list that appears. For NIH, the sponsor code is 014351. 
   • Sponsor Deadline Type – Select “No Deadline Date” if there is no official deadline for the proposal submission. Select “Deadline Date” if there is a deadline for the proposal submission.
   • Sponsor Deadline Date – This field appears and becomes required if “Deadline Date” was selected as the Sponsor Deadline Type. Enter the official deadline date provided by the sponsor. This field should NOT be used to enter a target date for submission.
4. Click Save and Continue; a Proposal number will be assigned to the Proposal Development document, and a list of Options and Sub-options will display on the left-hand side of the screen.

NOTE: Once the Proposal number is assigned, contact your HFH Pre-Award Contact to inform them of the proposal submission and provide them with the Proposal number.

S2S Sub-option:

5. Click on the S2S Opportunity sub-option, and the Find an opportunity button. 

6. From the Opportunity Search screen, enter the funding opportunity announcement number in the Opportunity ID field; click Search.

7. The result for the opportunity should be returned; click select next to the opportunity.  This action will bring the Opportunity information and applicable forms into the S2S sub-option.
8. Click on the Forms tab.  A list of the applicable forms will display.  A majority of the forms will populate from data that is entered in KR, we call those “mapped” forms.  There are some forms that will need to be manually entered and attached, we refer to these as “User Attached” forms.  For instructions on how to attach UAF’s, see the User Attached Forms webpage.  The following forms will need to be attached as User Attached:
   • Budget: As of November 1, 2022, HFH will not use the budget module in KR, therefore the modular or detailed budget, as well as any subaward budgets (for detailed budgets only), will need to be attached as User Attached forms (UAF). 
   • For subaward budgets, the R&R Subaward Budget Form must be attached.
   • Assignment Request Form: only if you’d like to include this form with your submission.
   
9. Click Save and Continue

Sponsor & Program Information Sub-option:

10. On the Sponsor & Program Information sub-option, complete the following fields, if applicable:
    • Does this proposal include subaward(s)?
    • Sponsor Proposal ID – Only required for NIH renewal/resubmission/revision applications.  Use the institute and serial # of previous grant/application.  This maps to the Federal Identifier field on the SF424 form.
11. Click Save and Continue

Organization and Location Sub-option:

12. On the Organization and Location sub-option - Applicant Organization tab, select HFH + MSU HS as the applicant by taking the following steps:
    • Click the Select Different Organization button
    
    •   In the Organization Lookup popup window, enter "127729" in the Organization Id field and click Search
    
    • Click select next to the returned result for Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
13. If you have performance sites that you’d like to add to the Performance Site Location form, click on the Other Organizations tab and take the following actions:
    • Click Add Organization.  In the Organization Lookup popup window, enter the name, or a portion of the name in the Organization Name field (Note: use asterisks to help with a wildcard search and return more search results); click Search.
    • Click the checkbox next to the organization you’d like to add, and click the return selected button.
    • After the organization has been added, click the +Add Congressional District button to add the organization’s Congressional District.
    

NOTE: If the performance site and/or organization you are trying to add does not return in your search results, email the KR Helpdesk and request the address be added.

14. Click Save and Continue

Key Personnel Sub-Option:

15. On the Key Personnel option - Personnel sub-option, click the Add Personnel button to search for and add an individual to the Key Personnel tab. One person must be added with the Principal Investigator role. HFH employees with an MSU appointment should be searched for as Employees rather than Non Employees.
    • For detailed instructions on how to enter Key Personnel, see the Entering Key Personnel job aid.
16. Once an individual has been added, click the arrow next to their name in order to see additional details.  From the Details tab, verify that the person’s eRA Commons ID is correctly reflected in the Credential, e.g., agency login field, and if not, please add/edit it.
17. Click Save and Continue

Credit Allocation Sub-Option:

18. Complete the Credit Allocation sub-option, making sure all Unit Total lines and Investigator lines add up to 100%.
    • For detailed instructions on how to complete the Credit Allocation sub-option, see the Allocating F&A and Space Credit, and Assigning a Post Award Unit job aid.
    • See the F&A Allocation Template  for assistance with determining the F&A allocation percentages that should be used for the PI’s/Co-I’s.
19. Click Save and Continue

COI Disclosure Sub-Option:

20. This section of the proposal will eventually display COI disclosure information, but can be ignored at this stage.  Click Save and Continue to move to the next option.

Questionnaire Option:

21. There may be multiple questionnaire tabs for your application.  The questions from some of the tabs will map to the application forms. The Standard Proposal Questionnaire includes MSU specific questions.  Click on each questionnaire tab and answer the questions. 
    • For additional information on the Questionnaire option, view the Completing Proposal Questionnaires video.
22. Click Save and Continue

Compliance Option:

23. Click the Add compliance entry button to indicate that the project involves human subjects, animals, or international activities. If you have answered any of these questions as “yes” on the Standard Proposal Questionnaire, you must add a corresponding entry on the Compliance option.
    • For the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials (PHS HS & CT) form, this is where you will enter the information that flows to the form, and attach any study records.  For instructions, see the PHS Human Subject and Clinical Trials Form Information Guide.
    • For detailed instructions on how to enter information on the Compliance option, see the Entering Compliance Information in Proposal Development job aid.
24. Click Save and Continue

Attachments Option:

25. From the Proposal tab, click the Upload & Add button, select all of the attachments that you’d like to include with your application, excluding:
    • Biosketches – attached in the Personnel tab of the Attachments option
    • Budgets, budget justifications and subaward budgets – currently for HFH lead proposals, the budget forms will be attached as User Attached forms within the S2S sub-option.
    • Human subject study records – attached in the Compliance option.
    • PHS Assignment Request form – attached as a User Attached form. 
26. Once added you have to select a Type and Status.
    • Type - See the NIH R Series Checklist (Attachments section) for assistance with selecting the correct Type.
    • Status – Attachments must be marked “complete” before notifying the HFH pre-award contact that the proposal is ready for review. 

NOTE: Attachments can be replaced during route, e.g., you can route with a draft research strategy and upload the final version before submission, however, you cannot add new attachments after a proposal has been routed.

27. Click on the Personnel tab within Attachments.  Follow the same steps as above to attach Biosketches for Key Personnel, however, for personnel you have to select the related individual from the Person dropdown and the Type. 
    • Person - In order for a person to appear in the Person dropdown list, they must have been added as a Key Person within the Key Personnel option.
    • Type – For NIH you will almost always select “Biosketch”.

Note: If you would like to add attachments or notes that are for internal review only (i.e. they do not get submitted to the sponsor), please use the Internal and/or Notes tabs.

28. Click Save and Continue

Budget Option:

29. Click the Add Budget button in the Budget Option. Within the pop-up, enter a budget name, click the radio button next to the Summary budget option, and click No for the modular budget question (even if you are submitting a modular budget).

30. From the Periods & Totals option, for each budget period, enter the Direct Cost, F&A Cost and required Cost Sharing (if applicable) amounts under the appropriate heading.

31. The application will automatically calculate the Total Sponsor Cost for each budget period as well as the Total Direct Cost, F&A Cost, and Cost Sharing (if applicable) amounts when you click save or Recalculate with changes
32. Click the Return to proposal button located in the top left-hand corner
33. Under the Actions column, click on the Action drop down and select Include for Submission.

34. Click Save and Continue

Access Option:

35. You likely don’t need to add permissions for other users, so you can proceed to the next option by clicking Save and Continue.

Supplemental Information Option:

36. One question will appear in a section labeled HFH+MSU HS Information. If the question is answered “Yes”, a second question will appear.  Both questions must be answered.

37. In the section labeled Proposal, explain any voluntary committed cost sharing (HFH calls this “internal funds”) in the open text field.  For NIH proposals, this typically arises for faculty who are over the NIH salary cap.  The amount doesn’t need to be quantified, but a statement about being over the cap and that HFH will cover the amount that is over.  For example, “Dr. Smith is over the NIH salary cap; amount over will be covered by Chemistry.”

Summary/Submit Option:

38. Click the Submit for Review button at the bottom of the page, note that Data Validations will automatically engage and present any errors or warnings.
    • Fix any errors in the proposal, if applicable. Once all errors are corrected, click the Submit for Review button to start the institutional approval process

Other Training Resources:

• Detailed job aid with instructions on how Investigators will review and approve proposals in KR.
• Kuali Research Training website with videos and job aids.
• Prepare Proposal Development Document – additional information on creating proposal docs in KR.
• MSU’s NIH sponsor webpage – includes hot topics for NIH with proposal and award information.
• HFH + MSU HC workflow – flowchart of the workflow for proposals led by HFH faculty.