ORSP Use Only
( ) New ( ) Change
Grant and Contract Approval
Designated Authorizations
The electronic Proposal Data Sheet (ePDS) provides for routing and approval (electronic signature) of
department and division officials. Only the Chair or designee approval is required, but two additional
levels are provided to accommodate departmental processing. Instructions on using the approval levels
are included on page three of this document.
Chairman/Director’s Name:
Department, Unit or Center Name:
Main Department UDAK Unit #:
Classification Levels – Please list the names and NetID of anyone (including the Chair/Director) who
has the authority to approve grant submissions at each level. The Department/Center Level is the only
level that must be completed. If your unit has multiple divisions, you may use the second page to
designate division personnel authorized to approve the ePDS. It is recommended that you have two
people (a primary reviewer and a backup) in a group.
Level 1 (Chair) Approval Group (Required):
Name
NetID
1. Primary
2. Backup
3. Other
Level 2 (Administrative) Approval Group (Optional):
Name
NetID
1. Primary
2. Backup
3. Other
 Level 3 (Division) Sheet Attached
I give permission for the above named individuals to sign proposals for each classification levels.
_________________________________________________
Signature of the Unit Chairman/Director
Please complete
and send to:
_______________________
Date
ORSP
19 Hagood Ave., Ste 606
MSC 808
Fax: 843-792-6447
[email protected]
Page 1 of 4
Routing Form (July 17)
Level 3 Divisions (Optional)
Copy this page for additional units if needed.
Unit Number:
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
Role
Primary
Backup
Name
NetId
Name
NetId
Name
NetId
Name
NetId
Name
NetId
Name
NetId
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
NetId
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
Name
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
NetId
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
Name
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
NetId
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
Name
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
NetId
Name:
Role
Primary
Backup
Unit Number:
Name
Name:
Page 2 of 4
Routing Form (July 17)
Proposal Routing Instructions and Examples
The proposal routing structure is designed to allow flexibility to accommodate the needs of different departmental
routing structures. For each department or unit, three group levels or tiers of approval are available. Only group 1, at
the Chair level, is required by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). You may use the other groups
in any way that you choose. In planning, the main usage of the groups was determined to be the following:
1.
Chair Level – required by ORSP.
2.
Business or Administrative Level – to allow for approval by business managers in addition to chairs.
3.
Division Level – to allow those departments with sub-divisions to obtain approvals of division managers.
You may have any number of individuals in a group, but it is advisable to have at least 2 people: a primary and an
alternate reviewer. Routing to groups instead of individuals will allow units to designate back-up reviewers which
should eliminate delays in the approval process.

You may designate any number of individuals per group although 2, a primary and a backup, are
recommended.

An individual may be assigned to more than one group.

All individuals in an approval group have the ability to review, enter comments, and approve/reject the
routed proposal. These comments will be viewable by all individuals with access to the proposal.

Only one approval/rejection per group is allowed.

Once approved, other individuals within the group will no longer have access to the proposal.

If a proposal is rejected, all access will be discontinued and the proposal will be returned to the investigator.
Proposal routing is accomplished in levels. The levels correspond to the number of groups used by each department
or unit. Figure 1 shows the routing process for a proposal that is routed to 4 different units and one individual. Group
1 uses only the chair level, Group 2 uses all
three levels, and groups 3 and 4 use two levels.
Group 3 is the PI’s unit, and the PI’s chair is the
final approval required after all other
approvals have been completed. Once routed,
all reviewers at the highest level are given
access as dictated by the routing scheme.
(This could be only the PI Chair level.)
Individual reviewers have access and may
enter comments until a reviewer in their
group approves (or rejects) the proposal.
Once approved, other reviewers within that
group will no longer have access to the
proposal. Other reviewers in other groups at
that level will continue to have access. Once
all approvals are accomplished at a level, it is
closed, and all individuals in the groups at the
next level are notified and have access to the
proposal. They will be able to see comments
from reviewers at the previous level. Once the
PI’s Chair group has approved the proposal, it
is routed to ORSP for institutional approval. If
a proposal is rejected, all access is closed and
the proposal is returned to the PI. If you have
previously approved the proposal, you will be
required to re-approve it.
Figure 1
Page 3 of 4
Routing Form (July 17)
Examples
1.
2.
3.
I want to review each proposal but I am also the backup for the chairman. How can we handle the work flow?
a.
Assign the chair as the primary reviewer on level 1 and yourself as backup. Assign yourself as the
primary reviewer on level 2 and designate a backup for level 2. (If the chair is not in, you will have to
approve the proposal twice; once for level 2 as primary and once for level 1 as the backup.)
b.
Designate another backup reviewer for the chair and use the group level 2. You may then designate a
backup reviewer to cover for you in this group (or not).
I want to review all proposals, and I am also the backup for the chairman. I also want my designated backup,
the departmental grants administrator, to review the proposal before I see it. How can we handle this?
a.
Assign the chair (primary) and yourself (backup) to the level 1 group. If the dept. administrator
doesn’t have a backup, designate yourself as primary and the dept. administrator as backup in level 2.
You can arrange with administrator that you will be primary approver but will not approve until you
see their comments in the system. These comments will serve as a de facto approval. This method
requires communication outside of the system to notify others within the same group that a proposal
has been reviewed and approved.
b.
Put the chair (primary) and yourself (backup) in the level 1 group. Put yourself (primary) and the
dept. administrator (backup) in the level 2 group. Assign the dept. administrator as primary
reviewer, and designate a backup for the level 3 group.
We need more than three approvals. What can we do?
a.
As in 2(a) above, you may use comments entered by other reviewers in a selected group as an
internal approval.
Although it is possible to do so, it is not advisable to use the same person multiple times within a unit as it may lead to
confusion. Also, the possibility exists of having one person approve a proposal three separate times which is not
efficient or desirable.
Page 4 of 4
Routing Form (July 17)