The Basic Info tab contains general information about the IAF. This article goes over specific information contained within the Basic Info tab.

IAF Data Entry - Basic Info tab

This tab contains general information about the IAF.

Fields in yellow must be completed before the IAF can be saved. Some fields may be pre-populated due to data import from a budget or previous IAF.

1. 1. 1. SIMSbudgets Budget#: If you have imported data from a budget in SIMSbudgets, the budget number is displayed here. To re-import the data from the budget at any time, click the “Refresh Budget” button. Read-only. (see "Refreshing Budget")
      2. Program Title: Title of the project, exactly as it is listed on the proposal. Required value to create a new IAF record. 200 characters.
      3. PI Name: Name of the primary Principal Investigator. On NIH multi-PI grants, the contact PI. Type the first few letters of the PI’s name or userID to see a search list. NOTE: This must be a validated name. Use the “Request Add Person” option from the main menu to request a person not found. Required value to create a new IAF record. Primary PI will be required to approve. WARNING CHANGE RULE: Changing the primary PI after workflow has been started will clear all approvals and clear any existing answers on the Investigators tab. 
      4. PI Department: Home department of the primary PI (regardless of other departmental affiliations). NOTE: This field is not editable. If incorrect, please contact SIMSAdmin@psu.edu. Department head of home department will be required to approve IAF. P
      5. PI College: Home college of the primary PI (regardless of other college/unit affiliations) NOTE: This field is not editable. If incorrect, please contact SIMSAdmin@psu.edu. AOR of home college will be required to approve IAF.
      6. Submitting Department/Subunit: Department that is submitting on behalf of the primary PI. Type the first few letters of the department to see a search list. NOTE: Can differ from primary PI’s home department. Required value to create a new IAF record. Department head of submitting unit will be required to approve IAF.
      7. Submitting College/Unit: This is automatically populated based on the selected submitting department.  AOR of submitting college will be required to approve IAF.
      8. Administering Department/Subunit: Department that is doing the post-award administration if awarded. Type the first few letters of the department to see a search list. NOTE: Can differ from submitting department. Required value to create a new IAF record. Department head of administering unit will be required to approve IAF.P
      9. Administering College/Unit: This is automatically populated based on the selected administering department. AOR of administering college will be required to approve IAF.
      10. College Proposal ID: Unique ID assigned by submitting unit. 12 characters.
      11. Research Location/Building Name(s): Enter the name of the building where the project will be performed. If work will be performed in multiple buildings, only identify the primary location. Required value to create a new IAF record. 100 characters.
      12. Type of Submission: Required value to create a new IAF record. WARNING: Changing the submission type after workflow has started will clear approvals.
          
          
          1. New Proposal: first time submission of the proposed project to a particular sponsor
          2. Non-Competing Continuation: Submission requesting continued funding under an existing project (anticipated at the time of the original proposal/award)
          3. Supplement: additional funding for an existing period of award, not anticipated at the time of the original proposal/award
          4. Renewal: proposal is being submitted for a new competitive cycle for the same project (also known as a Competing Continuation)
          5. Resubmission: a proposal that has been previously submitted (but not funded), which has been amended and re-submitted to the same sponsor
      13. Type of Project: Required value to create a new IAF record.
          
          
          1. Research: project predominantly involves research, scholarship and other creative endeavors, such as laboratory research, survey research, research training, exhibits, performances, research dissemination, technology transfer, or economic development activities
          2. Instruction: project predominantly involves undergraduate or graduate instruction or instruction-related programs
          3. Outreach: involves continuing education programs, either credit or non-credit, and any activity that shall use continuing education program services or facilities, such as the Conference Center
          4. Service: project predominantly involves service work being performed at Hershey Medical Center
          5. Clinical Trial
      14. Deadline: Date due to sponsor. If not in response to a deadline, put date planning to submit. Required value to create a new IAF record.
      15. Date College Received Notification: Date faculty notifies college/unit research coordinator of proposal submission (PIAF) or award notification (AIAF). If left blank, this value will default to the IAF creation date. Optional.
      16. Date College Submitted to Sponsor: Date college research office submits proposal to sponsor or sends award notification to central processing office. If left blank, date will default to date IAF is submitted to central processing office or deadline date, whichever is latest. This date is used for proposal submission reporting. Optional.
      17. Sponsor Name: This must be a validated sponsor name. Type the first few letters of the sponsor’s name to see a search list. Use the “Request Add Sponsor” from the main menu. As an example, if NSF provides funds to UCLA, which issues a subaward to Cornell, which in turn issues a lower-tier subaward to PSU, Cornell should be indicated as the sponsor, and NSF should be indicated as the prime sponsor. Required to submit IAF.
      18. Prime Sponsor: If the proposal will result in a subaward being issued to PSU from another entity, enter the source of the funding for the Prime Award. This must be a validated sponsor name. Type the first few letters of the sponsor’s name to see a search list. Use the “Request Add Sponsor” from the main menu. As an example, if NSF provides funds to UCLA, which issues a subaward to Cornell, which in turn issues a lower-tier subaward to PSU, Cornell should be indicated as the sponsor, and NSF should be indicated as the prime sponsor.
      
      
      • A sponsor or prime may have an issue flag after its name (see a below). If a sponsor or prime have an issue, the submitting unit must request a waiver from the Office of Sponsored Programs.  The date approval was received and the waiver must be uploaded before the IAF submitted (see b and c below).
      
      
      19. 1. Issue ledger
             
             
             1. Conflict of Interest (~, ^, >)
             2. Financial ($)
             3. US Government Restricted Party (#)
          2. Please Enter Approval Date for the following: If the validated sponsor has a COI issue, the unit is responsible for contacting OSP for an approval date. The appropriate COI office will receive an email notice upon primary PI approval. Required value to submit IAF.
          3. Approval Support Document: If the validated sponsor has a COI issue, the unit is responsible for uploading the approval document. File cannot be uploaded until document storage space is created after “Save”. Must be in PDF format. File size limited to 100MB. Required value to submit IAF.
      20. Sponsor changes:  WARNING CHANGE RULE- When sponsor is updates are made, system may at times warn users of the potential to clear approvals or data previously entered. 
          
          
          1. Example 1:  The original sponsor listed on the proposal was a federal sponsor, and was changed to an industry sponsor after the PI has approved and the proposal does not have an F&A reason of Gifts or Unrestricted Grants.  This will cause additional questions related to intellectual property to be required, and the change of sponsor will require approvals to be cleared in order to have that information filled in. 
          2. Example 2:  The original sponsor listed on the proposal was an industry sponsor, and was changed to a non-industry sponsor after the PI has approved and the proposal does not have an F&A reason of Gifts or Unrestricted Grants.  This will cause intellectual property questions to no longer be required (thus clearing this data).  A warning will indicate that information may be cleared as a result of this change.
      21. Is this a multiple PI application?: When the sponsor or prime sponsor are in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hierarchy, this question is required to submit. Select Yes/No.
      22. Sponsor Address: Complete address of the sponsor. A lookup (no required) can be used to retrieved a stored address or the address can be entered manually. Required to submit IAF. 100 characters per line.
      23. Sponsor Country: Required to submit IAF. 50 characters.
      24. Sponsor City: Required to submit IAF. 50 characters.
      25. Sponsor State: Required to submit IAF unless country is not “United States”.
      26. Sponsor Zipcode: Required to submit IAF unless country is not “United States”. 10 characters.
      27. Sponsor Contact: Person within sponsor’s organization to contact with questions related to the opportunity. 50 characters.
      28. Solicitation: Upload a PDF copy of the solicitation. If the solicitation is on a website, you can usually select File, Save in the your browser and save as PDF. Contact your local IT staff with questions about how to save as PDF. File cannot be uploaded until document storage space is created after “Save”. Must be in PDF format. File size limited to 100MB.

      Remarks: Open field for the submitting unit to provide additional information related to the proposal. Unlimited characters.   

      Once data entry is completed, a user should press the “Save” button. A unique OSP number and document storage will be generated. The IAF will now show all available tabs for data entry.

If the user is an AOR or DRA, they can “Start Workflow” or complete the generated tabs. This decision is based on the units preference for the primary PI to complete the IAF. An email notification is sent to the primary PI detailing the IAF tabs that need completed prior to approval.

If you started a new IAF, you are the owner and it will show up on your “Action Required” tab until you complete all required data entry or start workflow.  After starting workflow, the IAF will appear on the “In Work” tab.

If the user is a data entry user, they can “Complete Data Entry”, for submitting unit AOR or DRA approval. An email notification is sent to the submitting unit AOR.

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