START myResearch

Since many federal agencies and other sponsors have mandated the electronic submission of proposals, electronic research administration (ERA) has been developed for the University of Illinois system. The number of federal agencies requiring electronic submission through Grants.gov is expected to increase rapidly as a result of a congressional mandate requiring agencies to move from paper to electronic systems. Non-federal organizations also continue to move toward electronic systems in an effort to streamline the proposal process.

Built on Kuali Coeus, the START myResearch portal is the UIS pre-award electronic submission tool. Step-by-step instructions to START myProposals are available for entering a proposal into the system. Links and job aids can be found on the START myResearch webpage. Please contact us for training, or view our myProposal YouTube playlist.

You will also go to the START myProposals online form (login with your UIS NetID). Gather needed information using the MyProposals Checklist before starting the myProposals record.

External Contract or Grant Application Submission Process 

  1. PI (Principal Investigator) should contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ora@uis.edu), and share funding opportunity information (link to website, Request for Proposals (RFP), Call for Proposals (CFP), Funding Opportunity Announcement, etc.). 
  2. The PI should work with the Business Managers or Business Administrative Associates in their department to prepare their proposal, their budget, and any administrative forms.  
  3. Once the proposal, budget, and supporting documents are completed, the PI (or Business Manager or Business Administrative Associate) should submit them using myProposals 2 weeks before the deadline. After PI has entered and attached all the necessary information, they should click on “Submit to Central Office.” 
  4. After submitting to Central Office, the PI, unit administrator, and our office will receive a notification. 
  5. Our office will review the myProposals entry to ensure that the proposal follows sponsor guidelines; we will ensure that the proposal meets university, state, and federal policies; we will check budget accuracy; we will check cost sharing; we will look over the budget justification; and we will review any necessary approvals. At this time, we cannot review formatting or technical relevance. 
  6. If everything aligns, an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) will submit the materials on behalf of the PI. If there are any changes or revisions needed, ORSP will send them back to the PI to correct.