Submitting a Grant Application

A copy of the research grant application—including final budget—must be submitted to ORS in person or by email (where electronic/scanned signatures are permitted by sponsor). See agency-specific details regarding required application components below:

• The application should arrive at ORS by noon on the internal deadline, which for most competitions is five business days. Competitions with higher application volume may have earlier internal deadlines.
• Applicants are encouraged to check Funding Opportunities for current deadlines.
• A Research Project Information Form (RPIF) complete with required signatures must accompany the application.
  Note: if the grant includes co-applicants from different UBC Okanagan departments, the RPIF must be accompanied by a signed internal co-applicant form from all co-applicants outside of the PI’s department.
• If you have not made a formal application to an agency, but receive notification of a funding award, you must complete a Grant Information Form and RPIF and submit these, along with a copy of the award letter and any other supporting documentation to ORS at first opportunity after notice of award is received. No funding can be released until all required documentation is received and processed.
• If you are co-applicant on a grant you must submit an RPIF and copy of the application to ORS prior to the grant application submission.

The purpose of the internal deadline is to allow for the application to be reviewed, processed, and signed by the institution with sufficient time to navigate the sponsor submission process and meet the sponsor’s deadline.

ORS requires five full business days prior to any sponsor deadline, and may set a longer deadline in the event of high-volume submission periods. Applicants should check the Funding Opportunities page or email ResearchOffice.UBCO@ubc.ca to confirm. Unless otherwise posted, all ORS deadlines are noon pacific time.

Example: If a sponsor deadline falls on a Thursday at 5 p.m., the ORS internal deadline would be a week before on Thursday at noon to meet the five business day deadline requirement.

Please note that Faculties may have their own internal signature timelines in addition to the ORS deadline and applicants should consult with their Head/Dean’s office.

Research grant applications submitted after the internal deadline may not be accepted. The Office of Research Services may approve the submission of a late application if there are genuine extenuating circumstances.

Submissions requiring institutional involvement (e.g., NSERC DG, SSHRC IG, CIHR Project, etc.) in a sponsor portal may require additional time and applicants should plan accordingly.

Please do not submit grant applications or any supporting documentation via inter-campus mail.

All research grant applications must be accompanied by a Research Project Information Form (RPIF).

RPIFs must be filled out and signed by the PI, the Department or Unit head, and Dean or Designate.

If there are resources mobilized by an institute or centre, the signing authority for that institute or centre must also sign.

If funds will be moved into a research account from another UBC account for this project, the “worktag” (source account) must be listed and signing authority for that account must sign at the bottom of page 3.

*This fillable PDF form is designed to be completed using Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader only. Adobe Reader can be downloaded here for free.

In cases where direct electronic submission by the applicant is required, applicants must ensure that the Office of Research Services has reviewed the application and it has been endorsed/signed appropriately before submitting the electronic version to the funding agency.

For some sponsors, ORS is required to forward the completed, submitted application to the agency (e.g., NSERC DG, SSHRC IDG, CIHR Project), and in this event the PI should notify ORS that they have submitted their application. Please read agency submission requirements carefully—often the agency requires different methods of submission for different opportunities. A selection of detailed instructions for electronic submission are linked at the bottom of this page.

Please check the dates and times for submitting electronic applications carefully on our Funding Opportunities page, in order to allow time for ORS to forward the application on your behalf.