Collaborating with Other Institutions

Many research projects involve investigators at institutions other than Meharry. For such projects, only one institution—the Applicant Institution—submits the grant application, but all the Collaborating Institutions must approve the proposal before it goes to the sponsor. They document this approval in a Letter of Intent to Collaborate, or similar document, which must be signed by an institutional official. The instructions below will take you through the process. ________________________________________

If Meharry is Submitting the Application

1. Send your collaborator a Letter of Intent to Collaborate well before the deadline and ask him or her to obtain an institutional signature on it.

2. Provide these documents to Meharry’s Grants Management Office two weeks before the deadline:

A budget for your collaborator’s school typed on an Excel facsimile of a PHS 398 budget page
A budget justification for your collaborator’s school
For NIH applications with multiple PIs, a Multiple PI/PD Leadership Plan (guidance can be found on this NIH page).

3. Provide these documents to Meharry’s Grants Management Office five working days before the deadline:

A Letter of Intent to Collaborate or similar document signed by an institutional official at your collaborator’s school. Collaborative applications will not be submitted by Meharry without this signed approval from your collaborator’s university.
A Grant Submission Form signed by you and your chair.

4. The PI should send a copy of the complete grant application after the application is submitted to the sponsor.

When all is in order, the application will be signed and submitted through grants.gov or according to the sponsor’s instructions.

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If Your Collaborator’s School is Submitting the Application

1. Provide these documents to Meharry’s Grants Management Office 10 working days before the deadline.

The Specific Aims of the grant application, describing your role in the project.
A budget for your part in the project, including Meharry’s F & A costs, typed on an Excel facsimile of a PHS 398 budget page
A budget justification, including a full description of your role in the project.
For NIH applications with multiple PIs, a Multiple PI/PD Leadership Plan (guidance can be found on this NIH page).
A Grant Submission Form signed by you and your chair.
A Letter of Intent to Collaborate or similar document furnished by your collaborator’s school.

2.   When all is in order, the Grants Management Office will return the signed Letter of Intent to you.

3.   Send the Letter of Intent to your collaborator.

4.   After your collaborator’s school submits the application, provide the Grants Management Office a complete paper copy of the application.

Whether you are an investigator at Meharry or are collaborating with a Meharry researcher, you may find the “important numbers and codes” pagexx and “forms” page useful in the application process.