Are support letters from department chairs or unit heads required for all collaborators listed on the grant proposal?
The principal Investigator submitting the grant proposal must provide a letter of support from the department chair, dean, or unit head. Faculty members who are listed as collaborators don’t need letters from their chairs unless there are budgetary implications or time commitment issues that the chair needs to address. Then the letter should specifically address those issues rather than the significance of the proposed work.
The PI submitting the proposal must provide a letter of support from the department chair or unit head and a letter of support from the dean or associate dean for research. As a courtesy, faculty members who are listed as Collaborators should notify their deans (and chairs, if applicable) that they plan to participate in the project, but they don’t need letters unless there are budgetary implications or time commitment issues that need to be addressed. In such cases the letter(s) should specifically address those issues rather than the significance of the proposed work.
