{"id":18252,"date":"2026-01-13T09:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T17:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/?page_id=18252"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:42:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T17:42:45","slug":"faq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/funding\/internal\/big-ideas-initiative\/faq\/","title":{"rendered":"President&#8217;s Big Ideas Initiative: Frequently Asked Questions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This page will be periodically updated with more answers to your questions. If you have a question not addressed here, please reach out to <a href=\"mailto:or.orap.servicedesk@wsu.edu\">or.orap.servicedesk@wsu.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__16472\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">What is the difference between a Letter of Collaboration and a Letter of Support?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__16472\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<ul>\n<li>Letters of Collaboration should be for partners actively working on the project\u2014contributing either intellectual capital (e.g. data, analytical capabilities)&nbsp;or other defined material resources (e.g. lab or technical support, etc.). Letters should specify what is being contributed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Letters of Support should be from individuals, organizations, or agencies that would benefit from the research or who otherwise want to support the advancement of the effort.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__67263\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">Should benefits be included in the proposal budget?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__67263\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<ul>\n<li>For campuses other than Pullman, contact your financial\/budget manager on how to account for benefits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>For all other proposals, the usual benefits (i.e., tuition waivers, health insurance) are covered by central Finance and <strong>should not <\/strong>be included in the budget.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Exception: <\/strong>Benefits for time-slip employees must be included in the budget.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__63468\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">Am I allowed to budget for a staff member&#8217;s time? Is there a limited to the fraction of budget reserved for staff and faculty salary?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__63468\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<p>Civil service salaries\/wages are not allowed.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__27658\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">Do we need to submit a CV for all co-investigators or just the lead PI?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__27658\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<p>A CV is required for all participating investigators. They should be combined and submitted as a single document.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__88113\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">How are proposals from early-career investigators are weighed relative to those led by more senior PIs, particularly when competing with larger, more established teams?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__88113\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<p>All proposals will be reviewed on an equal basis. Senior faculty PIs will not be considered more favorably than others.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wsu-accordion  wsu-accordion--size-small\">\r\n    <h2 id=\"unique-id-1__25084\" class=\"wsu-accordion__title\">\r\n        <button class=\"wsu-accordion__title-button wsu-accordion--toggle\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"unique-id-1__content\">Should we include outside proposal support services in our project budget?<\/button>\r\n    <\/h2>\r\n    <div id=\"unique-id-1__content\" class=\"wsu-accordion__content\" aria-labelledby=\"unique-id-1__25084\">\r\n        <div class=\"wsu-accordion__content-inner\">\r\n            \n\n<p>External proposal support and related services <strong>are allowed and can be included in project proposals<\/strong>. These services may be able to provide more specialized support that may be appropriate for a given project. However, proposal development support is available through the WSU Office of Research at no charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Office of Research also offers project management support services that can be used in lieu of external support. PIs are welcome to consult with a research development specialist prior to submitting a Big Ideas Initiative proposal to get a better sense of the support the Office of Research can provide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Awarded Big Ideas Initiative projects are strongly encouraged to use these services\u2014<em>alongside services offered by the lead PI&#8217;s college<\/em>\u2014as part of the consultation with the Office of Research that is required under each track.<\/p>\n\n        <\/div>\r\n    <\/div>\r\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This page will be periodically updated with more answers to your questions. If you have a question not addressed here, please reach out to or.orap.servicedesk@wsu.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4662,"featured_media":0,"parent":17762,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"wsuwp_university_location":[],"wsuwp_university_org":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18252"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4662"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18252"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18285,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18252\/revisions\/18285"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18252"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_location?post=18252"},{"taxonomy":"wsuwp_university_org","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.wsu.edu\/advancement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wsuwp_university_org?post=18252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}