PI Eligibility and Waiver Process

Faculty whose appointment start date is in the future may apply for proposals through Stanford provided the appointment has been approved by the SoM Academic Affairs Office and the project period start date falls after the appointment start date. In no case may an award be accepted until the member’s appointment has begun. 

Process for obtaining a PI waiver: the department should use the Pending Faculty Appointment PI Waiver template provided on this webpage to meet the requirement for documentation of the department chair or delegate review/approval. 

Attach an email from the SoM Academic Affairs Office that confirms:

• the offer letter has been signed,
• the faculty appointment is in process,
• and provides expected start date of the appointment

Submit the approved PI waiver with the attachment referenced above to your Research Process Manager (RPM) for the proposal submission.

Sponsoring agencies that offer funding opportunities under the Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (DDRIG) or an equivalent program which requires graduate students to be named Co-PI. The proposal must be submitted through regular organizational channels by the dissertation advisor(s) on behalf of the graduate student. The advisor is the principal investigator (PI); the student is the co-principal investigator (co-PI). The student must be the author of the proposal, but need not be a U.S. citizen. To be eligible to serve as the PI, the advisor must be available during the period of submission, review, and performance of the research to relay information and communications from the sponsor to the student.  

For approval of Co-PI exceptions in such cases the following criteria must be met: 

1. There must be an eligible PI named as the lead on the proposal;  
2. The named Co-PI must be a doctoral student;  
3. The proposal must be under a DDRIG program or a funding opportunity with the same or similar scope and purpose.  
4. The sponsor mandates that the doctoral student be named as Co-PI 

Process for obtaining a PI waiver: the department should use the Doctoral Dissertation Grant PI Waiver template provided on this webpage to meet the requirement for documentation of the department chair or delegate review/approval. 

Provide the signed template to your Research Process Manager when submitting the proposal.

“University Research Awards” are internal research funding programs sponsored by Stanford that help support PI Research.  

A project is classified as University Research if the activity is supported by funding that meets the following criteria: 

• Derived from non-sponsored Stanford institutional funds; 
• Provided through a competitive application and award process; and 
• Supported by statement of work or line of inquiry, and 
• Provides assistance for a proposed activity which is characterized by the same factors that generally distinguish sponsored projects, including: 
  • a requirement to return any unexpended funds at the end of the project or 
  • detailed financial reporting (beyond an acknowledgment of funds) or 
  • terms for the disposition of property (e.g..... equipment, deliverables, data or intellectual property). 

Eligibility to serve as lead Principal investigator on a University Research Award is limited to Academic Council members or University Medical Line faculty.  

Requests for PI eligibility for researchers who are not members of the Academic Council or the UML faculty will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Decision will be made by references to the following criteria: 

1. The proposed PI has space and resource allocations to conduct the proposed research. 
2. For each graduate student participating in the project, an academic council member or UML faculty member has been identified to ensure that the student's research program and the education derived from it are consistent with the degree for which the student is a candidate. 
3. The proposed PI’s qualifications to direct the project provide assurance that the work will be conducted in accord with the standards of excellence of the University. 

Process for obtaining a PI waiver: the department should use the University Research Award PI Waiver template provided on this webpage to meet the requirement for documentation of the department chair or delegate review/approval. 

Provide the approved waiver to the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) with a PDRF for each awardee who requires a PI waiver.