Karen,
Are you saying that ALL funded proposals are "public documents"? or do you
just mean Federal or state government-funded proposals?  If a proposal is
funded by a private foundation is it then a public document?
Our experience is that federal grants are public info and we can share them
- removing the budget info and asking the PI as a courtesy.  For private
funding, we would always get PI permission first, and still remove budget
info.  Sometimes the PI gives us permission to share, and we put a note in
the file that says we have permission to share (again, all but budget).

Diana Thompson Vincelli
Associate Director
Office of Foundation & Government Grants
Room G-14, Maryland Hall
University of Richmond, VA  23173
804/289-8005, 804/287-6491 fax
xxxxxx@richmond.edu
www.richmond.edu/~grants

-----Original Message-----
From: kma7850u [mailto:xxxxxx@POSTOFFICE.URI.EDU]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2001 4:03 PM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] request for copies of grant proposals

I will weigh in on this topic, since I have a background in freedom of
information laws.

An awarded proposal is a public document. Certain proprietary information
can
be removed from it before it is released to the public (such as salary
information from a private institution), but it is still a public document.

Federal agencies must release funded proposals. Sometimes they require one
to
submit a formal request under the Freedom of Information Act. This procedure
can be time-consuming, which is why the agency might suggest you try
contacting the PI first.

The federal agency is the custodian of the record, so technically someone
seeking a copy must go to that agency with the Freedom of Information
request.
This does not mean a university is prohibited from releasing a copy of the
funded proposal, though.

Karen M. Markin, Ph.D.
Director of Research Development
University of Rhode Island
Research Office
70 Lower College Road, #2
Kingston, RI 02881
V 401 874.5576
F 401 874.7044
xxxxxx@uri.edu

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