here's my advice to Marcia Z. on the question of submitting proposals from a
multi-campus system:

The UMASS system is a five campus system and we make every attempt to
coordinate submission of only one proposal.  Usually, the Chancellors office
is notified (if there is a Provost, e.g.) and we try to determine in advance
which campus has the best proposal.  It is incumbent upon those who work in
sponsored programs to notify the appropriate official on the other campuses
that a proposal is being submitted.  Ideally, faculty who are interested in
responding to an RFA should submit a pre-proposal to a system-wide committe
that will "referee" the decision and determine which is the best proposal.  Of
course, this is easier said than done!  However, my reading of this situation
is that the sponsor wants to receive only one proposal from the system.
Failure to adhere to these guidelines usually results in an immediate
rejection of a proposal and a very unhappy faculty member who has devoted time
and energy to a research proposal only to discover that he/she is "ineligible"
to submit the damn thing after all!