Letters of Intent (Pre-application, Pre-proposal, White Paper)

When a funding opportunity requests the submission of a brief concept outline of the proposed work prior to a full proposal submission, it may be necessary to have an institutional authorized signature via a Letter of Intent (or other similar document). Additionally, when the University of Pittsburgh will be a Subrecipient under another organization’s proposal, it may be necessary to have an institutional authorized signature via a Letter of Intent (or other similar document).

The sponsor requirements for Letters of Intent vary. Depending on the type of information provided, the process and requirements for documentation vary as identified below. Once the document is approved and signed, it will be returned to the department for processing.


Please create a Funding Proposal in PERIS™ MyFunding following this Quick Guide if your sponsor is requesting any of the following items as part of the pre-proposal:

  • Institutional Endorsement 
  • Full Budget (Detailed)
  • The University to agree to any specific terms and conditions as part of this submission

If the sponsor is not requesting any of the above items or is only requesting an estimated budget without detail, then Office of Sponsored Programs review is not required. Check with your department/school for additional internal reviews that may be required.