The document is an official correspondence from the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR), a representative organization of major U.S. research institutions, addressed to the Department of Defense (DoD). The letter, dated December 20, 2016, is sent by COGR’s president, Anthony P. DeCrappeo, and outlines concerns regarding the DoD’s practice of setting proposal submission deadlines at 11:59 p.m. local time. COGR advocates for standardizing all federal research proposal deadlines to 5:00 p.m. local time, aligning DoD’s practices with those of other federal agencies such as NIH and NSF.
The main rationale behind this request is to alleviate significant burdens on institutional administrative staff, streamline proposal review processes, and enhance the overall quality of proposals submitted to the DoD. The letter notes that midnight deadlines compound pressure on institutional reviewers and administrators outside normal business hours, hinder access to key resources (such as help desks), and, in light of changes to federal overtime rules, may result in increased labor costs. COGR further argues that an earlier and uniform deadline would provide consistency for applicants, promote fairness, and help distribute server load more evenly. The document references existing examples within the DoD where 5:00 p.m. deadlines are observed, illustrating the practical feasibility of this change. In closing, the letter requests DoD’s consideration for this adjustment and offers further dialogue to support the initiative.
