IPEC is a secondary funding organization. Proposals are solicited within IPEC institutions to accomplish the mission of IPEC in terms of technology development and technology transfer. Although other academic institutions and nonprofit organizations may potentially receive funding from IPEC, all proposals must be submitted by investigators from IPEC institutions to the IPEC Executive Committee for consideration for funding. The Executive Committee seeks input from the IAB and SAC in these decisions as discussed below in detail. The faculty at IPEC institutions are well represented in peer-reviewed journals and publications; are active members of professional societies with interests in petroleum environmental issues; and have developed professional relationships with many national and regional research and training centers focused on environmental sciences and engineering.

IPEC periodically issues Calls for Proposals based on guidance from the IAB. The Board has identified critical research needs that form the basis of solicitations. Unsolicited proposals will also be accepted for review as long as funds are available during any given budget period.

The evaluation process begins with the submission of a pre-proposal to the chair of the IPEC Executive Committee. All pre-proposals are then reviewed by the IAB for relevance to the mission of IPEC. The Board has developed written criteria for these evaluations and established an approval level of 80% of voting members. Therefore, the Board must be very nearly unanimous to approve a pre-proposal. In this way only those proposals that have, in the view of the IAB, significant potential for improving the competitiveness of the industry can move forward in the review process. In order to prevent the ultimate rejection of deserving research pre-proposals by the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) due to a misunderstanding, for whatever reason, by members of that body of the nature or promise of such research, a formal procedure has been established by which any investigator has recourse and opportunity to more fully explain how their research meets the mission criteria of IPEC and the needs of the petroleum industry. Pre-proposals rejected by the IAB are also sent to the SAC for further review. If the SAC finds any of these pre-proposals to be especially interesting, the SAC can recommend (with justification) that the IAB reconsider the pre-proposals.

Investigators whose pre-proposals are consistent with IPEC's mission are asked to submit a more formal technical proposal. All full proposals submitted to the IPEC Executive Committee are then subjected to technical review by the SAC to ensure that the scientific quality of the work proposed meets EPA standards.

    Guide for Preparation of Full Proposals pdf download

Final decisions for funding are made by the IPEC Executive Committee based on SAC input, satisfactory response by the principal investigator to any SAC suggestions, availability of funds, availability of sufficient matching funds, and acceptance of the project QA/QC plan by the IPEC Quality Assurance Officer. When a project is recommended for funding The University of Tulsa, as the fiscal center of IPEC, issues a subcontract to institutions participating in the project. IPEC follows any and all required EPA and federal guidelines.

At all stages of the technology development process the IPEC Executive Committee, the IAB, and the SAC are informed of the progress of each project through quarterly progress reports. As noted above the SAC reviews final budget period reports and recommends acceptance or rejection to the IPEC Executive Committee. Final payment is withheld until any deficiencies are resolved to the satisfaction of the IPEC Executive Committee and SAC. The progress of each project is communicated to the petroleum industry via various mechanisms for dissemination of information.