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Scope

ÃÈÃÃÉçÇø receive funds to support sponsored awards from federal and non-federal funding agencies/sponsors. This policy provides guidance for the University to process and set up an Award and/or process a Pre-Award Project request.

Reason for Policy

This policy is necessary for the proper recording of sponsored Awards.

Policy Statement

All Proposals seeking funding from a potential sponsor must be reviewed and approved by the campus Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) before being submitted to the sponsor.  The Principal Investigator (PI) completes the Proposal, which starts the process of acquiring approvals on the Proposal Signature Routing Sheet (PSRS) and will be reviewed by SPO.

Receipt of Award
The University receives award notifications in various locations on campuses that a sponsor has decided to fund a Proposal.  If a department receives a notification of award, the department must transmit the award to SPO.  Upon receipt of the award, the review and processing by the SPO.  The SPO review of the completed award is a control to ensure the final award agrees with the Proposal authorized by management and that other University policies are complied with.

Award Setup
No spending or work on a sponsored Project may take place related to an Award or Pre-Award Project until the Project ChartField string has been created and activated.  The ChartField string will not be created and activated until the reviews and approvals have been completed (except execution of the agreement in the case of a Pre-Award Project).  Once an award has been fully executed (or accepted by the University, in the case of unilateral awards; or guaranteed by the department in the case of Pre-Award Projects) and received by the SPO, the award must be set up in the financial system. Setup of the award consists of making the appropriate entries in the financial system and notifying the PI so that funds can be expended. A review of the award package must be performed by the SPO to ensure completeness and accuracy of the set-up. 

Note: The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number associated with federal and federal flow through Projects should be obtained as early in the process as possible to be used as part of the Award setup in order to ensure the accuracy of reporting to the Federal government and that fringe benefits post to sponsored activity Chartfields at the correct rate.

Pre-Award Project Setup
Under certain circumstances, a Pre-Award Project will be set up for activity where a Fully Executed Award is not yet in place. Care must be taken by SPO managers, PIs and departments to ascertain from RFPs, RFAs, or bid solicitations, that federal grantors and state contracting authorities will cover pre-award expenses should any be incurred before the start date of an eventual award.

The following criteria must be met in order for a Pre-Award Project to be set up:

• The academic unit creating the Proposal agrees to cover any costs that are not covered by an eventual award (or by an award not materializing), and notifies the SPO to that effect.
• A pre-award request must be authorized and approved by the PI, Department Head and Dean or equivalent.
• The academic unit notifies the SPO in writing (including email or fax) of:
  • their desire to begin work on the Project before an award is finalized;
  • compliance with pertinent requirements (e.g., IRB (Institutional Review Board), IACUC (Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee), etc.);
  • the