Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know Effort Reporting is our way of providing assurance to sponsors that: Salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable in relation to the work performed, and Faculty and Staff have met their commitments to sponsored projects “Success in the effort realm depends on careful attention to important issues throughout the sponsored project’s lifecycle and communication with the P.I.” (NCURA)

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know Effort Reporting Cycle: Pre-Award Post-Award Appointment Proposal Budget Charging Salary Certifying Effort Employment terms established:  # of months and % FTE  Salary base Effort is proposed, which becomes a commitment to the Sponsor Effort/Salary should be charged as work/activity is being performed Effort is certified to after activity has occurred

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know Effort is work on a project, whether the sponsor pays the salary or not. How do we identify the P.I. or key personnel’s salary if they are not paid on the project itself? Match Index Top ____

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know When a PI writes her/himself into a grant proposal, they are committing effort to the Sponsor.

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know If effort is reduced, whether it’s paid or not, on a Federal award by 25%, the PI must get Sponsor approval. If a PI chooses to charge less effort to the award, but his/her level of commitment on the award does not change, then effort not being charged to the award should be charged to a match index.

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know Many activities cannot be charged to a federally sponsored project. For Example, the time spent on any of the following activities are NOT allowed: o Writing a proposal (unless it’s for the project’s continuation) o Serving on IRB, IACUC, or other research committee o Serving on a departmental or university service committee

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know If a PI works on a sponsored project, he/she must certify their effort. Even if the PI is just overseeing the project, he/she should still show some effort.

Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know Certifying effort is NOT the same as certifying payroll.

Certification must reasonably reflect all the effort for all the activities that are covered by the PI’s University compensation. Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know

100% of effort must be certified to Example:Award 1 25% Award 2 30% Teaching 30% Matching (for award 1) 5% Other Activities 10% Total Effort 100% Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know

Effort is not based on a 40-hour work week. It’s not based on hours at all.

Effort must be certified by someone with suitable means of verifying that the work was performed. Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know

Examples of possible suitable means of verification: Lab Records Teaching Schedules Outside Activity Forms Leave Slips Documented Walk-throughs Appointment Calendars Role Statement Grant Proposal Writing Technical Reports Correspondence Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know

In identifying audit findings, auditors look for indications that certification was based on factors other than actual, justifiable effort. A lot of reallocations Late effort certifications Certifications not signed by PI or person with suitable means of verifying work No effort shown for administrative work, teaching, proposal writing, etc.

More Resources for Time and Effort: Quarterly Salary Distribution Reports USU Sponsored Program Accounting Newsletters USU Surviving a Financial Audit Time and Effort: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know