Working with the Office of Sponsored Projects: Procedures & Budget Basics Donna Martin

Office of Sponsored Projects The mission:  assist university faculty and staff obtain external funding for their research, creative artistry, and instructional and public service projects.

Step 1: Have a Strategic Research Plan  Have an idea! Innovative Creative Collaborative New directions in the field, etc.

Step 1: Have a Strategic Research Plan, cont’d  Know key sources for funding—others, conferences, journal articles  Know key researchers (how can you compete with the established researchers in the field?)  Establish timelines for your research program (1 year, 5 years, 10 years) – with OSP

Pilot data and beyond  Internal grants (perhaps to gather pilot data; OSP doesn’t assist with internal grants)  Post-doctoral opportunities  Foundations  State (somewhat limited funding opportunities)  Federal

Step 2: When planning a proposal submission… At least 1 month before deadline:  Contact the OSP Research Development Staff to discuss the proposal and budget  Begin to line up institutional project commitments, where necessary

Steps 3-4: Finalize narrative & budget 2-3 weeks before deadline :  Your narrative should be nearing a final draft.  You and your OSP Research Development Specialist should be finalizing the budget.

Step 5: Proposal submission  All proposals must be delivered to OSP in final form 5 working days prior to the agency deadline

Step 5: Proposal submission  All proposals must be delivered to OSP in final form 5 working days prior to the agency deadline

Step 5: Proposal submission  All proposals must be delivered to OSP in final form 5 working days prior to the agency deadline  Electronic submissions are especially important to have well before the deadline day. They will be submitted before the deadline day.  OSP will obtain internal approval signatures

Proposal Submission, cont’d  Many are electronic submissions through grants.gov or agency/foundation websites.  If copies are needed, OSP will make the copies and mail.

Internal Approvals…  System Tracking & External Project form (STEP) …they’re on green paper…eventually will be routed electronically…  STEP forms include basic proposal info: (who, what, when, where): PI/co-PI, title, 1 sentence description of project Budget info, any Facilities & Administrative costs (F&A/Indirects/Overhead) scope of work or Abstract

Internal Approvals, cont’d Before a proposal is submitted to an external agency:  the PI (& co-PI) has to sign the STEP forms  Your Departmental Chair has to sign  Your Dean has to sign  Double that if your co-PI is from another department and/or college  OSP has to sign

Internal Approvals, cont’d  It is the PI’s responsibility to provide his or her Chair and Dean with information about the proposed project well before they receive internal signature folders from OSP.

Then what?  Contact OSP immediately when you receive your award notice!  You may need documentation sent back to the agency with authorized university signatures (V.P. of Research or Director of OSP)  If they award less than requested, we’ll need to revise the budget  OSP has to initiate award process  Grants Fiscal Administration

Potential delays at award stage  No proposal on file in OSP (still need to have internal approvals in place before OSP can execute and process award)  Outstanding compliance issues (IRB, IACUC)  Problematic award language (OSP may have to negotiate with the sponsor) Publication Rights Intellectual Property Rights

 Contact OSP when you receive a letter of denial.  If OSP receives a letter of denial that the agency did not also send to the PI, an electronic notice will be sent to the PI.

If your proposal is rejected...  Don’t give up! Get reviews Talk to agency contact Re-evaluate, revise and resubmit Look for other potential funders

OSP website resources  Connections to funding sources  Information on Federal & University Regulations  Links to grant writing advice  Forms  Budget Information  and more

Finding Funding  IRIS  GrantSearch  SPIN  Foundation Center: newsletters available (Arts & Education)  Federal info:

Budget

Budget Basics  Work with OSP to prepare the budget  Excel templates for year projects are available The templates are internal for OSP and are the NSF standard. The budget categories can be altered for whatever format is required by a specific agency/foundation.

Step 1: Read the Guidelines!  Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation: “And if you submit a budget that contradicts any of these carefully described guidelines, we will have reason to think of you as a careless reader and thoughtless applicant. This will inevitably be reflected in our estimation of the potential of your scholarship.”

Step 2: Be familiar with what can/cannot be included in a budget Budget Costs Envision what your project needs to make it a reality  A cost must be reasonable  A cost must be allowable: permitted by agency guidelines or other regulations  A cost must be allocable: the cost is incurred solely to support or advance the work of a specific sponsored research award and is necessary

Unallowable costs  Generally, unallowable costs include: administrative and clerical salaries local telephone charges and installation office supplies memberships postage  If a charge is unallowable as a direct cost, it is also unallowable as a match or cost sharing.

Consider agency limits:  Items they will fund—& items they will NOT fund  What level they will fund—don’t propose a budget over the level (it will most likely be rejected. Automatic rejection for some programs.)  What is number of years they will fund?

Budget tips  If the project is over several years, build in cost increases  Remember that the grant will not start for probably several months and submit costs accordingly  Develop a budget explanation to delineate clearly how budget figures were computed  Ensure that the budget coincides with the narrative and falls within the time-frame allowed (see guidelines for start and end dates)

Step 3: Develop your Budget  Direct Costs  Facilities & Administrative Costs

Step 4: Budget Justification/narrative  Consists of short paragraphs describing each line item  Generally included after the budget explanation to clarify and justify the requests  Items which need special justification include equipment purchases (especially personal computers), foreign travel, administrative/clerical costs, and sometimes course releases

5. Cost Sharing Some grants require that a portion of the total project costs be contributed by your agency or other sources. These contributions must be:  directly related to the project  occur within the project time period  easy to trace in an audit by the funding agency  approved by the source of the funds prior to submission of the proposal (Department Chairs/Deans, etc)

6. Subcontracts  If you’re working with another university to subcontract a piece of the work (not as a “consultant”—that’s a different issue and not through OSP), OSP will need the following: A budget (we’ll work with you to develop this) A consortium agreement (the Universities establish an agreement to cooperate on an award) A Scope of Work—a couple paragraphs describing the work you are agreeing to perform

Putting it all together  OSP is here to help you through the grant process: setting up your research goals, finding funding, reviewing narratives, securing internal signatures, submitting applications, and through the award or denial of proposal stages. We’ll go over review comments with you and work on revisions/resubmissions.