Introduction to Pre-award Research Administration Karen Hawkinson, Frances Spalding and Roger Wareham

 Nuts and Bolts  Mining Web pages and Other Electronic Considerations  Resources  Professional Organizations

 Binds the university with a set of terms and conditions  Obligates the university to a line of scholarly or scientific inquiry  Both the grantor and grantee agree how the funds will be spent  A level of fiscal responsibility is understood  Results of the study will be shared

 Grant  Cooperative Agreements  Contracts  Sub Awards

 Federal Government ◦ Departments like Agriculture ◦ Independent Agencies, i.e. EPA, NSF  State Governments  Foundations, i.e. MacArthur  Industry, i.e. General Motors  Non-profit organizations, i.e. Cancer Society

 On line services like COS ◦ Searches ◦ Alerts  Agency web pages  Discipline listings  Grants.gov  Foundation directory on line

Growing number of sponsors are requiring submission of proposals through electronic means: ◦ Electronic forms sets ◦ Downloading forms on to a webpage ◦ Completing a proposal on line Check sponsor’s requirements for electronic submission

 Does your agency require registration with a user name and id? NSF is an example with FastLane. Grants.gov on the other hand does not require user registration  Are there electronic requirements? NASA Nspires will not support IE with a MAC  File formatting for attachments? If a sponsor requires PDF documents attached for example you will need a copy of Adobe Professional ( Discounted prices are available through OIT, )

 Download a copy of the Sponsor’s request for proposal (RFP), a.k.a. funding opportunity announcement (FOA) or other acronyms  Read thoroughly  Discuss project, budget and deadlines with the PI

 Cover page  Abstract  Scientific narrative, including statement of work, literature review, methodology  Key Personnel (which may include both a CV and possibly an Other Support page)  Resources  Budget and justification  Appendices  Letters of Support

 Direct costs are those identified specifically with a particular sponsored activity  Indirect costs (a.k.a. facilities and administration) are costs incurred for common objectives and cannot be identified readily with a singular sponsored project

 Salaries and benefits  Consultant  Equipment  Materials and supplies  Travel  Other direct costs  Consortium costs

 Preparing a proposal routing form (PRF)  Routing the PRF for signatures  Transmit proposal package to SPA. Based on proposal type, there are several ways to accomplish this  Be available for SPA questions and possible changes prior to submission

 Grants.gov proposals must be submitted to SPA at least 5 working days prior to the sponsor’s official published submission deadline.  Paper copies must be delivered to SPA 24 hours before proposal is to be mailed.  Other electronic submissions including Fastlane must be submitted to SPA at least 24 hours before deadline. Check SPA webpage for more information: ures/deadlines/deadlineFAQs.html

 Review the budget;  Review matching and cost sharing requirements and commitments;  Ensure proper indirect costs calculations;  Check the accuracy of administrative and institutional information;  Ensure that all regulatory requirements have been satisfied;

 Proposed contract award language conforms with University policies;  Check that any potential conflicts of interest have been managed or eliminated;  Evaluate potential export control issues;  Guarantee that all required representations and certifications are included.

 Inadequate budget justifications  Missing Sub award letter of intent  Missing Sub award scope of work  Math errors, mismatched numbers  Non-compliance with formatting specifications

 Utilize timelines  Use checklists to cover each proposal component, who, what, and when  Frequent check ins with PI  Communicate with your Grant Administrator  Complete your routine application components early  Check budget numbers against narrative, justification, cover, does everything match?  Route PRF for signatures as soon as possible

 SPA’s webpage is a wealth of information: ospa.umn.edu  Check sponsor and agency webpage for the latest information: An example:  Grants.gov:  Other electronic systems, Proposal Central used by foundations is an example:

 EGMS, a University of Minnesota proposal prep tool, check it out at: (EGMS labs where you can get hands on assistance schedule: nd%20Calendars/trainingschedule.html#labs  Your department grant office  Mentor from a more experienced co-worker  SPA office, specifically your Grants Administrator

 SPA sponsored trainings:  Training Services: www1.umn.edu/ohr/trainingservices/spa/index.html  Organizational Effectiveness training:  Library:  Academic Computing:

 GMUN-Grant Management User Network, University of Minnesota  NCURA-National Council of University Research Administrators  SRA-Society of Research Administrators

Any thing you would like to discuss ?