If you’re unsure where to start, please contact us. We’ll connect you with the right team for your needs—whether it’s proposal budgeting, compliance guidance, or post-award financial support.

Our pre-award team can assist with budgeting, cost analysis, and guidance on allowable expenses and compliance requirements to help ensure your proposal is accurate and complete.

Once funding is awarded, our post-award team helps set up your project, manage financial activity, and guide you through reporting and closeout to ensure compliance and accountability.

Allowable expenses depend on sponsor guidelines and university policy. Our team can help review specific costs and provide guidance to ensure compliance before you spend.

You can access policies, procedures, and compliance resources through our website or by connecting with the appropriate team. We’re also happy to help you find what you need.

If something doesn’t look right, let us know as soon as possible. Use the Resolve an Issue form or contact our team directly, and we’ll work with you to address it quickly.

Check our News & Updates for the latest announcements, policy changes, and important deadlines related to research administration.

Yes—our team offers guidance and resources to help you navigate research administration processes. Reach out to learn more about available support and training opportunities.

If you need help resolving an issue, feel free to contact us. If you want to share feedback, raise concerns, or suggest improvements feel free to utilize our Resolve an Issue Form.

Vendors (Contractors) provide "off-the-shelf" goods or services. Subrecipients are partners in the research; they contribute to the programmatic design and intellectual property of the project. Because they are "carrying out the federal program," the government requires much stricter oversight than a standard purchase.

No, we use a Risk-Approach.  

Any change in the subaward amount requires a formal amendment. Contact your Department Administrator or OSP to initiate a modification to the agreement.

Backup documentation includes receipts, payroll records, and travel logs. While we don't require this for every subrecipient, we mandate it for those classified as High-Risk or those who have had previous audit findings.

The Post-Award Compliance team will notify you and your department during the subaward issuance process. If a subrecipient is high-risk, we will work with you to implement "Specific Award Conditions," such as more frequent reporting.

Yes, but it must be for a valid programmatic or financial reason. 

Effort is the time you spend on a particular activity, expressed as a percentage of the total time you spend on University functions (teaching, research, service, and administration). It is not just the time paid by a grant; it includes any time you committed to the project, even if the University is picking up the tab (cost sharing).

Effort is not based on a 40-hour or 35-hour work week. It is based on 100% of your University activities. If you work 60 hours a week and spend 30 of those hours on a grant, your effort is 50%, not 75%. Whether you work 20 hours or 80 hours total, your University effort always adds up to 100%.

IBS is the annual compensation the University pays for your appointment. It includes your base salary but excludes "extra" pay like bonuses, overload payments, or income from outside consulting. Federal rules require us to use your IBS when calculating the cost of your effort.

Effort must be certified by the individual employee or an authorized Responsible Official possessing direct, first-hand knowledge or suitable means of verifying the work performs. 

Unless your appointment is 100% research with zero other duties, you likely have non-sponsored activities. Writing new grant proposals, serving on the IRB, or attending faculty meetings cannot be charged to a federal grant. We generally recommend a "buffer" (usually 5%) to cover these inevitable University responsibilities.

If a PI or "Key Personnel" reduces their effort on a federal award by 25% or more of the original commitment (e.g., dropping from 20% effort to 10% effort), we are legally required to notify the sponsor and, in most cases, get prior approval.

When your Institutional Base Salary exceeds the NIH salary cap, you still certify your PAR based on 100% of your total actual effort, not your paid salary distribution. The portion of your effort that exceeds the cap limit cannot be charged to the grant and must be recorded on a dedicated cost-sharing line backed by a non-federal university chartfield. 

If your award is missing from the ePAR system, it usually means your payroll has not been officially split or allocated to that specific chartfield during the quarter, as the system only populates grants that actively funded your salary. It can also happen if your project is too new to have processed payroll data yet.