Pre-Award Sponsored Programs Administration

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A sponsored project is one that is sponsored, or funded, by an external organization like a federal funding agency, state agency, or public/private organization. As such, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) supports the CSU community in pursuit and conduct of externally funded projects, providing both pre- and post-award services.

The basic functions of many pre-award offices center on facilitating faculty efforts to produce a competitive proposal and in executing administrative functions around proposal review and submission, review of incoming awards and agreements, and issuance of subawards.

At CSU, sponsored programs administration is a shared responsibility across many units including departments, centers, schools, colleges, and the central OSP. Because roles and responsibilities are distributed broadly, successful pre-award administration relies on partnerships and strong communications between units and clear understanding of the roles and responsibilities inherent in the various functions.

Research Development

Research Development is a set of strategic, capacity-building activities designed to foster collaborations and situate investigators and the institution to be competitive in the extramural funding arena. Often referred to as pre- pre-award, research development activities occur prior to proposal/budget development and submission, and often include:

  • assistance locating funding opportunities that align with investigator/institutional priorities
  • facilitation of diverse teams and collaborations among researchers to tackle larger questions
  • career planning for research investigators
  • financial support for research teams to test ideas and collect pilot data
  • facilitation of industry collaborations and partnerships

At CSU, the Research Acceleration Office (RAO) provides research development services to the research community through strategic research initiatives, support for interdisciplinary programs, assistance with complex proposal development, and oversight of the limited submission program.

RAO provides individualized services for researchers including:

  • assistance with early career planning and development
  • identification of external resources to support research activities (SPIN funding database)
  • grant writing workshops utilizing peer review (e.g. NSF CAREER Program; Early Career Investigator Workshops)
  • internal funding programs (e.g., Pre-Catalyst for Innovative Partnerships)
  • grant writing/editing services
  • coordination of complex, multidisciplinary proposals

Considered the pre- pre-award office, RAO is the first stop in the lifecycle of research/proposal development for faculty and staff wanting to engage in sponsored programs.

Award Life cycle graphic

Funding Opportunities & Proposal Development Services

In addition to RAO, some CSU departments and colleges may also assist investigators by searching for or disseminating funding opportunities specific to investigator needs and expertise. The World Wide Web and fee-based funding opportunity databases have greatly enhanced the capacity of research development offices and personnel to find and distribute funding information.

Once a particular opportunity has been identified, proposal development services may include:

  • interpretation of funding opportunity and sponsor guidelines
  • preparation of standard forms and providing required documents such as the institution’s negotiated F&A rate agreement
  • budget development
  • collection of biographical information and other support documentation from investigators and their collaborators
  • documents from collaborators/consultants such as letters of commitment and cost estimates
  • documents from subrecipients such as statements of work, budgets and budget justifications, and letters of commitment
  • preparation of boilerplate institutional information and statistics

At CSU, these services typically reside with unit administrators (e.g., department/college research administrators, financial & research managers, research project coordinators, etc.). OSP teams work closely with unit administrators, business officers, and investigators to prepare proposals for extramural funding. Additionally, the OSP provides training for faculty and staff on topics such as preparing a budget, working with specific sponsors and more.

Proposal Review & Submission

Sponsored program offices are the coordinating offices for externally funded activities, including proposal review and submission. The central review process provides support and protection to individual investigators, units, and the institution. Proposal review ensures everyone is aware of commitments made in the proposal such as cost sharing, use of facilities and space, investigator time, and additional personnel. The review process assures the sponsoring agency that the institution is following appropriate costing principles and that obligations made in the proposal can be supported.

At CSU, the OSP coordinates final institutional review of proposals, completes required representations and certifications, and provides transmittal letters and mailing/submission instructions as required. OSP is the office with the authority to authorize and, if required by the sponsor, submit proposals on behalf of the University.

Subawards

When CSU receives an award that includes other institutions or organizations that will be programmatically and financially responsible for completing part of the project’s scope of work (subrecipients), the OSP issues a subaward agreement (aka, Outgoing Subawards).

There are two aspects of the subaward process that should occur during the pre-award stage:

  • subrecipient determination
  • collection of subrecipient information

Investigators and administrative personnel should work collaboratively to determine if collaborators outside CSU should be classified as consultants, contractors, or subrecipients. The OSP provides a checklist to aid in making this determination. Accurate determination is important for budget development and sponsor approvals.

Once a subrecipient determination has been made, investigators and administrative personnel should collect the following information from the subrecipient:

  • Budget and budget justification approved by the subrecipients’ sponsored programs or authorized office
  • Subrecipient’s scope of work
  • Sub-commitment form/letter

Collection of subrecipient information at the pre-award stage allows for accurate budgeting and calculation of indirect costs (aka, F&A costs), documentation of commitments from subrecipient organizations, subrecipient assessment for risk as required by governing regulations, and facilitation of subaward issuance once an award has been made.

Award Negotiation and Acceptance

In many instances, sponsoring agencies issue award agreements to the sponsored programs office. At CSU, the OSP has the authority to enter into agreements on behalf of the institution. If an agreement is sent to a unit or investigator, it should be forwarded to the OSP for review and signature. Only OSP, OVPR, and Executive staff can sign on behalf of the institution.

Many award agreements contain project-specific information such as project title, lead investigator (aka, principal investigator) contact information, project start and end dates, funding amount, scope of work, budget, and authorized subrecipients. Award documents will vary depending on the sponsor in terms of information included and project/sponsor terms and conditions. Once issued, OSP pre-award staff review the award agreement and work collaboratively with the sponsor, investigator, and administrative staff to comply with the terms and accept the award.

In many cases, federally-issued assistance awards include standard terms and conditions that need not be negotiated. Acceptance occurs when the institution draws down funds against the award. For awards that contain non-standard terms and conditions, OSP pre-award staff will provide a thorough review and may request revisions prior to acceptance in order to bring award terms and conditions into alignment with institutional policies and interests.

Account Setup and Award Administration

The final stage of the pre-award process is Award Setup. Once award terms and conditions have been reviewed and accepted, OSP pre- and post-award staff work together to set up sponsored awards in the CSU award system (Kuali Award) and to create the project account in the financial system (Kuali Financial System- KFS).

In setting up the award, OSP staff enter details about the project that will assist in tracking, monitoring, and reporting on financial project outcomes.

Once an account is established, OSP pre-award staff assist with project management including:

  • review and processing of requests for no-cost extensions
  • budget and project modifications
  • requests for carryforward of funds
  • monitoring of expenditures for adherence to sponsor and institutional regulations
  • communication with sponsors on project and fiscal matters

Summary

Pre-award sponsored program administration is a responsibility that is shared between investigators, department/unit administrative offices, sponsored programs, and related offices. Because of the sheer number of individuals and units involved with a given sponsored project, everyone must have clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and must be in communication in order to effectively and successfully apply for and manage sponsor funds.