Project Setup

Congratulations on your new award!

When a proposal has been approved by a sponsor for support, Office of Research (Pre-Award) will usually receive notice that an award has been made or a contract is being prepared. If you, the Principal Investigator, receive this notice, you must contact the Office of Research immediately to ensure that the Office of Research has also received the notice. Office of Research cannot administratively initiate the project without formal sponsor notification. Many award instruments are received which require both sponsor and University signatures before they become effective. Principal Investigators are not authorized to sign award documents on behalf of the University.

When an award document is received which requires University signature in order to be effective, it is the responsibility of the Office of Research to return signed copies to the sponsor.  Upon receipt of the fully executed documents, Office of Research will process the award. 

After the notice of award has been received, the Office of Research will send notification to Research Accounting Services.  This is known as the Pre-to-RAS handoff.  At this point, the Research Accounting Services team will establish a fund number for your award.  Your designated Research Accountant will notify the Principal Investigator and the Department Administrator when the fund is established and ready for use. This e-mail will contain the research fund number, a copy of the award documents, the COEUS award notice (which is a summary of key information found in the sponsor award documents) and the award budget. Normally, a fund will be setup within 3-5 business days after receipt by Research Accounting Services. A new fund number is necessary for the following circumstances:

1. The notice of award is a new award. 
2. The award is for a competitive renewal.
3. There is not automatic carry-forward of funding for subsequent years of the award.
4. The notice of award from the US Department of Health and Human Services changes the "Payment Account Type" from PMS pooled accounts (G accounts) to PMS subaccounts (P subaccounts).
5. Annual financial reporting is required.
6. There is a change in the sponsor’s purchase order number for a sub-award.
7. There is a change in sponsor's reference or document number.
8. The award is for a fellowship.
9. The award is for a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates. 

Once the fund has been setup for use, expenses can start being allocated to the project. If your project allows for pre-award costs or expenditures have occurred while waiting for fund setup, a journal entry can be submitted using the Journal Entry Workflow can be submitted to move non-personnel expenses onto the research fund. You should also be submitting any necessary ePAFs and/or labor redistributions to begin charging the personnel assigned to the research grant.  

The following are useful links to use when trying to get expenditures charged to your award. If the expense that you are trying to transfer onto the grant is greater than 90 days old, additional approvals and explanations are required.

• Find Your Research Accountant
• Find Your Pre-Award Administrator
• Cost Transfer Policy, and Journal Entry Workflow for cost transfers
• Research Disbursements Guidelines
• Information Regarding Personnel Action Forms (PAFs), ePAFs and Online Labor Redistributions 
• Salary Distribution Change Form [PDF]
• Research Extra Compensation Form [PDF]

Advance Grant/Fund Request

It is often necessary and best practice to open and assign sponsored project grant and fund numbers in advance of receipt of the formal award notice. Use of Advance Grant and Fund Numbers may be appropriate for continuation funding or recurring annual awards, particularly those from state and local agencies, or when a sponsor allows for 90-day pre-award spending.

In order to receive an Advance Grant or Fund Number:

1. Complete the Advance Grant and Fund Request Form [PDF], obtain all required signatures, and email it to your Pre-Award Administrator in the Office of Research. The completed form will be forwarded to the Research Accounting Services group through OR's "Pre-to-RAS handoff" process.
2. Ensure that the Pre-Award Office has a full copy of the proposal that was submitted to the sponsor and a completed Coeus record with all required approvals in place, including the department heads and Deans for all participating investigators.  
3. If available, attach a copy of the sponsor's letter of intent to make the award or similar correspondence that states the approximate start date and estimated award amount. This correspondence can be an email between the Program Officer and the Principal Investigator stating that the award is coming.

Please note that for clinical trials and research involving animals or human subjects, only administrative expenditures are allowed on an Advance Grants/Funds. Expenditures related to animal or human subjects must have a fully executed agreement in place in order to incur these expenses.

Please contact your Pre Award Administrator or Research Accountant with any questions about the form or procedure.