1 WUSM RA Forum December 2008 Grants & Contracts.

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WUSM RA ForumWUSM RA ForumDecember 2008December 2008

Grants & ContractsGrants & Contracts

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NIH NIH UPDATEUPDATE

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Ignore Automated Emails from Grants.gov for NIH FOAs Ignore Automated Emails from Grants.gov for NIH FOAs requiring Paper Application Submissionrequiring Paper Application Submission

NIH is in the process of reposting approximately 100 opportunities in Grants.gov that require paper application submission.  This action may result in receipt of automated e-mail notification of a change from Grants.gov. Please note that there are no changes to the content of these funding opportunities. The Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) are still active.  See NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-09-022. Questions? Contact the eRA Helpdesk; 301-402-7469 or [email protected]

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Tips for “Other Support”Tips for “Other Support”

Example OVERLAP statement

“Adjustments to avoid overlap will be made to my other support prior to funding of this application.”

A general statement similar to the one above is acceptable if you are addressing overlap in Other Support pages that are part of an application.

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Tips for “Other Support” (cont)Tips for “Other Support” (cont)

For other support being submitted as Just-in-Time information, more detail should be provided as in the example below.

“If this application is funded, I will reduce my effort on grant 5R01AI056789-03to 2.0 calendar months, so that my overall research effort does not exceed 12.0 calendar months.”

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NIH FellowshipsNIH Fellowships Per Notice NOT-OD-09-007 NIH is no longer requiring the PI’s (fellow) and sponsor’s signature on individual fellowship grant applications (NRSAs = National Research Service Awards).  However, NIH is dictating that the institution secure the PI’s and sponsor’s signature assuring to some certifications. Please refer to the G&C template (next slide)

To meet this requirement, G&C is asking that Departments use the template (next slide) to create an addendum to the PC Form for NIH fellowships. This “addendum” should be submitted with the PC Form and rest of the application, prior to submission.

Please note, G&C along with RO and AIS are looking into a “systematic” change to in corporate this verbiage into the PC Form when NIH Fellowships are being submitted.

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NIH Fellowships (cont)NIH Fellowships (cont)

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eSNAP ProcedureeSNAP Procedure We created a new “generic” Signing Official (SO) account for eSNAPs named “WUSM Application” to hopefully streamline the procedure for the PIs and G&C

When the PI is ready to submit his/her application in eRA Commons they should select the next reviewer of “Application, WUSM”. (Note that the search drop down box in eRA is by last name, first name.)

This will ensure that the appropriate person in G&C has the ability to submit the application and eliminate the need for the PI to have to change the “next reviewer” should the normal Grant Analyst not be available.       

 Multiple PI AwardsMultiple PI Awards 

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NOT-OD-06-054

~ When multiple PIs are proposed in an application assurances must be retained for all named PIs.  The rationale is that in NIH’s implementation of multiple-PI grants, there was never a concept of “Lead” PI.   Instead, all PIs under these grants are considered equal and have equally shared rights and responsibilities under each grant.  Therefore, there needs to be documentation that all PIs make the assurances and agree to its terms, and that is why we require grantees to maintain signatures from all PIs instead of just one.  

  Multi-PI introduced the concept of “Contact” PI.  This is merely for communications purposes, and does not bestow any special rights, responsibilities, or status to that PI beyond communicating to the other PIs.

More on this can be found in FAQs at

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi/faq.htm#b6http://grants.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi/faq.htm#b8 

Multiple PI Awards (cont)Multiple PI Awards (cont)

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G&C UpdateG&C Update

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Grants and Contracts - General Information Grants and Contracts - General Information

G&C’s average portfolio (i.e., department assignments) per GA:

6 departments

Approx. 100 PIs

Approx. 20 DAs

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What Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) canWhat Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) can Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C)Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C)

Intentions for providing this information:

Providing these guidelines is G&C’s effort for communicating and sharing our expectations regarding G&C’s interactions with Washington University School of Medicine Faculty and Department Administrators in order to provide optimal service for all customers.

Objectives:

To provide needed time to comprehend the issue(s) presented in order to better identify next steps (i.e. action plan).

To better utilize resources and to maintain and hopefully increase overall efficiencies.

To better meet all of our customer’s needs, which includes all of our sponsors.

Clarify “expectations” and to be accountable for adhering to the aforementioned guidelines. ~ Any expectation that is not mutually beneficial for parties involved needs to be elevated to the next level of management.

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What Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) canWhat Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) can Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)

G&C’s Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) regarding item(s)*

Item(s)* = include, but are not limited to; PDS documents, hard copies of applications, carryover requests, re-budgeting requests, change in effort requests, awards, report requests, etc.

Item(s)* submitted to G&C for processing are placed in a “queue” of the assigned Grant Analyst (GA) according to:

Date/time received and

Grantor/agency due date

NOTE: If a heavy proposal submission deadline is imminent, proposal submission item(s)* may take precedence over all other item(s)*.

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What Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) canWhat Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) can Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)

Any item(s)* submitted to G&C should allow for a “response time” of two (2) full WU working days prior to any follow-up (e.g. phone call, email).

NOTE: Response time means that G&C should acknowledge (e.g. email or phone call) item(s)* within (2) full WU working days.

NOTE : Response time does not necessarily mean “approval” or the “turnaround” of an item(s)*.

Should G&C not acknowledge item(s)* within the (2) full WU working days, please feel free to follow-up directly with your assigned GA regarding the status of the item(s)*.

All item(s)* should be accompanied by/with all applicable documentation (e.g. emails, summary of phone conversation(s), referenced documents, etc.) which, hopefully, will provide G&C with an understanding of the issue(s).

~ Providing supporting documentation initially/upfront will expedite the overall review and approval process, which is everyone’s objective.

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What Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) canWhat Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) can Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)

Complex applications (e.g. U, P funding mechanisms, etc.) or multiple PDS doc projects should, in general, allow for:

~ two (2) full WU working days for the PDS document review~ five (5) full WU working days for “final” review/signature.

After reviewing the item(s)* in its entirety, G&C may return item(s)* for questions and/or changes. That item* may be returned to the queue and once again is subject to the standard operating procedures stated above.

NOTE: When possible, these item(s)* will be addressed as quickly as possible, which may equate to bypassing G&C’s SOP procedures.

To be professional in our interactions with our customers

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What Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) canWhat Faculty and Department Administrators (DAs) can Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)Expect from Grants and Contracts (G&C) (cont)

Summary of Expectations:

To clearly communicate expectations in respect to processing item(s)* and providing optimal service for the entire WU Medical School, it’s Faculty and Department Administrators.

To provide needed time to comprehend the issue(s) presented in order to better identify next steps (i.e. action plan).

To better utilize resources and to maintain and hopefully increase overall efficiencies.

Clarify “expectations” and to be accountable for adhering to the aforementioned guidelines. ~ Any expectation that is not mutually beneficial for parties involved needs to be elevated to the next level of management.

To better meet all of our customer’s needs, which includes all of our sponsors.

To be professional in our interactions

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Grants and Contracts Grants and Contracts Expectations of Department AdministratorsExpectations of Department Administrators

not meant to be all-inclusive:

DA should be G&C’s primary point of contact; acting as the liaison between PI and G&C.~ If DA wants G&C to work directly with the PI, this needs to be communicated via e-mail.

Obtain appropriate departmental approvals for budget and other applicable documents (e.g., Carryover Requests, Re-budgeting, etc.)

~ Refer to G&C letter matrix via the G&C website~ Recommend forwarding a “draft” regarding “other applicable documents” before obtaining

applicable signatures

Formulate project budget using Proposal Development System (PDS) for all requests seeking external funding

Review and understand preaward guidelines prior to initiating PDS document.

Know and understand WUSM policies and procedures pertaining to the specific proposal (e.g., COI, PI Eligibility, etc.).

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Grants and Contracts Grants and Contracts Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)

not meant to be all-inclusive: Review PDS document for compliance with Sponsor, University and School policies prior to approving and forwarding to G&C

DAs should know who their assigned GA is and when applicable due to vacation, sick, etc, who the backup GA will be

Assist PI regarding research administration related issues

If applicable, prepare hard copy of administrative aspect of proposal

Complete Proposal Certification form completely & correctly~ not sure of an issues/question, communicate these concerns via e-mail

Obtain appropriate (i.e., authorized) departmental signatures, whichever is applicable (i.e., Chair, Division Chair)

A fully completed proposal should be submitted to G&C (5) full WU working days prior to the submission date (i.e., date dept./PI wants to submit the proposal)

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Grants and Contracts Grants and Contracts Expectations of Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)Department Administrators (cont)

not meant to be all-inclusive:

When submitting work to G&C, there should be minimal errors, if any at all. ~ G&C’s review should be considered a “third” pair of eyes. ~ Errors equate to longer processing time.

Communication between DA and G&C is integral. DA should allow (2) full WU working days for addressing/processing inquiries. Generally, work is addressed/processed in the order received, by priority, and then by due date.

~ After (2) full WU working days, G&C should respond to DA in one of the following manners: Acknowledge the inquiry and communicate an action plan Provide DA with status of inquiry Inquiry is resolved

~ DAs are strongly encouraged to follow-up with G&C after the (2) full WU working days should G&C fail to respond within the (2) full WU working day time frame~ G&C/Grant Analyst (GA) and DA are a “team” working together to ensure faculty’s expectations are met.

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Grants and Contracts Grants and Contracts Expectations of Department Administrators Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)(cont)

not meant to be all-inclusive:

If needed and highly recommended, schedule a specific date and time to meet with your GA when needing to discuss a difficult issue(s).

Be professional

Be realistic with deadlines and/or due dates regarding approvals~ Expecting same day approval is very difficult to achieve and requires reallocating already limited resources

Research the issue thoroughly before seeking G&C’s assistance and share research endeavors with GA to eliminate potential for GA duplicating your efforts.

Communicate and share expectations with GA for every document.

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Grants and Contracts Grants and Contracts Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)Expectations of Department Administrators (cont)

not meant to be all-inclusive:

Suggestions on expanding Research Administration knowledge:

Attending Research Adminstrator’s Forums

Attending national and regional meetings (NIH, SRA, NCURA, etc.)

Reading list-serve information~ NIH Guide - http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/listserv.htm~ NIH Extramural Nexus - http://grants.nih.gov/grants/partners/0507Nexus.htm~ NIH Electronic Submission - http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/listserv.htm#1~ RESADM-L Mailing List - http://www.hrinet.org

Courier ServiceCourier Service

Please note that courier service will not be available on the following daysPlease note that courier service will not be available on the following days

December 26, 2008December 26, 2008

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January 2, 2009January 2, 2009

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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Upcoming 2009 Upcoming 2009 NIH Regional SeminarsNIH Regional Seminars

Program Funding and Grants AdministrationProgram Funding and Grants Administration

April 16-17, 2009- Atlanta, GeorgiaCo-Hosted by : Georgia State University and

Georgia Institute of Technology

June 25-26, 2009-Las Vegas, NevadaCo-Hosted by: University of Nevada, Las Vegas and

University of Nevada, Reno

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Upcoming NCURA 2009 Seminars

January 7-9, 2009Fundamentals of Sponsored Project Administration Workshop

Phoenix, AZ

January 7-9, 2009Sponsored Project Administration Level II Workshop

Phoenix, AZ

February 2-4, 2009Fundamentals of Sponsored Project Administration Workshop

Orlando, FL

February 2-4, 2009Financial Research Administration Workshop

Orlando, FL

February 9-11, 2009Financial Research Administration X Conference

La Quinta (Palm Springs), CA

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Upcoming 2009 SRA International

Midwest Section MeetingMay 1-5, 2009

Sheraton Hotel and Sioux Falls Convention CenterSioux Falls, South Dakota

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Reminder: Go to Grants and Contracts website for copies of forms etc.

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