Post-Award Manual

The Post Award Manual was developed by the Basic & Bridge Sciences Post Award Working Group in 2007. It is a summary of various policies, procedures and best practices in the management of research accounts. As policies and procedures change, this document will be updated. The document editors are Julie Caldwell (MGCB), Mary Kardes (Microbiology), and Kelara Ford (MGCB).

Post-Award Activities

Account Creation Account Stewardship Post-Award Financial Management Required NIH Closeout (NOT 99-136) Transferring a Grant

Account Creation

BSD Guidance on Creating Advance and Regular FAS Accounts

 

I. BACKGROUND/DEFINITIONS:

Each grant or contract award should have a unique FAS account to record the financial transactions of the project. A full description of the FAS account characteristics can be found in the FAS Users Manual (http://adminet.uchicago.edu/fasmanual/docs/21.html)

II. REGULAR FAS ACCOUNT:

All award letters/notices should be received in or forwarded to University Research Administration so the University may officially accept the award and update the TRACS database. URA will distribute a “Notice of New Award” memo with the award document attached to the PI, Department Administrator, Dean’s Office (ORS or OCR), and Restricted Funds. The Restricted Funds (RF) Section of the Comptroller’s Office will create the FAS or update the advance account for awards upon RF’s receipt of the award notice from URA. RF will enter account administrators and authorized signers for the award based upon the past practices of the administering department. If those assumptions are incorrect, the department must instruct RF how to modify that information. Those units in BSD that create accounts electronically (Local Business Centers (LBCs), BSD Dean’s Office, Medicine, BMB, Ben May, Pathology, Cancer Research Center and CALGB) will continue to create or update FAS accounts for awards that they manage upon their receipt of the award from URA. RF will not create the FAS account. A department does not need to transmit a Form 70 to RF for a “regular” status FAS account. Associate Accounts and Cost Sharing Accounts should be created in accordance with University Policy 401. Account Creates.

III. ADVANCE ACCOUNTS:

Advance Accounts: Advance Accounts are created in anticipation of the grant/cooperative agreement award. All of the anticipated terms and conditions of the award apply to the Advance Account. Departments should create Advance Accounts when there is reasonable certainty that the award will be made. This will allow for timely set up of the award, establishing the correct payroll, standing orders, etc. In the event that an advance account has been established, the Department accepts financial responsibility for any non-reimbursed costs. (See Financial Policy No. 2105, Financial Responsibility). Activities that are performed under contract (e.g. clinical trials, research contracts) may have an Advance Account created under special circumstances. Please contact the Director of ORS for guidance and approval. In general, clinical trial contracts cannot be set up as an advance account.

 

IV. ADVANCE ACCOUNT PROCESS:

 

Department: The Department Administrator (DA) completes the Request for a Grant, Contract, or Cooperative Agreement Advance Account (Form 70B)

and emails the form using the email template below as an attachment to Restricted Funds (RF) with a cc: bsd-account-create@delphi.bsd.uchicago.edu.

Form 70B: http://adminet.uchicago.edu/adminforms/downloads/req_spon_agre_advance_acct.doc

 

Note: Section C of the Form 70B request protocol information. All protocols must be fully approved by the regulatory committee prior to beginning the regulated activity. It is University of Chicago policy that a copy of the final application be submitted to the IRB (human subjects) for approval. The IRB protocol is not considered “approved” until the IRB has certified the grant application. For assistance, please contact Tasha Osafo in the BSD IRB at tosafo@bsd.uchicago.edu. If the application has not yet been certified by the IRB, then no human subject related work can commence on the grant.

 

Restricted Funds: Restricted Funds receives the email and attachment and verifies the information from TRACS. If there are inconsistencies, confirms correct information with DA and Dean’s Office. Once accurate, RF creates the account in ACCTS. ACCTS emails the new account to the DA, RF, Dean’s Office, and URA.

 

Dean’s Office: The BSD Office of Research Services is the local BSD Dean’s Office agent assigned account-create activities. ORS will monitor the account creates and audit monthly all new accounts created. The audit will involve reviewing certain accounts for accuracy, protocol information, TRACS information, and cost sharing. If significant and continuing compliance issues are found, corrective actions will be taken.

 

University Research Administration: URA will receive the ACCTS notice of account create and update the associated TRACS record with the FAS number.

 

Email Template:

 

To: Your Contact at Restricted funds

Cc: bsd-account-create@delphi.bsd.uchicago.edu

Subject: Advance Account Create

 

Body of Text:

 

Attached please find the Form 70 to create a new Advance Account for the following activity:

 

PI: Insert PI name

Agency: Insert Agency

Title: Insert title

TRACS: Insert TRACS number

 

Oversight Committee Information (check one):

__The application does not have any oversight committee protocols associated with the research activities.

__The application has oversight committee protocols associated with the research activities and I have verified all protocols are fully approved in accordance with University of Chicago policies.

__The application has oversight committee protocols associated with the research activities and the following protocols have not yet been approved. (insert protocol list here) I certify that no activities involving regulated work will begin until the associated protocol has been fully approved by the appropriate regulatory committee.

 

Certification: By emailing the above email message and attachment, I am certifying compliance with all University of Chicago policies on the financial management of grant activities.

Account Stewardship

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the conduct of programmatic, as well as financial, project management. The PI together with his or her departmental and/or sectional administrators should review the award letter and agency terms and conditions along with the monthly ledgers provided by the Comptroller's Office to ensure proper stewardship of the award. PIs should participate actively in the management of the award budget and provide written approval of personnel and other budgetary changes. Many projects will require post-award actions such as issuing a subcontract or sponsored consulting agreement or will require changes in program, budget, or period of performance. While the University has been given the authority to authorize certain post-award changes on certain types of awards by the federal government, many changes require prior approval in writing from the agency. To secure this approval, the PI should prepare a detailed written request for agency consideration; as with applications, these requests require divisional and institutional endorsement and are routed through the same system. Although many of our federal awards allow the PI and institution great flexibility in the management of the award, terms and conditions of each individual award vary and need to be carefully reviewed and followed. Typical (but not exclusive) post-award modifications include:

  • Rebudgeting
  • No cost extensions
  • Change in scope 
  • Change in PI
  • Change of institution
  • Subcontracts 
  • Reporting requirements
  • Terminating a grant early
  • Sponsored Consulting Agreements

Post-Award Financial Management

Routine spending of restricted funds is handled by the department and Local Business Center (LBC) administrative staff in conjunction with the PI using the guidelines and policies of the funding agency and the University's Comptroller's office. For assistance in interpretation of guidelines or policies, please contact the Section of Grant & Contract Management, University Research Administration, and Restricted Funds, Comptroller's Office. Institutional financial policies can be found at the University of Chicago policy page

Required NIH Closeout Reports

Transferring a Grant

The following documents require the Adobe Acrobat Reader (http://www.adobe.com) which can be downloaded for free.

Transferring an NIH Grant * Before contacting the NIH regarding IDC differences between UC and other institution, please contact Cyndie Shannon for correct procedures.
Transferring an NSF Grant

Final Invention Statement
Relinquishing Statement
Financial Status Report (Long Form)