General Policy - Applications for Outside Funding

All applications for external funds must be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP). This includes proposals for such contracts, grants and agreements of solicitation of funds, whether with government agencies, industries, foundations, or other private granting agencies.

Each proposal/application must be accompanied by:

1. Budget Narrative: This is necessary for internal review purposes, even if not required by the granting agency.
2. Cost Sharing Statement: If the University is required by the terms of the grant to provide evidence of cost sharing, a brief memo detailing the proposed cost sharing arrangement must be provided with account numbers identified.
3. Selected approvals (as applicable).

Procedures

Whenever a proposal is being submitted to more than one agency, the simultaneous submissions must be noted, either in the proposal itself, or in a letter prepared by the Principal Investigator (PI).

Internal Review Process

1. ORSP will review all grant applications. The grant proposal will then be routed to the appropriate Vice President and the Division of Business Affairs for approval/signature. An institutional Fact Sheet has been set up in the Office of Sponsored Project's web-site to provide information that grant applications may require.
2. The Project Director must provide sufficient time to allow for a thorough review of the content of the proposal. The fiscal aspects and other university resource implications/commitments should be reviewed carefully. Failure to allow sufficient time to insure a thorough review could result in having a proposal delayed beyond the established submission deadline or rejection of the proposal during the internal review process. As a general rule, a minimum of three working days should be set aside for the internal review process for a grant proposal after the appropriate dean has reviewed and approved the proposal. A minimum of seven working days should be set aside for the internal review process. No alterations should be made to a proposal without notifying personnel who reviewed and signed the Transmittal Form.

Receipt of Non-funding Information

1. Proposals submitted for funding are filed in the ORSP. If the Principal Investigator/Director receives notice that the proposal will not be funded, a copy of the letter must be sent to the ORSP so that all pending files may reflect proper disposition.

Notice of Grant Award

1. If the proposal is funded, the original award letter and all award documentation sent by funding agency must be sent to the ORSP. ORSP and Grants Accountant will meet with the Principal Investigator/Director to review grants terms and conditions, indentify Alternate Approver, and Project Reviewer. ORSP will forward an ORSP Interoffice Transmittal Form, Research Award Determination Form (if project is research), Transmittal Form, Award Notification or Contract, and a copy of the proposal. The Grants and Contracts Supervisor or designee will review the documentation, grant terms and conditions, and other information necessary to establish a restricted account. A sponsored project and award will be created and the budget approved by the funding agency will be set up and an email will be sent to all Key Members.
    
2. Every project and award created will be assigned a Grant Accountant. The Accountant will notify the Principal Investigator/Director to submit access for his/her new project through the Financials Responsibility Request form thru Oracle. A notification through Oracle workflow will also be sent to the Principal Investigator/Director when the budget is loaded into the Project/Grants module (PA/GMS).

1. Personnel

All personnel who will work on grants, projects, and research contracts should meet University employment requirements. G&C staff monitors grant budgets for availability of funds and grant compliance. Personnel paid from grants will be subject to the Classified Personnel Pay Plan and the same regulations and policies as other employees. Questions concerning recruitment, employment, classification, or other personnel matters should be handled within the regular university procedures by contacting the Human Resource office. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding, such questions should be settled prior to any agreement or commitment being made to a prospective employee. A Memorandum of Employment (MOE) must be approved before an employee can start employment.

2. Purchasing

All purchases are initiated and processed through the Oracle Purchase Order workflow. The accountant assigned to each account will review and approve each purchase. If the expense is not allowed, the requisition/purchase order will be rejected by the grant accountant with an explanation in the comments section of the workflow. Questions regarding purchasing procedures should be directed to the Materials Management office (purch@utpa.edu).

3. Travel

The travel requisition is also processed using the Oracle Purchase Order Workflow. Grant accountants will monitor travel request and approve/reject travel based on the grant terms and conditions. After the travel is completed, department must submit a travel reimbursement voucher to accounts payable for processing.

4. Time & Effort Reporting

All personnel paid from sponsored projects are required to certify a Time and Effort report using the Effort Certification and Reporting Technology System (ECRT).  The report is certified every six months - February and August of every year.  Discrepancies sited by the Principal Investigator/Director must be corrected in a timely manner.

5. Indirect Cost

The University has negotiated Indirect Cost (IDC) rates with the Federal Government and these rates are to be used in preparing all grant/contract proposals, including applications to non-federal agencies. The most current rates are available through the Office of Sponsored Project's website. IDC amounts will be automatically charged to the project based on the project’s approved rate.

6. Reporting Requirements

Principal Investigator/Director is responsible and accountable for meeting the funding agency’s reporting requirements by the required due date. Some funding agencies require some of the following reports to be submitted:  publications, technical, inventory, patent reports, and progress reports (crucial). Ninety (90) days before a grant terminates, the Grants & Contracts Office will notify the Principal Investigator/Director that their grant will be terminating. The grant accountant closely monitors all expenses during this period to avoid unallowable costs. All financial reports will be prepared by the grants accountant. We cannot ignore these obligations the institution has to the funding agencies.