SIUC SPONSORED PROJECT GUIDE

Sponsored projects are activities supported by non-University (external) funds awarded as the result of a proposal or application for funding submitted formally to an agency by the Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University on behalf of a faculty or staff member. Sponsors include federal and state agencies, private foundations, nonprofit organizations, business and industry, and local governments and school districts.

Sponsored projects are supported by grants, grants-in-aid, contracts, or cooperative agreements. They do not include gifts and bequests to the University, which are administered through the SIU Foundation.

Sponsored projects are usually research-, training-, or service-oriented. The award agreement commits the sponsor to fund the project to a certain level, and it commits SIUC to carry out the activities specified in the proposal over a specific project period.

As a general rule, the grant mechanism is used when the sponsor is not seeking immediate benefit for itself but is simply providing support for work that the principal investigator has planned independently or in response to an RFP. The grant recipient makes no guarantees other than that work will be done as described in the proposal, that good management practices will be followed, and that progress and final reports will be provided to the sponsor as specified in the award agreement. If the grantor is unhappy with the quality of the work, however, or if it feels the research findings are not promising, it may not fund the applicant in the future. Ordinarily there are no limitations on the use or publication of the project results.

Grants are generally made for a specific period—sometimes for a year or less; sometimes for multiple years. In the latter case, funds usually are disbursed on an annual basis by the granting agency. The principal investigator may be required to submit a noncompeting continuation application as each subsequent grant year approaches, to satisfy the agency that the work is on track with the plan outlined in the original proposal. In contrast, getting a grant renewed entails preparation of another proposal (called a competing renewal or competing application), which will be peer-reviewed just as the original proposal was.

Many types of grants are available. Research grants support studies to test theories and hypotheses by developing or interpreting new ideas or information. They do not require an immediate benefit and may not yield definitive findings, especially in the case of highly exploratory work. Grants may be for basic or applied research.

Demonstration grants illustrate the effectiveness of a new or unique procedure or method while providing a direct benefit to a particular population. A demonstration grant might, for example, provide specific health-care services to clients. Training grants support the costs of training staff, potential staff, or students in skills needed in a particular field.

Equipment grants can help the institution or the principal investigator upgrade laboratory capabilities. Planning grants allow an institution to lay the foundation for a new project. Challenge grants require the institution to find an additional funding source for a specified percentage of the project costs. Seed grants help the institution initiate certain activities or services that are to continue after the grant support ends.

The simplest grant agreement, called a grant-in-aid, is used most often by corporate sponsors. It is unusual in that it does not involve a formal written proposal, a formal agreement, or any reporting requirement by the sponsor. The award consists of a letter identifying the research activity to be supported with the funds, and a check setting the award amount. Like other grants, grants-in-aid are institutional awards and must be processed through ORDA.

Fellowships also are considered to be grants. Unlike most other grants, however, they typically are awarded directly to an individual rather than to the institution. When that is the case, the award is not processed through ORDA, unless required by the funding agency.

Contracts usually are used by sponsors when they have a specific need or benefit in mind. Contracts are most often awarded by government agencies and by business and industry, seldom by foundations. The sponsor stipulates its needs, and the principal investigator and the sponsor reach a detailed agreement about activities to be performed for a set price within a set period of time (which can range from a few months to several years). Industrial firms, for example, often approach such support as the purchase of services and use a standard purchase order form. Contracts often involve analyses or testing—whether it be hearing testing for schoolchildren, laboratory analysis of composite materials, or drug efficacy trials.

Contracts are much more explicit and binding than grants are in terms of the work outline and reporting of results. A contract entails a specific performance agreement: the principal investigator is guaranteeing that analyses will be performed, tests conducted, or services provided exactly as stipulated in the contract and that high standards ("best-effort" performance) will be maintained. The contract cannot, of course, stipulate the achievement of specific research results. In a drug trial, for example, the PI is obligated to test efficacy using the procedures agreed upon in the contract but cannot be penalized if the outcome is unfavorable for the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the trial. Nor can sponsors withhold payment if the results are not to their liking.

A hybrid sponsorship that combines elements of both the grant and the contract is known as a cooperative agreement. The cooperative agreement allows researchers from the University and the sponsor or other organization to work jointly in an area of investigation. Both parties make available personnel to work on projects, and both parties formally participate in planning, coordinating, conducting, and evaluating activities carried out under the agreement. The award agreement typically sets forth this technical involvement in detail.

Occasionally, two or more agencies or organizations are willing to co-sponsor a given activity, such as a conference of mutual interest or a research project the results of which will be shared among the sponsors. A combination of grants and contracts may be involved in such multi-sponsor efforts. Such sponsorship can include, for example, an industrial affiliates program coordinated by a campus research center.