SIUC SPONSORED PROJECT GUIDE

Section 6: Award Negotiation and Acceptance

Award notices are usually mailed by the funding agency to the director of ORDA or to the principal investigator. If you receive such a notice, or if you receive phone, fax, or e-mail notification from the agency, check with the ORDA research project specialist who worked with you on the proposal to make sure that ORDA has received an award document. Award notices are reviewed by ORDA's project specialists to ensure that the terms and conditions of the award agreement are acceptable to the University.

When the award is substantially the same as specified in the original or revised proposal, or when the award is a continuation or supplement to an existing award, ORDA completes an acceptance form that requires only the signature of the ORDA director for the institutional official. However, some awards require further reviews, approvals, and/or negotiations before they can be accepted and processed.

Many grant applications go through some negotiation and revision before the award is finalized. When a funding agency decides to support a project, it may fund the project at a different level from that requested (usually at a reduced level). It also may want some changes in the proposed work or in the services to be provided by the project. The agency will notify the University of its desire to negotiate the award agreement. At that time, a representative of ORDA, in cooperation with the principal investigator, will contact the negotiator for the funding organization.

If the agency simply wants a minor budget reduction, the SIUC representatives usually can agree to the changes on a verbal basis. If the budget reduction is major, however, a corresponding reduction in the scope of work may be required, which will necessitate some revisions to the proposal as well as the budget. The revised proposal must then go through the same review and sign-off process as for the original proposal.
Any increase in the dollar amount of the University contribution or in the portion of the overall project cost contributed by the University requires approval. The principal investigator must obtain signatures from the unit providing the funds as well as from his or her department chair and college dean. Be aware of the cost-sharing guidelines in section 10 of this guide.
If the terms of an award agreement conflict with SIUC or state regulations, ORDA will negotiate changes with the funding agency. In some cases, ORDA must clear the award documents through University Legal Counsel. If unusual insurance requirements are specified in the agreement, ORDA must secure clearance through Insurance Service.
Issues such as intellectual property ownership (patents, copyrights, licensing options, etc.), publication rights, and handling of proprietary information often must be resolved at this stage as well, with the involvement of the principal investigator.
Remember that you must have received institutional approval if the project will involve human subjects, human stem cells, vertebrate animals, hazardous biological, chemical, or radiological substances, or recombinant DNA. This process should have begun at or before the proposal submission stage. See section 5.1, #3, on research compliances.

ORDA serves as facilitator and liaison between the funding agency and the principal investigator. We handle any necessary subcontracts, budget reallocations, program adjustments, and time extensions. See section 7 of this guide, Account Set-up and Grant Management.

Grant & Contract Accounting monitors agency fiscal requirements, does agency billing where necessary to receive grant funds, and facilitates required fiscal reporting to the funding agency. An accountant will be assigned to help monitor your project.

If you have questions, contact the ORDA research project specialist who works with your college.

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Questions/comments about the Sponsored Project Guide? Contact Marilyn Davis
Office of Research Development and Administration
Southern Illinois University Carbondale

last updated 5/20/08