What is an Investigator Incentive Award (IIA)?
An Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) is a disbursement to the investigator for his/her share of the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs recovered on eligible sponsored projects.
What is the purpose of an Investigator Incentive Award (IIA)?
Investigator incentive award (IIA) funds are an incentive to investigators for the work they have done, or continue to do, on grant-funded projects. ASU intends for IIA to provide investigators with funds to continue their research projects outside of sponsor support. Once IIA funds are received, the investigator may use the funds at their discretion.
How is an Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funded?
Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funding is calculated at 5% of actual F&A recovered (expended) and is funded during each month-end close process. Note: Projects with approved Facilities & Administrative Cost Waivers (F&A Waivers) will have lower F&A recovery, which will result in lower IIA dollars available (or, in some cases, no IIA distributions).
How are Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds allocated?
Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds are allocated to investigators based on the Investigator Allocation Changes and Award Lead Financial Unit SmartForm of the Funding Award in ERA (Enterprise Research Administration).
Are there any restrictions on the use of Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds?
Knowledge Enterprise does not require a “research-related” purpose for expenditures on IIA accounts. Though IIA funds may be used to further an investigator’s research activities (e.g., funds for staff/student support or purchase of materials), IIA funds can be spent at the investigator’s discretion.
Finance managers may treat IIA accounts like any other local account; however, only KE Finance can deposit or transfer funds in and out of IIA accounts. KE Finance also monitors IIA accounts for compliance related to the transfer of funds, account changes (e.g., cost center change, account closeout), and purchase compliance within general ASU regulations (e.g., no prohibited expenses such as alcohol).
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds be used as cost sharing for sponsored accounts?
Yes. An investigator may choose to use his/her IIA funds as cost sharing for a sponsored project. The investigator should be aware of IIA funds currently available so as not to overcommit.
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds be used to pay salaries?
Yes. Salaries can be charged to IIA accounts if there are funds available to cover the salaries/wages and all related costs (ERE (Employee Related Expenses), Risk Mgt., Netcom, Tuition Remission, ASC). This includes PI summer salary.
Who is eligible to receive Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds?
IIA may be allocated to any individual who is (1) an ASU employee and (2) identified on the ERA Investigator Allocation Changes and Award Lead Financial Unit SmartForm to receive a percentage of the IIA distribution on a sponsored project.
Can emeritus or adjunct investigators receive Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds?
Yes. Notify KE Finance when an employee’s status changes to emeritus or adjunct to ensure the IIA account is not prematurely closed. Employees that are emeritus and adjunct do not appear as “active” in PeopleSoft Job Data, so these IIA accounts need to be manually tracked by KE Finance.
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) allocations change after a proposal is awarded?
Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) allocations are generally determined during the proposal development process, but allocation changes may be made after the project is awarded.
If IIA allocations need to change, refer to WI-EP-130. To ensure IIA is reflected properly, it is recommended that IIA allocation changes be submitted in ERA/Workday before month close (which usually occurs between the 6th – 9th of the month).
Do I need to notify Knowledge Enterprise Finance when there is a change in allocations on an active award?
Administrators should follow the Internal Allocation Changes instructions for WI-EP-130 to ensure that ERA reflects the updated REC/RID/IIA distributions for a sponsored project. Once allocation changes have been applied, unit administrators should review the department-level RID/IIA report, RID and IIA Dashboard, available on the Analytics site, to review their investigators’ RID/IIA disbursements. If any new IIA accounts are needed, please refer to the instructions below under ‘Do I need to notify KE Finance when a new Investigator receives their first award at ASU?’
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) allocation changes to applied retroactively?
Yes, but any changes to retroactive IIA will not be captured by KE. Units must notify KE Finance if they anticipate changes to retroactive IIA.
Knowledge Enterprise will only distribute retroactive IIA for the current fiscal year. Any changes to retroactive IIA must be sent to KE Finance before the IIA for Fiscal Month 12 (FM12) is distributed. Changes cannot be made once FM12 IIA is distributed.
How do I know if an investigator needs a new IIA account?
- They receive their first F&A-generating award (in ERA, click on View Award, then scroll to 6.0 Investigator Allocation Changes and Award Lead Financial Unit to see everyone who receives IIA on an award) OR
- They are listed on the Missing IIA Accounts tab of the RID and IIA Dashboard.
Do I need to notify Knowledge Enterprise Finance when a new investigator receives their first F&A-generating award at ASU and/or needs a new IIA account?
Log into Workday and enter Create Program Request (or any part of the words, e.g., “cre prog”) in the search bar and click on Create Program Request. The required fields of the Create Program Request form are listed below. Of highest priority is for the RA/Unit to select “IIA” as the Program Type and to identify the appropriate cost center for the account. KE (Knowledge Enterprise) Finance can correct all other fields as needed once the form routes to them for review.
- Program Type: IIA
- Program Name: Dept Prefix – PI Name – IIA (e.g., NSC – Anne Jones – IIA)
- Program Purpose: IIA Revenue
- College or Department Prefix
- Primary Cost Center
- Campus
- Proposed Activity: Research
- Source of Revenue: F&A -> IIA
- Describe Funding Source: Research Revenue
- Academic Employee Worktag (see additional instructions below)
To find Academic Employee (AE) Worktag:
- Search “Academic Employee List” in Workday
- Click “Organization” (middle column name)
- Enter PI’s last name as “Value” and Filter
- If multiple results populate, use the employee’s first initial and last 4 digits of Employee ID # to find correct Reference ID
- If no results populate, request a new Academic Employee Worktag
To request Academic Employee (AE) Worktag:
- Search “Create Request” in Workday
- Request Type: Optional Worktag – New
- Describe Request: New Academic Employee Worktag
- College/Dept Name and Workday Prefix
- Reporting Worktag: Academic Employee
- In the Comment field indicate the following. If requesting multiple AE worktags in the same college/department, you can attach a spreadsheet with this information.
- PI Name
- Employee ID #
Should you require any assistance, please email Morgan Kenzie Davies.
When and how can an investigator access their Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds?
Once a sponsored project is awarded and grant funds start to be spent, F&A accrues on those expenses. As F&A accrues, IIA accounts will receive their proportionate share of F&A funds with each fiscal month close.
Investigators should contact their department finance managers to determine the balance of their IIA accounts and ask expense-related questions.
How can I find an investigator’s Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) program account number?
Workday
Investigators can see their IIA program account number in the Principal Investigator Dashboard (from MyASU navigate to Employment > Reporting > Principal Investigator Dashboard).
Unit administrators can find IIA program accounts numbers by doing a Workday search for the PI’s name.
RID and IIA Dashboard
Investigators and unit administrators can also find IIA program account numbers using the RID and IIA Dashboard on the Analytics site.
If an IIA account for the Investigator is not listed, the unit administrator may need to submit a Create Program Request form (see “Do I need to notify KE Finance when an investigator receives their first F&A-generating award at ASU…?” above).
Does KE Finance notify investigators when Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds are distributed to their accounts?
No. Investigators should reach out to their department finance representatives for this information. Unit administrators can monitor IIA distribution using the RID and IIA Dashboard or through Workday reports. Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) distribution occurs monthly, but keep in mind that IIA can only be distributed when there is spending on the account.
Is Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funding distributed monthly?
Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) distribution occurs monthly, but not every IIA account will receive funds every month. Investigator incentive award is distributed based on award spending, which may vary. IIA may or may not be received every month, and it is possible to have IIA debited based on award spending.
What comprises Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) account revenue?
Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) revenue should only be IIA incentive monies funded by KE Finance through sponsored awards. “Other sources” of revenue should never be deposited to IIA accounts. If an expenditure reimbursement needs to be deposited, apply the deposit to the spend category originally charged.
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds be transferred out to other accounts?
No, unless it is to fund a local cost share companion account for a sponsored project. Transfers out are monitored by KE Finance to ensure compliance with this restriction.
Can Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) funds be transferred in from other accounts?
No. Revenue deposits from sources other than those funded by KE Finance are not allowed. Transfers in are monitored by KE Finance to ensure compliance with this restriction.
Can cash advances be taken out on Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) accounts?
Cash advances can be taken out on IIA accounts under certain circumstances, such as to pay for human subject payments or remote site expenses. Normally, IIA funds are the alternate source of funds when the sponsored project does not allow or does not have enough funds available to cover these types of expenses. Units wanting to use an IIA account for cash advances should reach out to KE Finance.
Does Knowledge Enterprise reconcile Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) accounts?
No. Knowledge Enterprise only reconciles Unit/Center RID accounts; units are responsible for IIA account reconciliation.
When should an Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) account be closed?
An IIA account should be closed only when a PI leaves the University and does not hold adjunct or emeritus status. Once a final day of employment has been established, the department must immediately notify KE Finance to close the account.
Unlike RID funds, IIA funds belong to the principal investigator, not the department. When a PI leaves the University, any funds remaining in their IIA account will be returned to KE for reallocation into ASU’s F and A funding.
Who can help me with other Investigator Incentive Award (IIA) questions?
Please email Morgan Kenzie Davies.