What is recognition?
Recognition, more commonly referred to as REC, is the institutional measurement that provides credit to investigators for their sponsored projects activities. The purpose of recognition, as specified on the Funding Proposal Lead Unit, Investigators and Allocations SmartForm, is to accurately assign credit to multiple investigators, academic units, and centers to represent the level of their involvement in a proposal and/or sponsored project.
Why does recognition matter to me as an individual investigator?
Recognition can be one of the criteria used during tenure and merit based pay reviews. Recognition may also be important to non-academic investigators to receive credit for participation in proposal submissions as well as credit for research expenditures and work on sponsored projects.
Why does recognition matter to my ASU unit, center and college?
When an ASU unit is included in the allocations of REC, then university reports will reflect the unit’s participation in proposal submissions and the unit, center, and college will receive credit for any research/sponsored expenditures in proportion to the amount of REC allocated on appropriate projects.
Who decides how recognition will be allocated amongst the investigators?
The lead PI and investigators must ALL agree on how recognition is allocated, but there is no set standard on how this is divided. Some possible ways to allocate REC are noted in the examples below. This is not exhaustive but illustrative.
Examples:
Scenario: All investigators are equally responsible for the project.
Response: Recognition could be split proportionally amongst investigators.
Scenario: One investigator has more responsibility than the other investigators.
Response: Allocate the recognition based off a percentage of responsibility.
Can I list my center as my unit?
Yes, but this should only be done if the individual does not have an academic or administrative affiliation, or the investigator only has an appointment in a center.
The unit should always be one of two things. 1) It should be an academic unit that a student can major in and obtain a degree. or 2) An administrative unit, such as the Provost’s Office, Office of the President, etc.
I have a split appointment. How should this be represented in the allocations?
Investigators with split appointments should have two or more allocation lines, one for each unit. It is critically important to units and investigators that this section be carefully completed to ensure the project is properly represented in ASU internal reporting. The following graphic is illustrative of differing types of appointments that may be encountered.
The following graphic is representative of the Allocations section that must be completed in ERA.
If a center is listed, will recognition be affected?
No, centers do not compete with units for recognition. However, a center can affect the RID distributed back to units. See the RID tab for more information.
Note: if an individual investigator should appropriately have multiple centers/institutes listed, multiple lines will need to be included for the specific investigator with each center/institute on a separate line. Each center/institute will only receive the amount of Center REC allocated to the line on which it is listed.
How does the strategic initiative flag differ from the unit/center recognition?
The unit/center recognition determines which units/centers will receive REC and drives the proposal/award reporting. The strategic program initiative “flag” located in ERA FP 2.3 Program Classification, Question 2.0 Identify a Strategic Program Initiative; assigns a proposal to a specific strategic initiative. This designation allows ASU to track proposal submissions and awards that each strategic initiative plays a role in submitting/winning. Identifying a strategic initiative is one way to capture a strategic initiative’s involvement, if the initiative is unable to be listed on the allocations grid for any reason, for example:
- the initiative will only be involved at proposal time and will not participate in executing the project, if/when funded
- Due to the involvement of other units/centers already affiliated with the investigator.
If the investigators involved on a proposal involving a strategic initiative do not have an affiliation with a center, it may be appropriate to list the strategic initiative as a center on the allocations grid in addition to selecting it on FP 2.3, Question 2.0.
I am missing proposal/awards in the current and pending tool?
The current and pending ool is populated by the Data Warehouse which is fed from ERA and Coeus. If an investigator is receiving REC on a proposal or award, it should appear on the C and P report. If the proposal/award does not appear, contact [email protected].
Should Knowledge Enterprise units receive recognition?
Knowledge Enterprise units can and should receive REC, where appropriate. However, when collaborating with academic units, KE units (such as the Strategic Program Initiatives discussed above) may opt to allocate more (or all) REC to the academic unit(s).
How does recognition appear on University reports?
Knowledge Enterprise publishes a research and sponsored projects pivot table for each month-end. To run reports related to investigator and unit sponsored project activity and credit, use the KE Analytics Monthly Research and Sponsored Projects Pivot Table. (Refer to the Systems Access page for additional information and instructions for requesting access to KE Analytics).
For proposals, the total proposed budget multiplied by the REC percentage will show for each investigator, each center/institute, and each College/unit.
For awards, the total obligated amount multiplied by the REC percentage will show for each investigator, each center/institute, and each College/unit.
For expenditures, the total amount expended on the sponsored account(s) multiplied by the REC percentage will show for each investigator, each center/institute, and each college/unit.
Can recognition allocation changes be backdated?
Yes, REC changes can be applied to current/active sponsored accounts retroactively, if desired. In cases where this is necessary, the note or justification provided to unit reviewers should clearly state which project years will be impacted by the change – if appropriate, state that the changes will apply to completed project years as well as the current and future years. To make changes to REC on proposals in the Submitted or the Award Anticipated state, follow the ERA Grants Workflow Tutorial. To make changes to REC on current awards in Active status, follow WI-EP-130.
Allocations of REC should not normally be changed once an award account status is “terminated” or “closed”.