Post-submission tasks

Post-submission tasks involve the preparation and submission of additional information to the sponsor following proposal submission and prior to receipt of formal notice of award for review and/or negotiation. Some examples of post-submission tasks include but are not limited to: Revised budgets, budget impact statements, leadership plans, subrecipients commitment letters, W-9s, Single Audits, F&A rate agreements, representations and certifications, current and pending support, approvals for human subject and/or lab animal protocols, etc.

Follow the instructions in WI-SN-40 when requesting PNT GCO assistance in processing the request.

Pre-award costs/at-risk considerations

If a sponsor has selected a proposal for funding but ASU has not yet received the award document or the award is not yet fully negotiated, the PI, in conjunction with the unit, may request an at-risk pre-award account. The sponsor must allow pre-award expenditures; some sponsors will not reimburse costs incurred prior to award. Though there are cases where KE will guarantee the pre-award funds, the norm is for the PI and unit to guarantee the pre-award account using a non-sponsored account with available balance equal to or greater than amount of funds requested. If ASU does not receive the expected award or if cost items are not approved by the sponsor, the unit guarantee account will reimburse expenditures.  Support for the pre-award request must include the sponsor’s written confirmation of the forthcoming award, the anticipated award start date, and anticipated level of funding.

Because of the potential for lost funds, units are cautioned to make use of this route only when:

• The project must absolutely begin on a certain date to accommodate scheduled work.
• The project will support personnel lost would disrupt the project’s progress when awarded.
• There is assurance that if the funds arrive later than the start date, the sponsor will allow for pre-award costs.

To request a Pre-Award At-Risk, complete the ASU-At-Risk Request form, following the instructions on the form.

Set up accounts

Upon receiving a fully-executed award, Research Operation’s Award Management Team (AMT) establishes an agency/org number for the project using the following steps:

1. Award is received and logged.  Units receiving an award directly from sponsor and without copy to ORSPA should forward the notice using WI-AS-01.
2. Verification – award is reviewed against the proposal and internal compliance requirements.  AMT may be contacting the Unit RA for missing compliance requirements.  See “Delays in Award/Account Setup” below for more information. 
3. Activate Award/Account – award is set up in the Financial Management System (FMS).
4. PI and Unit RA are notified via email the account has been established for the award.

Delays in award/account setup

AMT will hold the setup of an award if any of the following items are missing or found to be non-compliant.  A detailed explanation of these holds can be found in WI-AS-40 Verification of Request:

• The awarded budget has a 20% difference than the proposal budget.  The RA will have 3 days to respond to submit a revised budget to [email protected].  If no response is received within 3 days, AMT will use best efforts to revise the budget on file on the Unit’s behalf.   
• Approved Human Subjects Protocol
• Approved Lab Animals Protocol
• Biological Materials approval
• Approved F&A Waiver
• Effort Reporting: PI is on the Late Certifications List
• Conflict of Interest: Investigators on the proposal have COI certifications that need to be verified by ORIA prior to award/account setup
• PHS Conflict of Interest: Investigators have not fulfilled the additional COI requirements for PHS-funded awards
• Approved Export Controls license
• Native American Involvement Approval
• The award contains a pre-payment clause and payment has not been received

Check status of award/account set up

New award activations are tracked in the ERA Awards module. For modifications to awards, see “My Items in ORSPA” on the RA SharePoint site.

Please note items are posted from the source emails every business day – if an award notice just arrived today, wait one business day before sending an email to [email protected] requesting it be posted.

For access to RA SharePoint and/or ERA Awards, follow the instructions on the Systems Access page.

Initiate project

The first step a unit (RA Accountant, BOM, or other assigned business unit personnel) must take to initiate a project is to meet with the PI to develop a plan for expenditures.

Review award terms and conditions

• Is this a Grant, Cooperative Agreement, or Contract? Review specific terms.
  • ​​Grant:  Supports basic research efforts, generally proposed by the PI with limited involvement from the sponsor and requiring little more than a final technical report
  • Cooperative agreement:  Supports basic research efforts, proposed by the PI, but where the sponsor anticipates substantial involvement in the project but still generally only requires technical reports
  • Contract:  Project requirements are determined by the sponsor and carried out by the PI according to the sponsor’s specifications and where deliverables must be submitted 
• Review the award documentation
• Review the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and the sponsor’s award management guide to ensure there are no conditions which were in the FOA or sponsor’s Award Management Guide but not stipulated in the award document
• Identify any gaps/discrepancies in budget justification/budget
• When are the deliverables due – e.g…, technical and financial technical progress reports?

Budget specific review

• Do the start and stop dates for current spending period match what’s in the Financial Management System
• Does the obligated award amount match the budget in the Financial Management System (FMS)
• Have child accounts been set up, where necessary?
• Is the F&A rate TDC or MTDC?  
• Was the budget loaded onto the correct budget lines?

If the answer to any of these questions is no, contact the Award Management Customer Service Liaison.

Personnel and ERE

• Has there been any significant changes to the salaries, ERE and tuition remission since the proposal was submitted?

If yes, talk to the PI to identify a plan to make up the difference due to changes from proposal to award.  Confirm whether any of the planned rebudgeting requires sponsor approval (see award terms and conditions).

FedEx, consultants, journal editing, etc.

• Speak to the PI to see if there is a need for any services.

If yes, set the funds aside to ensure sufficient funds will remain available through the life of the project until the services are needed.

Subcontracts

• Are the child accounts established and budgeted for each subcontractor? One child account per subcontractor is needed.   If not set up, contact the Award Management Customer Service Liaison.
• Have the subrecipient form(s) been completed?  In not, obtain a completed form from each subcontractor.
• Has the budget been reduced?  If yes, contact subcontractor for revised budget and scope of work.
• Has the PI completed the sole source justification and cost-analysis? If not, provide the form to the PI.
• Has the subcontract been issued? 
• Has the purchase order been encumbered?

Materials and supplies, non-capital equipment, miscellaneous

• Does the sponsor allow spending across budget lines?  If not, make sure there are adequate funds in each budget line based upon project budget justification.
• Will there need to be a significant change in the budget as established?

Confirm whether any of the planned rebudgeting requires sponsor approval (see award terms and conditions).

Participant support

• Does the project have participant support budgeted?  If yes, follow the compensatory or non-compensatory guidelines.

Has AMT set up a separate child account to accommodate these funds?   If no, contact the Award Management Customer Service Liaison.

Travel

• Is travel allowed on the project?
• ​Does the travel budget match sponsor approved budget?
• Is foreign travel allowed? Notify ORIA for Export Controls.  Refer to the Foreign Travel Guide.

Student support

Does the project pay compensatory or non-compensatory stipends?   

Capital equipment

• Is there Capital Equipment on the budget? 
• What is the total budget and what items are approved by sponsor?
• Does the budgeted amount match Advantage?   In not, contact the Award Management Customer Service Liaison assigned to the unit.

Review award/unit services with principal investigator

Review award with PI

Meet or write to the PI to provide:

• The account number, project title, sponsor, period of performance and awarded amount
• A copy of the budget and budget justification
• Any budget information the PI should be aware of, e.g., capital equipment not allowed
• The reporting requirements for the project and provide the date due
• Any administrative terms and conditions the PI should be aware of, e.g., carry forward is not automatic
• Guidance requested by PI for any of the above

Advise unit services available to the PI

For PIs receiving an award for the first time, it is recommended that the award and unit services be provided both in writing and in person. Here are some services you might address from the unit perspective:

• Guidance and review of allowability of expenditures
• Payroll Services
• Monthly budget reconciliation report, showing them an example so they know what to expect
• Forecasting and its importance to planning expenditures
• Support for annual and technical reports, including who does what
• Document retention for internal and external audits – who, what, why
• Other services that the unit offers to PIs of sponsored project awards

Review PI’s role in expenses

Discussing award conditions as well as unit services will help ensure the PI knows what their role is in the management of the program. Review:

• PI Responsibilities – RSP 103
• Requirement for PI approval of all expenditures
• Cash Advances
• Expenditure rate and potential impacts of low expenditure rate to future funding
• Effort Reporting
• 90-day rule for cost transfers
• Deficits and how they are managed
• Subawards, if included in the award, and what needs to be reviewed prior to ASU PI invoice approval
• Travel, especially foreign travel requirements including the Fly America Act and Export Controls

Establish and maintain project file

• Unit will establish a separate file for each award in whatever method is preferred and will:
  • file all documentation with the corresponding monthly reconciliation.
  • set up calendar alerts (90 days prior to requirement) to remind of end date, technical, and financial reports.
  • keep copies of all technical and progress reports on file. The unit is the office of record for these reports.
  • keep all other records/documentation for the time period noted in the Sponsored Projects Record Retention Schedule.
• Once the retention period expires, the project file including documentation should be destroyed.

Audit readiness

Audit preparation takes place throughout the entire life of the project. It consists of managing the project, reviewing project accounts to ensure all charged costs support the project’s scope of work, complying with sponsor requirements, and adhering to university policy for monitoring and reconciliation.   It also entails the proper maintenance of technical requirements, including the timely submission of reports, other deliverables, and notations to project notebooks, as appropriate.  See Financial Accountability Audit Readiness for additional information and FAQ.