Manage an Award
Congratulations on receiving a sponsored project! Now the fun begins.
Budget Management
The Principal Investigator/Project Director is responsible for managing the sponsored project expenses and budget. Please review the complete Principal Investigator, Budget Manager, Sponsored Research Officer and Associate ControllerGrant Accounting Roles and Responsibilities below. Use the Sponsored Projects Expenditure Guide for help with how to pay your personnel, what form you need for each expenditure, how to purchase grant-funded equipment, and many other frequently asked questions.
The Grant Management Specialist and Associate Controller are available to assist throughout your project's lifecycle - please do not hesitate to contact us!
Projects Accounting
Seattle University's Project Accounting module allows grant managers to review the status of your grant budget.
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigators (PIs) are responsible for their sponsored awards, including the management of the day-to-day operations of their award budgets. Budgets should be reconciled on a regular basis to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are necessary, reasonable, allocable, allowable, and consistently treated. Specifically, PIs are responsible for:
- Reviewing and approving the budget input form for the original budget and for any budget changes
- Spending award funds compliant with award terms and sponsor and university policies and processes (see Sponsored Projects Expenditure Guide for guidance)
- Adhering to SU contract review and procurement policies and obtaining bids, as necessary
- Documenting purchases (with receipts or other source documentation)
- Reviewing and approving subcontractor and subawardee invoices, as applicable
- Completing and submitting appropriate financial forms such as the sole source justification form, cost transfer justification form and institutional prior approval form, as applicable
- Reviewing and certifying quarterly financial reports provided by the Associate Controller
- Reviewing and certifying the annual Review of Compensation Charges, if applicable
- Identifying and resolving budget overruns in coordination with your budget manager via a journal entry and cost transfer justification form
- Initiating and proposing rebudgets of the approved grant budget using the Institutional Prior Approval Form
- Completes and certifies the Closeout Form at the end of the project
Divisional Budget Manager
The budget manager is available on a limited basis to support the PI with their responsibilities in carrying out their sponsored awards as detailed above. Specifically, Budget Managers are responsible for:
- Assisting in the preparation of and approving financial forms such as the Payroll Action Form and Faculty Stipend Request; Journal Entry and Cost Transfer Justification form; and Budget Input Form
- Supporting PIs with budget reconciliation, SU procurement processes, and rebudgets
- Reviewing and certifying quarterly financial reports provided by the Associate Controller
- Reviews and certifies the Closeout Form
Sponsored Research Officer
The Sponsored Research Officer (SRO) serves as a resource to PIs and Budget Managers throughout the administration of their award and is the primary liaison with the sponsor. Specifically, SROs are responsible for:
- Requesting the establishment of a new account when an award is received
- Setting up the initial budget input form and updating upon changes affecting the award budget
- Reviewing and supporting development of prior approval requests (such as rebudgets, changes in personnel or timeline), coordinating approvals with the sponsor as needed, and approving or denying such requests
- Initiating sponsored award closeout using the Closeout Form
Associate Controller
The Associate Controller maintains the official financial records for the university, including sponsored awards. Specifically, the Associate Controller is responsible for:
- Additional review of expenses to ensure they are necessary, allowable, reasonable, and allocable to the grant as well as in adherence with SU policies and, if applicable, Uniform Guidance
- Final review of Cost Transfer Justifications and processing Journal Entries
- Reviewing and documenting suspension and debarment compliance for all spending on federal awards
- Reviewing rebudgets and update grant budget within financial system
- Providing ad hoc financial reports, quarterly financial reports for audit certification and annual payroll certification report, and final financial reports for PI and University grant personnel
- Submitting financial reports for all federal agencies and coordinating with the Department Budget Manager and PI for private agency reporting (unless otherwise specified)
- Performing the reimbursement invoicing and cash draws
- Conducting subrecipient monitoring risk assessments and annual financial statement reviews
- Closing the project in the financial system after receiving the completed Closeout Form
Federal regulations establish four cost principles for determining costs applicable to awards. Seattle University applies these principles consistently across all sponsored projects.
All charges must be:
1. Allowable
Costs expressly unallowable or mutually agreed to be unallowable shall be identified and excluded from any billing, claim, application, or proposal related to a sponsored projects. Sponsoring agencies use the term "allowable" to mean permitted as a cost within sponsor guidelines, the terms of a specific award, and/or the institution's policies.
2. Allocable
A cost is allocable to a particular award if the goods or services involved are able to be directly assigned to the award based on the benefit provided. To determine if an expenditure is allocable, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is it incurred solely to advance the work under the award?
- Does it benefit the award and other activities, and can it be distributed to all benefitted activities using reasonable methods?
- Is it necessary to the overall operation of the institution and, in light of sponsored research rules and regulations, is it deemed to be assignable in part to the award?
- Does the basis for allocating the cost represent a reasonable estimation of the direct benefit provide to the award objectives?
If a cost is allocable to more than one award, please appropriately proportion costs by activity string within ProcureSU.
3. Reasonable
A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services, and the price paid for the goods or services, reflects the action that a prudent person would have taken given the prevailing circumstances at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.
To determine if an expenditure is reasonable, ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the cost a type generally recognized as necessary for the performance of the sponsored agreement?
- Does incurring this expenditure violate the restraints or requirements imposed by such factors as arm's-length bargaining, federal and state laws and regulations, or sponsored agreement terms and conditions?
- Have the individuals incurring this cost acted with due prudence (discretion and good sense) in the circumstances? Have they considered their responsibilities to the institution, its employees, its students, the Federal Government, and the public at large?
- Were the actions that were taken in respect to incurring the cost consistent with established institutional policies and practices applicable to the work of the institution, including sponsored agreements?
4. Consistently Treated
All costs incurred for the same purpose, in like circumstances, must be treated uniformly either as direct costs or as indirect (F&A) costs. Since certain costs, such as salaries of administrative and clerical staff and office supplies are normally treated as F&A costs, these costs cannot be charged directly to federal Awards unless the circumstances related to a particular project are clearly different from the normal operations of the unit.
The PI/PD, with oversight by the Activity Manager, is responsible for spending the funds as proposed by the sponsor in adherence to the sponsor and university policies. All purchases within ProcureSU are also reviewed for allowability, allocability and reasonableness (as defined above) by the Grant Accountant prior to approval.
Please document the purpose of the purchase within the comments section of ProcureSU.
If you need assistance with processing grant-funded purchases, please contact Aika Foz, Grant Management Specialist.
Please review the Procurement Thresholds in the below section for further details.
To ensure that the university continues to obtain goods and services at the best value, the following methods of competitive bidding are required for all new contracts or non-contracted purchases. If assistance is needed, it is recommended to engage the Procurement Department early in the bidding process. Note: Sponsored Project procurement thresholds are different from general SU procurement thresholds.
| Dollar Amount | Bidding Requirements | Bidding Process |
|---|---|---|
| $0 - $3,000 | verbal quote required | If pricing is considered reasonable, there is no requirement to solicit a competitive quote/proposal. |
| $3,001 - $10,000 | 1 written quote required | Obtain a quote/proposal from at least 1 qualified source for supplies or services. Include documentation from the source with the requisition. |
| $10,001 - $50,000 | 2 written quotes required (prefer 1 quote from a qualified DBE*) | Obtain a quote/proposal from at least 2 qualified sources for supplies or services. Include documentation from both sources with the requisition. |
|
$50,001 - $150,000 |
3 written quotes required (prefer 1 quote from a qualified DBE*) | Obtain a quote/proposal from at least 3 qualified sources for supplies or services. Include documentation from all sources with the requisition. |
| over $150,000 | RFP/RFQ competitive proposals (require 1 quote from a qualified DBE*) | The University will evaluate the proposals received and award the contract to the responsible firm whose proposal is most advantageous to the program, with service levels, price and other factors considered. |
| Sole Source | If only one source is qualified to provide the goods and services, it is an emergency purchase or required by a federal awarding agency, the purchase may be made without competition. The Sole Source Justification form must be completed. |
*Diverse Business Enterprise (“DBE”): “DBE” or “Diverse Business Enterprise” is a business that
identifies as and attests to being majority owned by Black, Indigenous, other POC, LGBTQIA+,
veteran, women, or socially and economically disadvantaged persons. Although the University
prefers in its contracting that such business enterprises be certified by the Washington OMWBE,
DBEs are not required to be certified by the OMWBE unless an anticipated expenditure is required to be competitively bid under the University’s Procurement Policies. In this situation, certification by entities other than OMWBE will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Cost sharing is any project cost that is not reimbursed by the sponsor to support the scope of work defined by the sponsored award. Cost sharing, also known as “matching funds” or “in-kind support”, is funded by Seattle University or a third-party, which is generally a non-federal resource.
Cost-share requirements are determined in the proposal stage and if included in a proposal and subsequent award, cost-share will be held to the same standards as the sponsor funded award in regards to personnel, purchasing, prior approvals, tracking, reporting, and spending down. All committed cost sharing must be tracked and may require reporting.
If an error, unallowable cost, or cost overrun is discovered, the PI and Budget Manager must complete a standard Journal Entry form and an additional grant-specific Cost Transfer Justification Form to remove the unallowable cost. The unallowable cost or cost overrun should be transferred to a departmental or divisional operating or unrestricted fund account.
- Complete the JE to request the revision - each applicable budget manager (credited and debited) needs to sign
- Complete and attach the Cost Transfer Justification Form to document the purpose of this transfer
- Submit both forms to the Grant Accountant in the Controller's Office
- The Grant Accountant reviews for allowability. Please be specific on the cost transfer justification form.
JEs should only be used to correct errors and not as a mechanism to regularly shift expenses from a different account on to a sponsored project account. This is a highly discouraged situation as it can raise red flags during an audit.
Seattle University’s policy is to charge the federally negotiated indirect rate (42% of modified total direct costs) to all publicly-funded sponsored projects. Privately-funded grant indirect costs are charged at the accepted rate of the sponsor, as negotiated by the Director of the Office of Sponsored Projects at the time of the proposal submission.
Indirect costs include the facilities and administrative costs that are not easily assigned to specific projects such as physical building space, utilities, technological services, minor office supplies and printing, and administrative staff of the department and university, among other real costs.
Purpose: to ensure your records match with the official institutional records. By tracking expenses and reconciling on a monthly basis, you can identify mistaken charges, anticipated charges that are missing from the university’s official record, or capture charges missed from your records.
To assist in the review of your expenses, OSP provides this budget tracking template for your use.
- Ongoing: Projects Accounting ties directly into our university accounting system but was designed specifically for projects. A key feature is that the project budget is based on the project's period, not the university's fiscal year. Use this module to check the financial health of your project(s) at any time.
- Monthly: At the end of each month's financial close (approximately 2-3 weeks after the end of each month), the Controller's Office will send an email to all Activity Managers announcing the close of the month. At this time, the Activity Manager must reconcile their records with the controller's monthly financial report provided in InformSU.
- Quarterly: After the end of each fiscal quarter while your sponsored project is active, the Grant Accountant will send a summary report of your financials comparing actuals to date with total budget, rate of spending, and project timeline complete (% of total award period already complete). This report must be signed by the sponsored project's PI/PD and budget manager certifying that the charges are correct.
The PI, with support from the Grant Management Specialist, is responsible for spending their sponsored project funds and associated cost share (if applicable) at the rate proposed in the project’s plan. Good communication and timely review of financial information by both the PI and Activity Manager will help avoid spending spikes, address potential audit questions, and facilitate close-out of the award.
Activity Managers should work with their PIs to develop a spending plan for a controlled spend of the award dollars to avoid a spike of spending toward the end of the award period due to inadequate financial planning. Spending spikes not only pose an audit risk, but often result in unallowable costs that require transfer off of the award.
Most sponsors request that a financial report be submitted annually (on or after the anniversary of the project start date) and a final financial report after the project end date. This report must be completed with financial data from the Grant Accountant (and oftentimes, must be submitted by her). Please consult with the Grant Accountant to ensure accurate financial data is submitted.
Subawards & Contracts
In accordance with the Contract Review & Approval Policy, all contracts funded with external funds must be approved by OSP prior to routing it for execution by either the contractor or SU’s designated signatory
What is a subaward?
Subawards are the contracting mechanism issued to subrecipients of your grant funds. A subrecipient is an external collaborator(s) whom contributes to the scientific or programmatic agenda and decision-making of your sponsored project.
What is a subcontract?
Subcontracts are contracts issued to an individual or entity hired in a professional capacity to provide specific expertise in the technical area of the project or provide a specific service necessary to carry out the project for a specified period of time under a sponsored agreement. SU has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.
To help determine if an external individual or entity is a subaward or subcontract, please complete the Subrecipient or Contractor Checklist or contact the OSP.
|
Classification |
Relationship/ Role/ Characteristics |
Decision Making Authority |
Agreement type |
Pay type |
Related Policies & Forms |
|
Subaward/ subrecipient |
External institution or organization where the collaborating co-PI or key personnel is employed |
Has responsibility for programmatic decision-making |
Subaward Agreement Federal Non-federal |
Invoiced per contract; typically cost reimbursable at SU |
|
|
Consultant or Independent contractor |
An individual hired in a professional capacity to provide specific expertise in the technical area of the project or provide a specific service necessary to carry out the project for a specified period of time under a sponsored agreement. SU has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.
|
None |
Independent Contractor Agreement + insurance certificate + W-9 |
Via Independent Contractor form in ProcureSU |
|
|
Fellow |
An recipient/individual participating in an educational training for a particular term as specified in their MOU. No deliverable or responsibilities are required of the Fellow. Fellows may include students, scholars, and scientists from other institutions, individuals from the private sector, teachers and state or local government personnel. Employees of the Seattle University are not eligible to receive participant support. |
None |
Participant Agreement (MOU) + W-9 |
Via Independent Contractor form in ProcureSU |
|
|
Participant/ Trainee |
The recipient, not the provider, of a service or training associated with a workshop, conference, seminar, symposium or other short-term instructional or information-sharing activity. Participants may include students, scholars, and scientists from other institutions, individuals from the private sector, teachers and state or local government personnel. Employees of the Seattle University are not eligible to receive participant support. |
None |
Participant Agreement (MOU) + W-9 |
Via Independent Contractor form in ProcureSU |
|
|
Vendor |
Provides procured goods - no contract, no flow-throughs (though purchase must be allowable) |
None |
Quote (as required by procurement policies) |
Via ProcureSU with back up documentation (invoice or other) |
Subcontracting Processes
Subcontracts are contracts issued to individual hired in a professional capacity to provide specific expertise in the technical area of the project or provide a specific service necessary to carry out the project for a specified period of time under a sponsored agreement. SU has the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done.
It is the PIs responsibility to coordinate this work with the contractor and to ensure the work has been completed as contracted prior to issuing payments.
Budgeting and Documenting a Contractor in a Proposal
- If the person or entity is identified and named in the proposal, a Contractor Letter of Commitment including a scope of work and total cost is required. Please note: The sponsor or program to which you are applying may have additional requirements or specifications for any named contractors or consultants.
- If the individual or entity is not known but a contracted service is necessary, conduct market research or obtain several quotes in order to budget sufficient funds for the services.
For all contractors, competitive bidding requirements must be met as outlined in the Procurement Policy for Sponsored Project funded equipment and services.
Procedure
- OSP's Grant Management Specialist (GMS) will draft the contractor agreement based on the scope of work and will coordinate with the Office of University Counsel as appropriate.
- The GMS will issue the contract to contractor for signature then will obtain SU's Authorized Organizational Representative's approval.
- OSP will return the fully executed agreement to you and your contractor. If the contractor is a sole proprietor as determined on the Contract Coversheet, the SRO will complete and send the Pre-Work Disclosures for the contractor's signature.
- The GMS will set-up the contractor as a vendor within ProcureSU.
- The GMS will set-up the purchase order and upload executed contract as back-up documentation for payments to be processed.
- The contractor should submit invoices per the payment terms in the contract.
- When an invoice is received, the PI/PD must review and approve the payment. It is the PI/PD's responsibility to ensure the contractor has completed the work as described in the scope of work and in the deliverable timeline outlined in the contract.
- The Grant Management Specialist will then process the approved invoice through ProcureSU to issue the payment to the contractor.
If there are any changes to the contract - budget, scope of work, timeline, or the need to terminate - please contact OSP as soon as possible.
Sponsored Projects Policies
The Office of Sponsored Projects mitigates institutional risk by maintaining up-to-date sponsored projects policies and compliance with federal regulations which are consistently applied to all externally funded awards.
SU Policies
For all other Seattle University Policies, please visit the policies webpage.
Clinical Trials Registration & Reporting Policy
This policy and procedure ensures Seattle University remains compliant with the applicable regulations regarding clinical trial studies, specifically in relation to NIH regulations.
The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance on federal and other sponsor requirements for sponsored project award closeout.
Cost Sharing & Matching Policy
This document sets forth the guidelines for contribution cost share on sponsored projects and tracking those expenditures at Seattle University. ”Sponsored projects” refers to any form of extramural support (grant, contract, fellowship, and gift) made to the institution.
Cost Transfers Involving Sponsored Projects
This document describes the policy and procedures regarding cost transfers (journal entries) when they involve sponsored projects. The purpose is to assure the integrity of the University’s charges for salaries, wages, goods and services on sponsored projects transferred to and/or from a sponsored project after an initial charge elsewhere in the University’s accounting system. Additionally, this policy is issued to ensure compliance with sponsor terms and conditions, regulations and University policies.
The University is committed to ensuring that all cost transfers (either in the form of a labor distribution adjustment or non-salary journal entry) are legitimate and are conducted in accordance with sponsor terms and conditions, regulations and University policy.
Document Review Process Policy
This document sets forth the guidelines for document internal review and signature authority for externally sponsored projects. Externally sponsored projects include submission of proposals, acceptance of award agreements (or amendments), and submission of reports when an institutional signature is required. The document addresses both hard copies as well as electronic formats for submitting proposals, executing agreements, and accepting awards on behalf of the university.
This is our most current Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA); this rate is applicable until a new rate agreement is available (forthcoming in 2024).
Policy on Fringe Benefit and IDC Charged to Sponsored Projects
The purpose of this policy is to provide an explanation of SU’s Fringe Benefit and IDC rates and their application to sponsored projects.
Participant support costs are defined by Uniform Guidance §200.75 Participant support costs. They are direct costs for items such as stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registration fees paid to, or on behalf of, participants or trainees (but not employees) in connection with conferences, or training projects.
This patent policy establishes guidelines for disclosure and assignment of ownership of potentially patentable inventions or discoveries resulting from the work of Seattle University faculty member(s), staff, graduate students, undergraduate students, visitors and any persons using University resources and facilities. It is designed to promote, preserve, and encourage innovation, inform faculty member(s) of the University practices, protect the respective interests of all parties involved, and assist the inventor(s) and the University in realizing tangible benefits from such inventions.
Procurement Policy for Sponsored Project funded equipment and services
Federal Grants are subject to additional procurement requirements set by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The University Procurement Policy Statement is compliant with the OMB Uniform Guidance procurement requirements with the following amendment to the competitive bidding thresholds.
Program income is gross income earned by the University that is directly generated by a grant supported activity or earned as a result of an award (2 CFR §200.80 Program income). The University requires principal investigators (PIs) to identify program income on both federal and non-federal sponsored projects. The nature of this income must be appropriately documented and the resulting revenue and expenses properly recorded and accounted for.
Review of Compensation Charges - updated spring 2022
Institutional compliance to CFR 200.430 requires an after‐the‐fact review to be conducted to support that compensation charged to a sponsored project and/or committed as cost sharing does not exceed the proportionate share of Institutional Base Salary (IBS) for the work performed on the project.
Sponsor Funded Equipment Disposal Policy and Procedures Manual
An essential component of the administration of sponsored research at Seattle University is the responsible stewardship of assets used in support of the University’s research. The Controller’s Office, the Office Sponsored Projects, the dean’s offices, and the principal investigator (PI) or the department/center must work cooperatively to assure that the University properly follows Federal administrative requirements, acquisition regulations and agency or sponsor specific conditions governing the disposition of Federal property.
Sponsored Projects Compensation Policy
This document sets forth the Seattle University guidelines concerning salaries of faculty at Seattle University that are funded by extramural sources, including either public or private sponsors. In these guidelines, “sponsored project” will refer to any form of extramural support on a sponsored project (grant, cooperative agreement, or contract) made to the institution from which a faculty member draws salary. This document will address three types of faculty salary: academic salary, summer salary, and overload salary, as well as staff salaries on sponsored projects.
Subrecipient Monitoring Guidelines
Seattle University is responsible for monitoring the programmatic and financial activities of its subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsor funds. The following policy applies to all subawards issued under sponsored programs, without regard to the primary source of funding. Additionally, this policy addresses institutional responsibilities and assists Principal Investigators (PIs) and administrators to ensure that, in addition to achieving performance goals, subrecipients comply with applicable federal laws and regulations and with the provisions of each subaward agreement.
Technical & Financial Reporting Policy
This document sets forth the guidelines for the submission of technical and financial reports on sponsored projects at Seattle University. The technical and financial reports on sponsored projects refer to all types of reports that may be requested by the sponsor and/or required in the award terms and conditions (including contract agreements) made to the institution. The technical report may refer to a progress report (or interim report or performance report), program outcome report, and/or final report.
Seattle University conducts a significant level of projects sponsored by the federal government. The government generally supplies the recipient of a federal grant or contract with the funds necessary to cover the expenditures directly associated with a project. In addition, the government will reimburse the institution for the indirect expenditures necessary to create and maintain the environment in which the project is conducted.
Nonfederal grants and contracts are also subject to this policy unless sponsor- or contract- specific conditions allow otherwise.