Office of Sponsored Programs - 200.03, Procedure 1 - Preparing a Waiver Request for Principal Investigator Eligibility

Title

Office of Sponsored Programs - 200.03, Procedure 1 - Preparing a Waiver Request for Principal Investigator Eligibility

Corresponding with:

• OSP Operating Standard 200.03 - Principal Investigator Eligibility

Purpose

For any employee who is not a full-time, permanent EHRA employee, a request to waive the University’s Principal Investigator (PI) eligibility operating standard must be submitted and approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP).

Procedure

A request for a waiver should be signed by the dean, director, or department head. It should be prepared using departmental letterhead and in the form of a letter. The request should be attached in RAMSeS with the Internal Processing Form (IPF) and include the following information:

• A rationale for the individual's service as a lead PI. If the applicant has no prior experience as a PI, provide the name of the faculty member responsible for mentoring the applicant in technical and project management duties as a PI and the method for doing so.
• Confirmation in writing that the appropriate administrative and fiscal support staff and services are available to support the applicant in their role as a lead PI, throughout each stage of the project.
• A model waiver request is presented in the sample below:

Subject: PI Eligibility Operating Standard Waiver Request

Please accept this formal request to waive the UNC-Chapel Hill PI eligibility operating standard to allow [Name of Proposed PI] to serve as the lead Principal Investigator for [Project Title and RAMSeS Internal Processing Form Number].

Justification for PI Service:

As the [Dean/Chair/Chief/Director], I will support [Name of Proposed PI] throughout the proposal, award, and closeout stages of the project, accepting responsibility for oversight of the project. I confirm that [Department/Center/Unit] has the appropriate administrative and fiscal support staff and services available to support [Name of Proposed PI] as Lead Principal Investigator.

Sincerely

[Signature]

[Name of Dean/Chair/Chief/Director]

[Title of Dean/Chair/Chief/Director]

Contact Information

For questions regarding this procedure and its related operating standard, please contact SponsoredPrograms@unc.edu.

For questions regarding Pre-Award management or Post-Award administration, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Specialist (SPS).

For invoicing, reporting and other financial matters, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Accountant.
OSP Staff assignments may be found in RAMSeS or on the OSP website.

History

The operating standards in the Office of Sponsored Programs Operating Standards & Procedures Manual supersede any OSP operating standards, procedures and appendices previously included in the University Business Manual, a publication of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Division of Finance.