Office of Sponsored Programs - 200.06 - Responsibilities of Deans, Directors, & Department Heads

Title

Office of Sponsored Programs - 200.06 - Responsibilities of Deans, Directors, & Department Heads

Purpose

This operating standard recognizes the roles of lead administrators at the onset of proposed sponsored research and balances the responsibilities of the Principal Investigator (PI), deans, directors, and department heads.

Policy Statement

PIs and lead administrators (deans, directors, and department heads, etc.) share responsibility for the financial and administrative oversight of all sponsored projects. This includes adhering to Federal, University, and sponsor regulations and guidelines for both the proposal and the agreement.

I. University Proposal Requirements

• Lead administrators of the PI's unit are responsible for reviewing the application for appropriateness of the research, certifying the department, center, or institute's commitment of resources to the project, and ensuring the PI is qualified to perform the project. When research involves co-PIs from more than one department or unit, one department is selected to administer the award.
• If the research involves personnel, space, equipment, or other resources from outside the lead department, the lead administrators for each department must certify the application and agree to commit the requested resources.
• Deans, directors, department heads, and other lead administrators do not have the authority to enter into legal agreements involving grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements, on behalf of the University. These must be signed by a University representative who has been designated as an institutional signature authority.

II. University Sponsored Projects Requirements

• Review and approve any Pre-Award spending or cost-sharing. This constitutes the department, center, or institute commitment to pay for the project from non-sponsored funding sources if the award is not granted.
• Monitor sponsored project activities for compliance with 2 CFR §200 - Uniform Guidance and University policies.

Related Requirements

• Research Administration Glossary at Carolina
• 2 CFR §200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards

Unit Policies, Standards, & Procedures

• OSP Operating Standard 200.02 - Signature Authority
• OSP Operating Standard 200.07 - RAMSeS (Research Administration Management System & eSubmission)
• OSP Operating Standard 400.06 - Pre-Award Spending

Contact Information

For questions regarding this operating standard and its related procedure, 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.