Office of Sponsored Programs - 400.03, Procedure 1 - Establishing Departmental Post-Award Monitoring

Title

Office of Sponsored Programs - 400.03, Procedure 1 - Establishing Departmental Post-Award Monitoring

Corresponding with:

• OSP Operating Standard 200.04 - Principal Investigator Responsibilities
• OSP Operating Standard 200.05 - Departmental Administrator Responsibilities
• OSP Operating Standard 400.03 - Principle Investigator & Departmental Administrator Responsibilities at Project Setup
• OSP Operating Standard 500.02 - Departmental Award Management Responsibilities
• OSP Operating Standard 600.03 - PI and DA Financial Reporting Responsibilities

Purpose

Completing successful award management is dependent on establishing solid monitoring mechanisms maintained by the department receiving the award. Monitoring is an essential activity throughout the life of the project and is particularly important for financial management. These processes should be established for each award at the receipt of funding. Departments may use the monitoring mechanisms that work best for their department to maintain financial and personnel data for each sponsored project.

Procedure

I. Monitoring Elements

Award Notice Review

• Award Restrictions
• Financial and Scientific Reporting Requirements
• Spending Authorizations
• Funding Amounts

Personnel Records

• Prepare personnel actions once a Project ID is assigned
• Set effort to match levels as proposed or awarded

Graduate Students

• Properly setup payments for student tuition, salary, and stipends

Reporting Requirements

• Confirm responsibilities for reporting requirements
• Maintain a calendar to track known due dates

Tracking Selected Expenditures

Subrecipients

• Establish performance measures
• Track subrecipient direct costs by invoices submitted
• Obtain Principal Investigator's signature on invoices and process payments through ConnectCarolina
• Confirm receipt of a final invoice

Consultants

• Confirm compliance with agency guidelines when dealing with consultants
• Identify expense fees and rates
• Complete University required forms and procedures to pay consultants
• Track expenditures
• Check invoices to confirm services performed

Services

• Confirm which services are required to be established as a Subrecipient
• Review service agreements
• Track expenditures
• Monitor specialized facilities and use of Research Service Centers

II. Helpful Systems for Maintaining Proper Monitoring

Successful sponsored award monitoring requires the knowledge of basic University systems - Research Administration Management System and eSubmission (RAMSeS), the University’s financial system, ConnectCarolina, and InfoPorte. All three systems require access privileges, which can be obtained through the authorized role managers within each department.

RAMSeS

• Award data access in RAMSeS allows the user to view the awards administered by the department. In the Award Administration window, the user can view the various elements of the award by clicking on specific tabs, which resemble hard file tabs. From these tabs, the user can access uploaded documents, such as the original proposal and Internal Processing Form (IPF), notes, and attachments in making determinations about award management and reporting requirements. Under the "attachments" tab (indicated by a paperclip icon), much of the documentation can be uploaded and reviewed for possible effects on financial management and reporting requirements.

ConnectCarolina

• ConnectCarolina is the University’s official electronic financial system. Each month's project expenditures should be reconciled to confirm all expenses are correct. Accounting Services provides services and instructions on how to manage financial transactions in ConnectCarolina.

InfoPorte

• InfoPorte is a platform that works with ConnectCarolina that delivers administrative reports for the Finance, Human Resources, and Student Administration functions. InfoPorte also includes small applications that support administrative functions for some schools and units.

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.