Title
Office of Sponsored Programs - 500.02 - Departmental Award Management Responsibilities
Purpose
Providing such general responsibilities clarifies expectations and specific tasks of award management that are ascribed to Principal Investigators (PIs) and Departmental Administrators (DAs).
Policy Statement
The department receiving the sponsored research agreement is responsible for the daily management and administration of the related accounts. This requires closely monitoring expenditures to assure that the terms and conditions of the award are being followed and that funds are being expended in accordance with 2 CFR §200 Subpart E requirements for allowability, allocability, and reasonableness, as well as in accordance with University policies.
It is the dual responsibility of the PI and the DA to monitor and approve all expenditures related to the sponsored project. Any unallowable expenditures or deficit balances become the responsibility of the administering department to pay from other departmental funds and not from a sponsored research account.
The department receiving the sponsored research agreement is responsible for ensuring that costs invoiced by the vendor or service provider are consistent with the costs outlined in the vendor/service agreement. Departmental approvers should verify that costs charged to sponsored projects agree with the cost terms included in applicable vendor/service agreements.
The department receiving the sponsored research agreement is responsible for ensuring that any publication costs charged to the project are allowable. This includes verifying that the publication specifically recognizes funding from all applicable sources, including, but not limited to, Federal sponsors.
The original records and supporting documents of expenditures should be maintained by the department for three (3) years or more depending on sponsor retention requirements.
Once the award is established in RAMSeS, DAs are responsible for reviewing the award document, reconciling it with the information in ConnectCarolina, and communicating any corrections or inconsistencies to the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Research Administration division.
Transactions must adhere to the attributes, structure, and accounting methods established by University Accounting Services, and display Project ID numbers accordingly on forms for routing, approval, and electronic data processing.
Department Administrators:
I. Conduct Review of Award Documents
- Identify restrictions, including any specific terms and conditions that affect allowability of expenditures
- Note reporting requirements
- Check for purchasing/spending authorizations under the award terms and conditions
- Initiate and maintain current financial information in ConnectCarolina
II. Setup Post-Award Monitoring Process
- Prepare personnel transactions upon assignment of a Project ID. Include personnel information that affects salary, such as salary caps, cost-sharing, rate of pay compensatory to amount of full-time effort (FTE), etc.
- Create tracking for direct costs, indirect costs, subrecipient costs, and consultant expenditures.
- Establish deadlines for financial, progress, and technical reports.
- Monitor spending, IPAS, and prior approval requirements in light of the award funding.
- Communicate regularly with those responsible for project activity to prepare requirements in a timely fashion.
- Handle transactions and reconciliations by anticipating end-of-budget periods and other changes.
III. Use Post-Award Monitoring to Review Financial & Programmatic Transactions
- Perform cost transfers
- Perform budget revisions
- Compare and balance award expenditures using ConnectCarolina
- Circumvent unallowable expenditures and overdrafts
Exclusions
Sponsored research often generates program income, such as fees for laboratory services, conference fees, third-party patient reimbursements, etc. Treatment of program income varies by agency. In order to establish the proper accounting method in accordance with Federal regulations, the appropriate OSP Sponsored Projects Specialist (SPS) should be notified in cases where program income is foreseeable or accumulates.
Related Requirements
Unit Policies, Standards, & Procedures
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 SPS.
For invoicing, reporting and other financial matters, please contact the assigned Sponsored Projects Accountant. OSP Staff assignments are found in RAMSeS or on the OSP website.
History
History Table
| Date |
Description |
| 07/01/2022 |
Revised to reflect new office name. |
| 12/04/2020 |
Revised to clarify vendor/service provider and publication costs must be consistent with agreement terms and conditions. |
| 05/15/2018 |
Revised to coincide with the release of the new OSP Website. |
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.