• Proposals
• Contract & Grant Awards
• Contract & Grant Terms
• Conflict of Interest
  & Commitment

Proposals

Proposal Information:

The Business Office will release salary information of COE employees to anyone preparing a proposal only when the release of such information has been authorized by the individual.

Routing of Proposals:

Proposals for projects are submitted to sponsors for consideration for funding. Prior to submitting the proposal, the University requires that the proposal be reviewed and approved at the departmental, college, and university levels. Occasionally proposals are routed through the University as a "postaward" proposal when notification of the award already has been received. To route a proposal through the University, the Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for submitting the following:

• College of Education Internal Routing Sheet

• University Proposal Routing Sheet

• Abstract describing the project

• Proposal Budget

After the Principal Investigator and department head have signed the routing sheets, the documents listed above should be submitted to the Office of the Dean three to five days prior to the deadline. After College level approval has been obtained, the PI is responsible for obtaining the VP for Research signatures at the Preaward Section of Sponsored Projects in the University Services Building, 5th floor.

While the Principal Investigator is responsible for all project activity, the office of Sponsored Projects Administration is responsible for negotiating, writing, administering, and closing sponsored accounts, contracts, and subcontracts.

Indirect Cost Rates:

University policy requires that established indirect cost rates are used in proposals. The indirect rate should be indicated on the Proposal Routing Sheet. For exceptions to this policy, a request to waive the indirect cost should be submitted to the VP for Research with the approval of the dean prior to submitting the proposal to Sponsored Projects. If the indirect cost rate is stipulated by the sponsor, a copy of the RFP or statement from the sponsor must be attached to the Proposal Routing Sheet.

Calculating the indirect rate varies by sponsor; however general guidelines are that capital equipment (a single item costing more than $5,000) and participant expense are excluded from the total direct costs on which the indirect cost is figured. For Department of Education training grants, indirect cost usually is not calculated on student support costs. Check the RFP, Edgar, or Sponsored Projects if the instructions are unclear.

On subcontracts, indirect cost is calculated on the first $25,000 of direct costs only if the proposal is applying a full indirect cost rate.

Contract & Grant Awards

Once the proposal has been reviewed and approved for award, the PI and University will be notified of the award. Some negotiation may be required prior to the actual award.

When the award is made, the Postaward Section of Sponsored Projects will create an account number. The fund accountant in Sponsored Projects will "load" the budget into FRS based on the budget approved by the sponsor.

Hiring of personnel for the grant or contract must follow established policies and procedures. If an individual was named in the proposal, current policy allows a search to be waived.

Expenditures on a sponsored account should be a justifiable expense related to the scope and mission of the project. It is the responsibility of the PI to maintain backup documents for expenditures in the event of an audit.

Flexibility in moving funds amongst budget categories varies with sponsors. Consult with the sponsor, Business Office, or fund accountant if there are questions.

FRS Reports are received monthly; these are the official financial reports. The accountant in the Business Office prepares monthly reports for PIs, but these should not be used in making financial reports to sponsors.

Sponsored Projects is responsible for preparing the financial reports, approved by PIs, for sponsors.

Contract & Grant Terms

Terms often associated with grants and contracts can be confusing. Some are listed below.

Backstopping refers to another source of funds used to support project activity prior to receipt of the award. The College of Education does not have sufficient resources to backstop projects; with the Dean's approval requests for backstopping are made to the Office of the VP for Research when notification has been received that an award is forthcoming. A specified period of time and amount of funds needed should be spelled out in the backstop request .

Buyout refers to grant funds "buying out" a portion of a faculty member's state-funded salary while the faculty works on the grant. The released state dollars are then used to hire someone to teach a class (or classes) from which the faculty member was released or "bought out."

Cost sharing represents contributions from the institution toward a project. Typically cost sharing is required on training grants but not on research grants. Cost sharing should not be reflected in a proposal budget unless required by the sponsor. Refer to Vice President Cusanovich's 7/14/97 memo on cost sharing for institutional guidelines.

Grant year refers to the period of the award and usually does not coincide the University fiscal year of July 1 through June 30. Contracts and grants may be awarded for multiple years or a single year. The award notice should specify the period of award.

No-cost extension allows a balance of funds to be expended to complete the project within a determined period of time. A no-cost extension should be requested prior to the expiration of a sponsored account. Requirements vary by sponsor. Any reporting of carry-forward funds to the sponsor must be approved by Sponsored Projects prior to submittal.

Carry-forward funds refer to the balance in funds remaining at the year-end expiration of a project. Approval to carry the funds forward to the next project year will depend on the sponsor. Such requests to the sponsor should be routed through Sponsored Projects.

Fixed-price contract refers to the sponsor awarding a fixed amount of money to complete a particular task. Generally if the task has been completed and a fund balance remains, the funds remain in the department.

Cost reimbursement refers to a type of contract when invoices are submitted periodically to the sponsor for reimbursement of actual expenses incurred in conjunction with the project.

Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment

All employees of the University should be aware of the Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy. Outside obligations, financial interests, or other employment may be considered a conflict of interest or commitment. Arizona Statutes require that an employee disclose any full or partial ownership or other substantial interest that the employee or a relative of the employee has in any type of entity that does any manner of business with the University. When a conflict does exit, a Disclosure Form should be completed and routed according to the policy.

The Proposal Routing Sheet for contracts and grants has a specific question concerning whether the proposed project will involve any conflict. This question must be answered when submitting a proposal.