GRANT AWARDS AT USC:Proposal Submission, Award Notification, Spending

and Monitoring

Janet StoeckertDirector of Research Administration

Keck School of Medicine

Acknowledgements:Sabrina Feeley

Director of Research AdministrationDornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Nichole PhillipsDirector of Research Administration

Viterbi School of Engineering

Preparing and Submitting Your Proposal

Identifying Funding Opportunities- solicitation, RFP, program announcement, BAA

On-line Information Systems:• GrantForward – free to USC employees

http://research.usc.edu/for-investigators/funding/databases/• Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN)• FedBizOpps.gov – Federal Opportunities• ResearchResearch.com• Grants.gov• Sponsor Websites

Read instructions carefully and thoroughly!

Alert and begin working with your Research Administrator

Start early - there are many different parts to a proposal that will take time to prepare.

• Narrative• Budget• Biosketches• Subcontracts• Letters of Support, Commitments• Quotes

Impacts on Budget Planning

• Sponsor’s Budget Restrictions• Project Period – Phases/Years• Task/Milestone Budgets• Types of personnel (faculty, research staff, postdoc, student)• Fringe Benefits• Sub Awardees and Collaborators• Location of Project (on or off campus)• Facilities and Administration Costs

• Compensation; Faculty Salaries (9 mos. vs. 12 mos. appointments); Non-Faculty Salaries; Fringe Benefits (Federal & Non-Federal)

• Materials and Supplies• Equipment• Travel• Publication Costs• Sub Awards or Consultants • Other Direct Costs• Facilities & Administration Costs (Indirects or Overhead)

Budget Elements

Costs Must Be . . .

Allowable - Must conform to regulations - Must conform to any exclusions contained in the sponsored agreement - May be an appropriate institutional expense but not allowable on a sponsored project

Allocable - Necessary to the project - Directly benefits the project - NOT determined by fund availability

Costs Must Be . . .

Reasonable - What “prudent person” would pay in like circumstances

Explains: • why each cost is essential to performing project• how project costs were estimated• any special circumstances• what each person will contribute to the project• lab and animal costs• equipment needs – include quotes• Fringe benefit and F&A rates• can be essential for surviving an audit

USC Research - Current Rate Agreement - June 23, 2014http://research.usc.edu/dcg/proposal-development/rates-at-a-glance/

Budget Justification

• If any of the following are involved, institutional review boards may be required:

; Human Subjects; Human Embryonic Cells; Animal Subjects; Radioactive Materials; Biohazardous Materials

• Conflict of Interest; diSClose and HHS Required COI Training http://

ooc.usc.edu/conflict-interest-research

Compliance Requirements

Cost Sharing• In general, cost sharing and matching represents that portion

of project or program costs not borne by the sponsor (generally the federal government).

• Cost sharing can be voluntary or mandatory and can take the form of either cash or in-kind contributions.

USC Policy - Cost Sharing https://policy.usc.edu/cost-sharing/

Individual school policies.

Be sure all appropriate institutional approvals are secured prior to submission.

Submitting your proposal

• Route proposal package for School and University approval before submitting to sponsor.; Kuali Coues (KC) – Proposal Approval Record (KCPAR)

Includes grants.gov module to facilitate grants.gov grant submissions.

• Your Research Administrator will assist with routing your application to the Department of Contracts and Grants (DCG) for final review and submission.

Congratulations! You have an award!

Preparing to receive, activate and access your grant award

Compliance Requirements Revisited

• Prior to award being set-up need to ensure have completed trainings and other compliance items:

; Grants Management Training; IRB if applicable; Animal Subjects if applicable; Radioactive if applicable; Stem Cell Review committee if applicable; Biosafety if applicable

Award Set-up

1st Email is from the Department of Contracts and Grants notifying you of the award.-----Original Message-----From: noreply@usc.edu [mailto:noreply@usc.edu] Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2014 10:42 AMTo: Sally Trojan; Nichole Phillips; cmlee@usc.eduSubject: New information is available in Kuali Coeus (KC) about CNS-1435214 Award Title: Network Transformation in a Scaled EnvironmentPrincipal Investigator: Sally Trojan Co-Principal Investigator(s): Lead Unit: Engineering Office of the Dean Sponsor: National Science FoundationSponsor Award Number: CNS-1435214Transaction Type: New Obligated Period: 2014-09-01 to 2017-08-31 Obligated Amount: $80,000.00 Project Period: to 2015-01-30 Anticipated Amount: $240,000.00 You can view the Award by logging in to KC at https://kc.usc.edu/kc-prd and clicking My Active Awards to select this Award from the list. Within your award, on the Award Actions tab, you can print an Award Synopsis that provides a transaction summary. The Award document(s) are also available under the Notes & Attachments tab. Next Steps: Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) will now work on the account and budget setup in KFS. You will receive a separate notification when the account setup is complete and you are able to expense to the account. If a detailed budget is required or satellite(s) established, you will receive a request from SPA. If this is an existing award and additional funds have been added, please refer to the SPA budget submission guidelines for submitting a detailed budget, if required. If you have any questions regarding the budget or satellite establishment process, please contact SPA at http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/spa.

• You or your Research Administrator should review what is loaded in the TARA System

; Look in the Comments, Notes and Attachments section

• If the proposed approved budget is in the system there is nothing to do SPA will set-up automatically.

Award Set-up

• Sponsor may request reduction in budget, Scope of Work should be reduce accordingly

• Sponsor may agree to full budget but only allocate (incrementally fund) a portion of funding for specific time-frame

– How can budget be adjusted to accommodate funding?

Review Award Notice

• Time table• Cost Sharing Requirements • Reporting Requirements• Clauses

Review Award Notice Look for Other Requirements

• If the budget is not there or satellite accounts are needed then the research administrator will need to send this to SPA

; Here are the links for the instructions: Budget Change: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/spa/page/7462/budget-change-information-and-instructions/

Satellite Accounts: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/spa/page/6742/policies-information/#sate

Award Set-up

Award Set-up

2nd Email from Sponsored Projects Accounting Office notifying you of the account.From: Laura Hui [mailto:lhui@usc.edu] Sent: Wednesday, February 05, 2014 1:35 PMTo: Sally Trojan; Nichole PhillipsSubject: Re: Your account(s) and budget(s) have been established Dear All, The following account(s) and budget(s) have been established. Sponsor: Harris Foundation Award#: CNS-1435214 Obligation Start and End Dates: 09/01/2014 – 08/31/2017 USC Master Account No: 5345012315 Title: Network Transformation in a Scaled Environment Unit/Department: Engineering Office of the Dean Account Supervisor Principal Name: Trojan, Sally Please review your account and budget on KFS. For any questions, alterations, or additional assistance (e.g., budget changes and satellite creation), please visit the websites below, or contact the SPA Accountant assigned to your account: Laura Hui, 213-821-6426, lhui@usc.edu If the account's department liaison is different than the current email recipient, please email the full name and 7-digit employee ID/Kuali username to the SPA Accountant assigned to your account. To view your account on Kuali Financial System (KFS): 1. Log into Kuali Financial System < http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/kuali > 2. In the Financial Main Menu tab, under Lookup and Maintenance, under Chart of Accounts, click on “Account.” 3. Enter the Account Number. 4. Click "Search." 5. Click on the Account Number to view the account details on KFS. To view your budget on KFS: 1. Log into Kuali Financial System < http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/kuali > 2. In the Financial Main Menu tab, under Balance Inquiries, click on “Available Balances.” 3. Enter the Account Number. 4. Select "ALL" for "Include Pending Ledger Entry." 5. Click on "Search."

For information regarding budget changes, please visit the SPA website: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/spa/page/7462/budget-change-information-and-instructions/ For information regarding satellite creations, please visit the SPA website: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/spa/page/6742/policies-information/#sate

• For the TARA System to review award information it is automatic for PIs and co-PIs

• For the Kuali Financial System (KFS) – need to check with your school or department for access

; This can be done once you receive the email from SPA informing you of the account number

Getting Access

Spending and Monitoring

Costs Must Be . . .

AllowableAllocableReasonable

Monitoring

• Review Projections– No less than quarterly– Review for abnormally high or low burn rate of

funds– Sponsor may reduce funding if expenses do not

match budget (e.g. carry forward)

Monitoring

Projection templates vary by Schools and Departments

Projection Template

28

Account Status Report (ASR)

Cost Transfers

• Sponsored Projects Accounting (SPA) reviews and approves cost transfer

• Process within 90 days – Attach detailed justification and supporting

documentation– PI and Administrator sign off

• Over 90 days– Attach detailed justification and supporting

documentation– PI, Administrator, SBO sign off

Certifying Effort

• Required by institution policy and Feds• Way for government and other sponsors to

verify salary charges to grants• Include cost shared effort subsidized by

Department, School, Institution• Take into account sponsor’s salary cap if

applicable

• Faculty effort on grants should not exceed 90-95%

• Effort towards teaching, committee work, preparing new grant proposals may not be charged to grants

• Exceptions are reviewed by Office of Financial Analysis

Certifying Effort

Certifying Effort

• USC on-line effort certification: http://fbs.usc.edu/depts/ofa/page/4118/policies/

Close Out of Award

• Close outstanding encumbrances/POs• Programmatic/Technical/Invention Reports • Personnel Expirations

– Notify project staff as soon as possible

Grant is Completed

Close Out of Award• Data Retention and Access

– Provide reasonable access– Retain for 7 years after final reporting

or publication– Retain financial records 3 years after

audit resolution– Don’t forget to shred confidential

information!

Recap

• Proposals: Start Early, Follow Instructions, work with your local Research Administrator

• Complete all Compliance Requirements• Review your grant award notice with your

Administrator for terms and conditions, scope, awarded budget, discuss spending plan

• Review budget, spending, and projections at least quarterly

• Stay current on compliance requirements

Thank you!Nichole Phillips

Viterbi School of Engineeringnicholep@usc.edu

Sabrina FeeleyDornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences

slf@usc.edu

Janet StoeckertKeck School of MedicineJanet.stoeckert@usc.edu