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OFFICE OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCHLouisiana Tech University

Contract and Grant

Administration Guide

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L OU I S I A N A T E C H U NI V E RS I T Y

Contract and Grant Administration Guide

Office of University Research1115 Wyly Tower-Campus Box 47

Phone 318.257.5075 • Fax 318.257.5079

Table of Contents

C H A P T E R 1

Definitions and Basic Accounting Structure

Terms and Definitions 1

Account Code Structure 2

Grant Ledger Explanations 4

Accounting Inquiry Procedures (CICS) 6

C H A P T E R 2

Allowable Costs and Documentation

Allowability of Costs 12

Direct Costs vs. F&A Costs 13

Cost-Sharing for Sponsored Agreements 14

Time & Effort Reporting 17

C H A P T E R 3

Reporting Requirements

Introduction 19

Board of Regents Reporting 19

NSF Reporting 20

NIH Reporting Requirements 21

C H A P T E R 4

Financial Administration

Invoicing Procedures 23

Cost Transfers 23

Budget and Program Adjustments 24

No Cost Extensions 26

C H A P T E R 5

Purchasing Policies 28

C O N T R A C T A N D G R A N T A D M I N I S T R A T I O N G U I D E

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Chapter

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D E S I G N C U S T O M I Z A T I O N

Definitions and Basic Accounting StructureHow to understand the monthly accounting ledgers and access your grant account on the University mainframe.

ontract: A contract is generally an agreement to provide a product or service which is of direct benefit to the awarding agency. Contracts provide for payments to

the University which cover allowable project costs or payment of a fixed price for satisfactory completion of the project.

CGrant: A grant is an agreement to accomplish something for the public good in exchange for money, property, or services. Most federal agencies use a grant document for research awards to universities.

Cooperative Agreement: A cooperative agreement is like a grant except that the federal government will be closely involved in the activity that is being funded, perhaps bringing government personnel to campus to work on the project. Fixed Price Contract: Payments for this type of contract are based on satisfactory performance. Payment is set and cannot be adjusted because of how much it costs to meet the terms of the agreement, whether more or less than the contracted amount.

Gift: Contribution from a private, non-governmental source, made without expectation of any product or service of a tangible or intangible nature in return.

Cost-Reimbursable Contract/Grants: The sponsor will reimburse the University for any actual, approved project costs, within whatever variances the funding agency allows.

Terms and Definitions


Budget: A budget identifies the type of costs and estimated amounts needed to complete the project. The budget must be approved by the funding agency and Louisiana Tech. This budget will be the basis for authorizing any expenditures on the project and the basis for seeking payment from the funding agency. Total Project Costs: Direct costs plus indirect costs. This amount includes the granting agency’s share, the University’s share, and, in some cases, a third party’s share.

Cost Sharing: This term refers to costs that the funding agency does not pay. It may be Cash Cost Sharing, In-Kind Cost Sharing, Third-Party Cost-Sharing, or Unrecovered Indirect Costs. These costs are generally borne by the University.

Program Income: This is income earned by the University that is directly generated by a supported activity or earned as a result of the contract or grant.

Duration: The length of time the agreement is active. Every agreement should have specified beginning and ending dates. All expenditures must be incurred or encumbered during this period. If expenditures fall outside this period, they cannot be reimbursed or used as cost sharing. In some cases, pre-award costs may be approved by the sponsor.

An account code number consists of at least fifteen (15) numbers and is structured as shown below:

3X XXXX XXXX XXXXX

Class Dept Bu/Ob Fund

Class (2 digits)

A. First Digit – 3 indicates that this is a Current Fund – Gifts and/or Grants

B. Second Digit – 1 indicates that this is an Income Account

Louisiana Tech Account Code Structure

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_ 2 indicates that this is an Expense Account

Department (4 digits)

This is the budget unit assigned as a unique number for your department or budget unit.

Budget/Object Code (4 digits)

To identify type of income or expense. For descriptions of expense account codes go to http://www.ltadm.latech.edu/~vpadmaff/bdefine1.htm .

Fund Number (5 digits)

This is a unique number assigned to each account. The first two digits of this number identify the source of funds.

10…/18… Individuals-Gifts

20…/37… Industry & Foundations – Gifts

39… States – Other than Louisiana

40… State of Louisiana

41…/42… Local Governmental (Parish) Agencies

48… Local Governmental (City) Agencies

50… U.S. Department of Agriculture

51… U.S. Office of Education

52… U.S. Health & Human Services

53… U.S. HUD

54… U.S. NSF

55… U.S. Department of Transportation

56… U.S. Other Departments/Agencies

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http://www.ltadm.latech.edu/~vpadmaff/bdefine1.htm


59… Federal Through Third Party

6…. Private Grants from Individuals, Industry, & Foundations

90…/99… Sub-departments

1. Grant Name includes the Project Director, College Name, and OUR address.

2. Fund Number represents the type of funding agency.

3. Income Budget is set up in 31 account under Current Budget and with appropriate budget object code from income codes. Income budget may be adjusted for changes in the amount of funding.

4. Indirect Cost Budget is also set up in 31 account since it is not spendable by the project director. Indirect cost is computed and posted monthly.

5. Fiscal Year Income and Indirect Costs drawn are shown under YTD Actual.

6. GTD Actual is income and indirect cost over the life of the grant.

7. Income Balance is income not yet invoiced, drawn, or received or not yet drawn indirect cost.

8. Detailed transactions for the current fiscal year are shown on the ledger each month.

9. Expense Budget is set up under Current Budget. Budget Adjustments adjust this column, as well as indirect cost on the income page.

Grant Ledger Explanations

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10. Fiscal Year-to-Date Expenditures are shown under YTD Actual, and detailed transactions are shown each month for the entire fiscal year.

11. Grant-to-Date Expenditures are accumulated over the life of the grant.

12. Expense Balance is the amount available for the project director to spend.

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To gain access to your grant account through the University’s mainframe system, follow the procedures and screens shown below.

Accounting Inquiry Procedures (CICS)

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Upon request from your Dean, the Computing Center will assign you a unique User ID and Password. These will become part of the sign-on process.

Type your User ID and Password in, and press ENTER. Before you can access your account, you must have completed the CICS Access Form that was sent to you when your grant account was set up.

After you enter your grant account number, this screen will be displayed.

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The next screen is your Options Menu. Your menu may be similar to the one shown below if you are authorized for more than one program.

Type in BI for Balance File Inquiry, and press ENTER. This step will give you access to your account balance by budget category as well as show individual transactions that are posted to your account daily.

You should monitor your grant account regularly to ensure that all transactions are posted correctly and that you have not overspent in any of your budget categories.

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Project TitleAccount Number

Budget Code

Grouping

Budget as set up in awardOutstanding Purchase Orders

Actual expenses recorded

Available funds

Allows review of transactions for current & prior months

This is your balance file inquiry screen. Please note the following definitions and explanations:

Grouping – indicates that the categories with the same group number are looked at as one group. Any group with a debit balance in the Group Subtotal has money available to be spent.

Budget Code – identifies the type of income or expense. Descriptions of these codes may be found at http://www.ltadm.latech.edu.

Account Number – “32” indicates that this is an expense account. The account number assigned to each grant is unique.

Current Budget – displays the budget as it is set up in the award. Any budget adjustments will change this column.

Project Title – self-explanatory.

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http://www.ltadm.latech.edu/~vpadmaff/bdefine1.htm


Open Encumbrances – indicates any outstanding purchase orders for which no payment has been made.

YTD Actual – displays actual expenses recorded on the account for the life of the grant.

Balance – tells the project director what funds are available to be spent.

PF Keys – allows the project director to move around within the system. For example, PF10 allow the project director to review transactions for the current and prior months.

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Fiscal year Month

Transaction Code

Budget Code

Date Posted

Transaction CodesPA – PayrollCR – Check RequestJR- Journal VoucherPC – Purchasing CardPO – Purchase Order

This screen allows the project director to see all transactions posted to the account as of that date. Transactions may be reviewed for prior months as well as prior fiscal years. Use the PF keys at the bottom of the screen to move between months and fiscal years.

Transaction codes denote the type of activity processed. A complete definition of each transaction code follows:

JR – Journal voucher – Internally prepared accounting entries usually initiated from a departmental request (memo), a correction, or other internal entry such as computer services, postal services, telephone, etc.

CR – Check request – indicates that a check has been written for payment of goods or services.

PO – Purchase order – indicates a purchase order has been issued to a vendor based on a requisition submitted by a department. This reduces your free balance and represents a future commitment of funds.

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EC – Encumbrance change – indicates a change to an existing purchase order (encumbrance). Used to increase or decrease a purchase order and also to process a partial liquidation (payment) of a purchase order where the amount of the check written to the vendor (CR) differs from the amount to be liquidated on the purchase order.

PA – Payroll – indicates a charge entry based on the processing of a Biweekly, Student, or Monthly Payroll.

ID – Interdepartmental – indicates the processing of interdepartmental charges based on the processing of an intra-campus requisition from one department on campus to another, such as Bookstore, Printing Department, Food Services, Motor Pool, etc.

RD – Receipts Form – represents cash or checks deposited with Comptroller’s Office, Cashier.

IS – Invoice Statement – represents a billing to an off-campus (non-university) entity for which an amount is due to be paid Louisiana Tech.

OB – Original beginning balance.

BA – Budget adjustment – increases or decreases the budget.

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Allowable CostsPrinciples for determining costs applicable to grants, contracts, and other agreements

The tests of allowability of costs under the principles (A-21) are: (1) they must be reasonable; (2) they must be allocable to sponsored agreements under the principles and methods provided herein; (3) they must be given consistent treatment through application of those generally accepted accounting principles appropriate to the circumstances; and (4) they must conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as to types or amounts of cost items.

A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired or applied and the amount involved therefore reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.

A cost is allocable to a particular cost objective (i.e., a specific function, project, sponsored agreement, department, or the like) if the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable to such cost objective in accordance with relative benefits received or other equitable relationship.

Normally the following expenditures (not all inclusive) are not allowable as a direct charge to a sponsored agreement without specific written approval. A more complete listing of specific costs (allowable and non-allowable) can be found at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a021.html.

Chapter

2Allowability of Costs

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a021.html


o Advertising or public relations: Expenditures to promote the University are non-recoverable. This includes non-technical newsletters, department publications, and advertising in excess of what is ordinary and necessary.

o Alcoholic Beverages

o Alumni activities

o Donations or contributions

o Maintenance and repair costs

o Copier rental/maintenance

o Subscriptions and memberships

o Telephone rental and line charges

o Monthly cell phone base charge

o Office supplies

o Office furniture – file cabinets, chairs, desks, calculators, & typewriters

o Entertainment costs

o General purpose equipment – computers, copying and printing equipment

o Subcontracts without written approval

o Goods or services for personal use (including gifts, t-shirts, mugs, etc.)

o Travel costs in excess of commercial coach airfare.

Direct Costs are costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity and can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.

Direct Costs vs. F&A Costs

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F&A Costs (formerly known as indirect costs or overhead) are those that are incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. At Louisiana Tech University, F&A Costs consist of expenses relating to the support of the primary functions, including academic administration, plant operations, administrative salaries, and expenses of offices such as the President, Vice Presidents, Human Resources, and Purchasing; Grant and Contract Administration and Accounting; general expenses including insurance, campus security; and depreciation for use of buildings and equipment.

Circular A-21 states that the salaries and wages of administrative and clerical staff, and non-salary items such as postage for routine correspondence, local telephone calls (including equipment), and routine office supplies should normally be treated as F&A costs and are only appropriate if the purpose of such is for the sole direct benefit of the project. These costs qualify as direct costs when the nature of the performed work constitutes a major program or activity and the costs are specifically identified and justified in the proposal’s budget or budget justification section. The costs must be easily identified to the project with a high degree of accuracy.

Consultation with Office of University Research may be required to determine if the necessary characteristics exist to create a major program. The examples below are illustrative of what characteristics are included in a major program:

Large, complex programs, such as environmental or engineering research centers, and other agreements that entail assembling and managing teams of investigators from numerous institutions.

Projects involving extensive data collection, analysis and entry, surveying, tabulation, cataloging, searching literature, and reporting.

Projects that require coordinating travel and meeting arrangements for a large number of participants, such as conferences and seminars.

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Projects where the principal focus is the preparation and production of manuals, large reports, books, or monographs (excluding routine progress and technical reports).

Projects which are geographically inaccessible to normal department administrative services, such as sea-going research vessels, radio astronomy projects, and other remote field sites.

Individual projects requiring project-specific database management, individualized graphics or manuscript preparation, human or animal protocol, institutional review board preparations and/or other project-specific regulatory protocols, and multiple project-related investigator coordination and communications.

Cost-sharing or matching is defined as the cost portion of a project or program not borne by the project’s sponsor. All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, are acceptable as cost-sharing contributions when they are

Verifiable (documented)

Not included as contributions for any other project

Necessary and reasonable to accomplish the project’s objectives

Allowable under Circular A-21 (i.e., it must qualify as a direct cost

Not from funds supported by the Federal Government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost-sharing or matching

Provided for and stated in the approved award budget and/or terms of the sponsored agreement

Three Forms of Cost-Sharing

Cost-Sharing for Sponsored Agreements

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a021.html


Mandatory – is either required by statute or the agency states that mandatory cost-sharing is a requirement of the applicant.

Voluntary Committed – is created if a proposal included cost-sharing when none was required by the agency.

Voluntary Uncommitted – is cost-sharing that is neither mandatory nor voluntary committed. It represents contributions to a sponsored project that do not come from the awarding agency, were not required by the awarding agency, and were not volunteered in the proposal to the agency. Note: Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing is not reported back to the sponsoring agency.

Examples of cost-sharing include the following: the percentage of personnel effort to be expended on the project (when an employee is working on but is not paid from the grant account, the value of the time spent working on the grant is paid from an unrestricted account), associated employee benefits, Graduate Research Assistant tuition, communications, equipment, supplies, and associated F&A costs. Unrecovered F&A costs (the difference between the full, allowable F&A costs calculated at the current negotiated rate and the F&A costs reimbursed by the sponsor) may be included as part of the cost-sharing or commitment (prior authorization is required by some sponsors). Program Income earned under an award may not count as cost-sharing unless authorized by the sponsor.

Items not generally allowed for cost-sharing under federal regulations include

Excess F&A costs

Salary dollars in excess of regulatory caps

Costs incurred prior to the award

Cost overruns

Many sponsors require cost-sharing in the proposal budget or indicate that it is recommended. When cost-sharing is recommended, it usually means that it will be a factor during proposal evaluation. Cost-sharing requirements may be in the form of a specific ratio or stated percentage. The source and

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categories of the proposed cost-sharing commitment should be clearly cited in the budget justification.

Remember that any promised cost becomes part of the project cost – the cost must be tracked and is subject to audit. Failure to comply with a cost-sharing commitment may result in a loss of funding. Regular tracking of contributions is strongly encouraged.

Cost-sharing Documentation:

The PI of a sponsored project is responsible for documenting the matching or cost-sharing commitment for the project or coordinating such documentation during the project period. The Office of University Research keeps all records of cost-sharing in the event of an audit. OUR tracks each individual account for which cost-sharing has been obligated. It is essential that documentation be routed through the Office of University Research in order for this tracking to be accurate and complete.

The portion of a cost-sharing commitment which is comprised of personnel costs must be documented on a Time and Effort Report in order to qualify as cost-sharing. The Time and Effort Report is an after-the-fact certification that should reasonably reflect the activity of that individual.

Non-personnel costs used as cost sharing or matching must be documented by a purchase requisition and/or invoice showing the account number to which the item(s) purchased were charged. The purchase requisition and/or invoice must have the following statement: “This is to certify a cost sharing contribution to the project under account # XX XXXX XXXXX; this cost has not been used to meet cost-sharing on any other account.” Other sponsored agreement accounts may be used only if written approvals from each sponsor are obtained. A copy of this purchase requisition must be forwarded to OUR for tracking purposes.

In-kind contributions (e.g., equipment, supplies, and personnel) from third parties may also be committed as cost sharing or matching if the value of such contributions can be properly documented. Again, this form must be forwarded to OUR for tracking purposes.

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In order to use funds as cost-sharing or matching to a sponsored project, their function must match the function of the sponsored project. These funds must be expended within the project period of the sponsored agreement which they support, and the funds can only be cost-shared to one project.

Cash must have a special account set up as a “matching account.” Funds must be spent according to the project budget if there is a budget. If the account has no budget for matching funds, cost-sharing should still be monitored and questioned if an expenditure seems out of line for the work of the project.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions includes regulatory requirements for the planning, confirmation, and certification of effort associated with Federal organized research projects and other activities. Effort directly charged to sponsored projects, cost-sharing, and other statutory-funded activities must be identified in the university’s effort reporting system.

There are two basic rules to understand before reading further.

1. The effort planning and confirmation system must only reflect the activity for which the investigator or employee is compensated by Louisiana Tech. External activities such as consulting or non-university (professional) committees are not to be included.

2. We are required to record effort as a percentage of total activities, not as hours worked. Therefore, all of an employee’s compensated activities equal 100% of Louisiana Tech effort regardless of whether they are accomplished in 20, 40, or 80 hours per week.

The Time & Effort Report Form is separated into five categories:

Effort Categories

Instruction & Other Required University Activities

Departmental Administration/ University Wide

Sponsored Projects

Cost Sharing Projects

Other Activities

Time & Effort Reporting

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Committee Assignments

Sample Activities

Advising Committee Work

Research Projects

Research Projects

Community Service

Curriculum Development & Teaching

Administrative Activities

Extension Projects

Hiring & Supervising

Proposal Preparation

Supervision of Teaching Assistants

Identify the categories that are applicable to your activities, and apply the percentage of time that is spent on each activity. Remember, cost-sharing is time that was spent on the research project and paid by the University.

The report must be certified by a person who has first-hand knowledge that this distribution of time and effort is a reasonable estimate. Failure to provide this documentation in the event of an audit can result in reduced funding by the agency.

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Chapter

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Reporting RequirementsHow to remain in compliance with your Federal, State, or Private Industry reporting guidelines.

Any sponsor-required financial and technical reports should be reasonable, i.e., within the generally accepted standards for such requirements. Any excessive reporting requirements, such as those which the campus’ financial systems cannot readily accommodate, deadlines which cannot reasonably be met, or overly frequent reports, should be modified to the extent possible.

Since research results cannot be guaranteed, University research is conducted on a “best efforts” basis. The University receives no fee or profit on its research. While agreements may require a final report and may outline standards for that report, provisions which guarantee research results, impose penalties for failure to make progress by firm deadlines, or condition payment on the sponsor’s satisfaction with the results are generally not acceptable. Such provisions create an unfunded liability for the University as the sponsor may refuse to pay the costs incurred for the work performed. However, Principal Investigators or Program Directors are obligated to conduct sponsored projects of the highest possible quality.

With very few exceptions, all reporting for Board of Regents grants is done electronically via the BoR website (http://www.laregents.org). Click on “Reporting System,” then select the address shown for Annual/Interim/Final Progress Reports. Enter your contract number using all caps and no spaces. Your Password is your social security number. From this point, you will enter information for each section shown beside the VIEW button.

The Narrative portion of the report will need to be formatted as a .pdf file. If you do not have access to Adobe Acrobat software,

IntroductionBoard of Regents Reporting

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http://www.laregents.org/

http://www.laregents.org/


please email your Word document to the Office of University Research. We will convert your narrative and attach it to the website.

Your award document will provide you with a schedule of due dates for your reports. It is essential that you meet these deadlines. If at any time you have questions, contact the Office of University Research.

NSF requires technical project reports for all assistance awards. Information from these reports is used in annual reports to Congress to demonstrate the Foundation’s performance as mandated by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993. These reports also provide NSF Program Officers and administrative offices with information on the progress of supported projects and the way these funds are used. Information in these reports may be made available to the general public through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Annual Project Reports

Principal Investigators should submit annual project reports electronically via the NSF Fastlane System. Unless otherwise specified in the grant, annual project reports shall be submitted at least three months prior to the end of the current budget period. In the case of continuing grants, failure to submit timely reports may delay processing of funding increments.

Final Project Report

Within ninety days following expiration of the grant, a final project report must be submitted electronically via the NSF Fastlane system. In addition, the grantee also shall provide to the cognizant NSF program officer, within 90 days following the expiration of the grant, any unique reports or other end items specified in the award letter, including any report requirements set forth in any NSF brochure, guide, solicitation, etc., referenced in the award as being directly related to either the award or the administration of the award.

Final Technical Information Items

NSF Reporting

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http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02151/gpm02_151.pdf


As soon as they are available after completion of the project, the following technical items shall be submitted for NSF program management use:

Abstracts of theses

Publication citations and reprints of articles

Data on scientific collaborations

Information on inventions

Technical description of the project and results

Other materials either required in the grant or considered to be useful to NSF

Universal Resource Locator numbers of electronic publications generated by the project

Compliance with Technical Reporting Requirements

NSF Program Officers are responsible for ensuring that Final Project Reports on prior, expired grants have been submitted by PIs before new grants are made to those PIs. This report should include the history and accomplishments achieved as a result of the completed award. Failure to provide final technical reports on a timely basis will delay NSF review and processing of pending proposals for all identified PIs and co-PIs on a given award.

NIH requires that grantees periodically submit financial and progress reports. Other required reports may include annual invention utilization reports, lobbying disclosures, audit reports, and specialized programmatic reports. Grantees also are expected to publish and provide information to the public on the objectives, methodology, and findings of their NIH-supported research activities as specified in “Administrative Requirements – Availability of Research Results: Publications, Intellectual Property Rights, and Sharing Biomedical Research Resources.”

The Grants Management Officer is the receipt point for most required reports, including noncompeting continuation requests,

NIH Reporting Requirements

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http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2001/


final progress reports, final invention statements and certifications, and lobbying disclosure statements. Reports must be submitted in an original and two copies unless the instructions for submission specify otherwise. Submission of these reports to individuals other than the GMO may result in delays in processing or the submission being considered delinquent.

Grantees are allowed a specified period of time in which to submit required financial and progress reports. Failure to submit complete, accurate, and timely reports may indicate the need for closer monitoring by NIH or may result in possible award delays or enforcement actions, including withholding, removal of expanded authorities, or conversion to a reimbursement payment method.

Grantees are required to submit a final progress report within 90 days of the end of grant support unless an extension is granted by the GMO. Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports may affect future funding to the organization or awards with the same PI.

The final progress report should include a summary of progress toward the achievement of the originally stated aims, a list of the results (positive or negative) considered significant, and a list of publications. The final progress report also should

Report on the inclusion of gender and minority study subjects (using the gender and minority inclusion table as provided in the PHS-2590).

Describe any data, research materials (such as cell lines, DNA probes, animal models), protocols, software, or other information resulting from the research that is available to be shared with other investigators and how it may be accessed.

An original and one copy of this report should be submitted to the Grants Management Officer through OUR.

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Chapter

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Financial AdministrationHow to manage your grant budget according to University and Agency Guidelines

Invoicing sponsors is the responsibility of the Office of University Research. Department personnel should refer all calls and correspondence regarding invoice submission to the Office of University Research.

Monthly invoices are prepared based on the expenditures on the blue and white ledgers. Please review these ledgers to ensure that they are accurate. Final invoices can be prepared based on expenditures incurred but not recorded on the ledger if the supporting documentation such as copies of invoices are in our office in time for us to submit the final invoice by the required due date.

Normally final invoices for federal projects are due within ninety days following the expiration date of the project. Most state agencies require that we submit the final invoice within forty-five days after the expiration date. June invoices for State agreements are generally due between July 1st and July 15th.

Equipment purchases should be made at least 120 days prior to the expiration date of the grant. Otherwise, the purchase may be disallowed by the sponsor.

A cost transfer is a reallocation of an expenditure from one account to another. To be allowable, cost transfers must be timely, fully documented, and have appropriate authorizing signatures. An explanation which merely states that the transfer was made to “correct an error” or “to transfer to the correct project” is not acceptable.

The cost must be a proper and allowable charge to the project to which it is transferred. The cost transfer request memo must be supported by documentation that contains a full explanation and justification. A copy of the ledger sheet with the expenditure identified (highlighted) must also be attached. The transfer

Invoicing ProceduresCost Transfers

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memo must be approved by the appropriate principal investigator and OUR personnel along with the Dean and/or Department Head of any account to which a charge may be transferred.

The cost transfer memo must be timely – within ninety days from the end of the month in which the original entry was recorded. Requests for cost transfer to be processed beyond this ninety-day period must include an explanation of the extenuating circumstances that prevented the transfer from being made earlier.

Transfers made after the submission of the final expenditure report to the sponsor are not allowable unless they involve items of which the granting agency is aware.

Constant or frequent transfers raise serious questions about their propriety as well as the overall reliability of our accounting system and internal controls.

According to OMB Circular A-110, the following changes to a Federal Nonconstruction Grant require prior approval from the funding agency:

Changes in scope or objective of the project or program (even if there is no associated budget revision requiring prior written approval).

Change in a key person specified in the application or award document.

The absence for more than three months, or a 25% reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director.

The need for additional Federal Funding.

The transfer of amounts budgeted for indirect costs to absorb increases in direct costs, or vice versa, if approval is required by the Federal awarding agency.

The transfer of funds allotted for training allowances to other categories of expense.

Budget and Program Adjustments

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http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a110/a110.html#25


Unless described in the application and funded in the approved awards, the subaward, transfer, or contracting out of any work under an award.

The Federal agency may, at its option, restrict the transfer of funds among direct cost categories or programs, functions and activities for awards in which the Federal share of the project exceeds $100,000 and the cumulative amount of such transfer exceeds or is expected to exceed 10 percent of the total budget.

Federal agencies are authorized and may choose to waive any of the required prior written authorizations listed above except for a) changes in the scope or objective and b) the need for additional funding. These waivers will be noted, if applicable, in the grant document.

Requests for budget revisions are to be reviewed by the Federal awarding agency, and notifications as to approval must be made within thirty calendar days from the date of receipt of the request.

If you need to request a budget revision and are unsure of whether prior agency approval is required, contact the Office of University Research. If no prior agency approval is required, the Principal Investigator shall complete the Request for Budget Adjustment Form and route it for signatures. The form and more detailed instructions are shown below.

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Complete information regarding Project Director, Date, Account Number and Project Title.

Obtain Budget Code, Description from CICS screen or blue ledger sheets for each approved budget category.

Insert “CURRENT BUDGET” amount shown on CICS screen or Blue ledger sheets. (This is not the available balance amount.)

Complete the “Increase/Decrease” columns. These two columns should have equal sums.

Calculate the Adjusted Budget by adding “Increases” to the Current Budget and subtracting “Decreases” from the Current Budget. The Adjusted Budget should total exactly the same as the Current Budget column.

Be sure to include a clear justification for the adjustment and sign the form.

This form should be printed on Canary Yellow paper.

NSF No-cost Extensions

NSF gives grantees the authority to enact a one-time extension of the expiration date of the grant of up to 12 months if additional time beyond the established expiration date is required to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work within the funds already made available. This one-time extension may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using the unliquidated balances. Grantees are not authorized to extend an award that contains a zero balance. The grantee shall notify NSF, through OUR, providing reasons for the extension and the revised expiration date, at least ten days prior to the expiration date specified in the grant. All grantee-approved extension notifications must be submitted via the FastLane System. For grantee-approved extensions, no amendment will be issued.

No Cost Extension

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If additional time beyond the extension provided by the grantee is required and exceptional circumstances warrant, a formal request must be submitted to NSF. The request must be submitted to NSF at least 45 days prior to the expiration date of the grant. The request must explain the need for the extension and include an estimate of the unobligated funds remaining and a plan for their use. As indicated above, that unobligated funds may remain at the expiration of the grant is not in itself sufficient justification for an extension. The plan must adhere to the previously approved objectives of the project. All requests for NSF-approved extensions must be submitted through OUR via the FastLane System.

Any NSF-approved no-cost extension will be issued by an NSF Grants Officer in the form of an amendment to the grant specifying a new expiration date. Grantees are cautioned not to make new commitments or incur new expenditures after the expiration date in anticipation of a no-cost extension.

NIH No-cost Extensions

The grantee may extend the final budget period of the project period one time for a period of up to 12 months beyond the original expiration date shown in the Notice of Grant Award if no additional funds are required to be obligated by the NIH awarding office, there will be no change in the project’s originally approved scope, and any one of the following applies:

Additional time beyond the established expiration date is required to ensure adequate completion of the originally approved project.

Continuity of NIH grant support is required while a competing continuation application is under review.

The extension is necessary to permit an orderly phaseout of a project that will not receive continued support.

The fact that funds remain at the expiration of the grant is not, in itself, sufficient justification for an extension without additional funds.

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The grantee must notify the NIH awarding office, in writing,

of the extension 10 days prior to the expiration date of the project period. Upon notification, the NIH awarding office will revise the project period ending date and provide an acknowledgment to the grantee. In extending the final budget period of the project period through this process, the grantee agrees to update all required certifications, including human subjects and animal welfare, in accordance with applicable regulations and policies. Grantees may not extend project periods previously extended by the NIH awarding office. Any additional project period extension beyond the one-time extension of up to 12 months requires NIH prior approval.

Board of Regents and Other Non-Federal Projects

For all other awards (unless specified in the grant award document), written permission must be obtained from the funding agency for a no-cost extension. All requests for no-cost extensions must be routed through OUR. The request should contain justification for the extension and a new projected ending date.

Purchasing PoliciesThe following pages are current Louisiana Tech University Policies and Procedures in place for the Purchasing Department. These reference

Chapter

5Purchasing Policies

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pages should prove to be invaluable in making grant procurement a faster and more efficient process.

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manual - louisiana tech university - research...

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