Functions and Workflow of the Office of Grant & Contract Administration Presentation to the Research Council 11/3/06

Mission of OGCA OGCA is dedicated to faculty service in the identification of funding sources, proposal development and submission, and the administration of awards through project closeout. OGCA maintains an open-door philosophy. Since OGCA is both a service-oriented office and a clearinghouse for assuring adherence to University- and sponsor-imposed standards and policies, staff must carefully balance these roles.

Organization Chart

Pre-award Staff Job Responsibilities Pre award staff are responsible for keeping apprised of sponsor policies, procedures and changes affecting proposal development and submission Learning and providing assistance to faculty in all of the various electronic submission systems and their unique requirements Proposal development assistance to the PIs Proposal review Coordination of proposal to review committees for compliance issues (IRB, IACUC, biohazards, rDNA, etc.) Subcontractor documentation Coordination of submission process Revised budget and budget impact statement review Just In Time (JIT) request coordination with sponsoring agencies Pre-award desk audit request coordination with sponsoring agencies Participation in training events Participation in web tool development Membership and occasional travel to professional society meetings (Society of Research Administrators (SRA) or National Council of Research Administrators (NCURA)

Proposal Flow Chart PI works with OGCA for identification of funding sources and other proposal development questions PI completes proposal and routes the proposal and IPF through the required signature process Proposal logged in at OGCA reception desk, checked for completeness, initial data entry into database. Provide PI with receipt & OGCA # Proposal Clerk for file preparation, data entry of staff assignment, proposal location and recording of due date Reprographics Clerk xerox, packaging and mailing hard copy submission. Internal Distribution Copies. Data entry for Proposal submission log Director for final approval & signature and/or electronic submission to sponsoring agency Proposal Clerk for corrections, cover letter generation, mailing label or preparation for electronic submission Pre-award Research Admin. for guideline review/interpretation, proposal review, corrections, and setting up for submission and signature process Proposal Clerk for Data verification/changes follow up Correspondence and IPF signatures Filing cabinet to await sponsor reply

Governing Rules for Proposal Process Trustee Policy T94-034 (Appendix ) University Policies i.e. personnel, conflict of interest, travel, cost accounting for administrative costs and cost sharing, equipment fabrication, PI/Co-PI Policy, etc. OMB A-21 http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a021/a021.html Specific sponsor guidelines, RFP Terms

What does OGCA Review? Review of proposal guidelines to insure proposal compliance. Determine if the RFP or proposal guidelines contain terms and conditions that must be addressed at proposal stage. Evaluate whether the proposal is hard copy submission, electronic submission or both. Determine if there are any special budget restrictions or cost share requirements. Technical review for commitments on behalf of other individuals/institutions and whether we have appropriate documentation, compliance issues (i.e. animal care, human subjects, bio-hazardous materials, recombinant DNA), commitments beyond the end of the proposal period, cost share not identified in the budget, conflict of interest situations or nepotism issues, space/facilities concerns Budget Review: Are costs reasonable, allowable (per UMass policy, OMB A-21 and the sponsors specific guidelines) and allocable to the project? Have appropriate salary and fringe benefit rates been applied, is the % of effort reasonable, have reasonable COLA’s been factored in, is the appropriate indirect cost rate used, does the budget add up, is there a proper budget justification in place, is there cost share and is it required, appropriate, within the same period of the proposal performance period, and allowable? Is there a subcontract and do we have the subcontractor’s, statement of work, budget, institutional sign off and all certifications as required by the sponsor? Determine if the proposal is complete and in compliance with the sponsor guidelines. Verify that the IPF reflects the correct due date, sponsor address, compliance fields filled in correctly, all Co-PI’s identified and signed off as appropriate, verify that the space committed in the proposal is approved, review specifically the answers to conflict of interest and lobbying to make sure that all disclosures are made. Review of system requirements and proposal procedures of all electronic submission portals Determine what certifications if any must accompany the proposal

How Does OGCA Ensure That Deadlines Are Met? Through the OGCA staff-developed Jordan database, our programmer has developed many tools to assist OGCA’s staff in monitoring workflow and file management/movement. Deadline lists are uploaded on all staff computers every day upon initial log in. (See next page for a sample deadline list.) In addition to the deadline list, a “hotsheet” is also generated daily to keep track, in real time, of where a deadline proposal is in the process.

Sample Deadline Report

Sample Hotsheet

Grant & Contract Administrator Responsibilities (Post award) Pre-establishment of accounts Knowledge of University policies, State Law, OMB A-110 and sponsor policies which affect the negotiation and acceptability of terms and conditions to the University of Massachusetts Award review and negotiation of terms and conditions Initiation of MOU process, Principal Investigator Award Agreement, other required award documentation Preparation of award budget and project characteristics for data entry into Jordan/GAMS system for “pull through” to Peoplesoft Preparation of the award package for Director’s acceptance and signature Liaison with the Controller’s Office accountants Post award actions such as no cost extensions of time and re-budgeting requests requiring sponsor approval Participation in large Center administration with departmental staff Coordination of final reporting requirements (technical, patent, financial, property) Membership and occasional travel to professional society meetings [Society of Research Administrators (SRA) or National Council of Research Administrators (NCURA)] Assistance with web tool design Assistance with training programs

Award Flow Chart Award received by Receptionist identifies Award to OGCA Receptionist identifies file award is associated with and logs (“cybers”) it to appropriate G&C Administrator Award to reprographic/mail clerk for pulling file and distributing mail and file to G&C Admin. G&C Admin. conducts initial review of award (amount, period, budget) & prepares for GAMS Entry; determines docs/ required (MOU, PIAA, etc) Award clerk for final “Red Folder” set up For Controller’s Office Director for award acceptance & signature. On-line approval of GAMS award for “pull thru” to PeopleSoft G&C Admin. final negotiation & contract mark up. Verification of information on forms for the Controller’s Office Award Clerk for PI notification, form requests, data entry into Jordan/GAMS, file prep. for submission to the Controller’s office Student Courier for delivery to Controller’s Office for account Number generation (“speedtype”) Award clerk receives red folder back with acct. #. Data entry and data verification in Jordan Reprographics clerk for file organization & hard filing into final public record document Filing cabinet OR to G&C Admin. for subcontract issuance as appropriate

Governing Rules For Awards Trustee Policy T94-034 (Appendix ) University Policies State Law Sponsor Policies OMB A-110 for Federal Funded Projects FAR and DFAR for DOD funded projects Code of Federal Regulations for other Federal awards Agreement Terms and Conditions

Terms OGCA Negotiates IP terms in coordination with Commercial Ventures-Intellectual Property (CVIP) Reporting schedules Publication Publicity Payment terms Governing law Indemnification Confidentiality clauses Personnel related terms Termination Ownership of research results Etc.

Reports and Electronic Reporting Aides Monthly Cumulative Report of Sponsored Activities Annual Report of Sponsored Activities JOL – Jordan-On-Line – an online reporting system to allow academic and administrative offices to generate reports with regards to sponsored project activities Proposal and Award Status – allows faculty and any PI assigned contact to check the status of their proposal or award on line.

Training GAMS training Grants.gov training Business manager training in areas of need Community of Science Registration and use for funding opportunity searches Will be participating in a new brown bag lunch series starting in January on various topics we hope will help faculty and their support staff