RITA Presents : LATTE SHOW* with Robin and Amy TOP TEN *apologies to David Letterman
TOP TEN PROBLEMS WITH UTC GRANTS
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 10.Requests to change baseline measures long after initial submission as with all things, try to submit correct information the first time changes are possible until the end of the first year of new grants, when RITA will have reported out these numbers no changes can be made after that
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 9.Including subcontracts under the Other Direct Costs category of UTC budgets budgets are used to report to Federal surveys of the uses of grant funds subcontracts gives no idea what the funding is used for break out those costs and report in standard budget categories
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 8.Inaccurate tracking of reports on research- project status list (in Annual Report) list is to include all projects ever done under grant no report should ever disappear from the list projects new on last report cannot be new again on next report keep projects in same order for easy comparison from one list to the next
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 7.Reports that arrive piecemeal for a report with multiple parts, please submit all parts together report will not be considered submitted unless complete
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 6.Budgets and financial reports that contain mathematical errors surprising that this happens, but its true if these are generated by some other office at your university, please look over before submitting
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 5.Requests for payment that contain mathematical and other errors 1 in 10 invoices have to be returned for correction these typically are not seen by UTC Directors/staff before submitted, so not sure how you can help
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 4.Websites that do not provide required information, or that are confusing or difficult to navigate check off all the UTC grant requirements logical progression of information simple is beautiful
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 3.Foreign travel requests submitted without the required information or after the trip follow the instructions in Section III.4 of General Provisions once a request has been approved, keep the request as a model to use next time travel that has already occurred will not be approved under any circumstances
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 2.Final Reports (especially Corporate- Style) not edited for content or spell- checked provided to senior US DOT management and Capitol Hill to show off your UTC quality and professionalism are more important than fancy
Top Ten Problems with UTC Grants 1.Lack of familiarity with grant documents and OMB Circulars that govern Federal grants keep these at hand look here first when you have a question if you have asked RITA for a clarification of something, note it on your documents