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Post-Award Activities (After Grant is Awarded)

Project Administration: Outline of Responsibilities | Project Administration: How To

Contracts Resulting from Grant Proposals | Project or Contract Modifications

A. Project Administration: Outline of Responsibilities

Once the award notice and any special conditions have been reviewed and accepted by the P.I., Chair and
Dean of the University, all paperwork will be forwarded by the Grants Office to the Fiscal Grants
Management Office for account setup. The Project Director will meet with the Fiscal Grants Office and
bears primary responsibility for the administration of the project. Project Directors should handle project
responsibilities in exactly the same way that they handle their regular responsibilities. In other words, any
problems with the administration of the project should be handled by the Project Director with the assistance
of the Chairperson of the Department in which the Project Director works. Problems that cannot be resolved
at this level should be referred to the appropriate Dean.

The Office of Grants and Sponsored Research is a part of the Salisbury University Office of the Provost and,
as such, has a strong interest in scholarly research, curriculum reform and community outreach. The Grants
Office can help Project Directors solve problems that they may encounter in conducting their grants by
interpreting grant requirements, demystifying agency jargon and explaining University grant policies.

Jackie Eberts, Director of Fiscal Grants Management is part of the University's Business and Finance
Office and is responsible, along with the Project Directors, academic administration and other administrative
offices of the University, for monitoring compliance with grant provisions. Under all circumstances, the
University complies with the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "Uniform Administrative
Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and
Other Nonprofit Organizations" (OMB Cir. A-110), "Cost Principles for Educational Institutions"
(OMB Cir. A-21) and "Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations"
(OMB Cir. A-133). All financial reporting regarding program income, payment requirements, revisions of
financial plans, etc. will follow OMB guidelines.

In addition, the Grants Office and the Fiscal Grants Management Office have primary responsibility for
two activities:

1. Liaison With Funding Agencies
The Grants Office will act as the point of contact between the funding agencies and the University for both
pre-award and post-award communications. Contact with funding agencies for all purposes, both pre-award
and post award, must be cleared through the Office of Grants and Sponsored Research. Copies of all
documents submitted to funding agencies must also be submitted to the Grants Office. All financial
documents/reports will be approved by the Fiscal Grants Management Office.

2. Coordination Among Salisbury University Offices
The Grants Office may coordinate University actions on those issues which require the participation of many
offices within the University. For example, preparation and submission of final reports usually require the
participation of the Project Director, that person's supervisor(s), and the Fiscal Grants Management Office.
Therefore, this task will be coordinated through the Grants Office.

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B. Project Administration: How To

Once the grant project is funded, the responsibility for running the project rests with the Project Director.
All matters dealing with the expenditure of funds (procurement, invoicing, personnel contracts) should be
addressed by the Fiscal Grants Management Office.

1. How to Spend Grant Project Funds
Funds can only be spent on a grant for which a binding notice or a grant award contract from the funding
agency has been received by the University and the following have all occurred:

     a. The University has accepted the grant.
     b. Notice of the grant award and the approved operating budget have been sent from the Office of
         Grants and Sponsored Research and been received by the Fiscal Grants Management Office.
     c. Required grant accounts have been established.
     d. The official grant period has begun.

2. Prohibitions on Expending Grant Funds

     a. Funds may not be spent on activities not allowed by the funding agency.
     b. Funds may not be spent on activities not specified in the grant budget unless this has been cleared
         with the awarding agency and that agency has given written permission for the change.
     c. No funds from Departmental or other non-grant accounts may be expended on grant activities. It is
         not possible to use other accounts to fund grant activities and then "transfer" the costs to the grant
         account or otherwise "cover" these expenditures.
     d. In most instances University personnel working on grant projects may not work on an overload basis
         at the same time.
     e. All expenditures will be made in accordance with federal guidelines established in OMB Circular A-21
         and/or EDGAR.
     f. Indirect Costs may not be spent on grant activities. See SU's Policy on Indirect Costs.
     g. Foreign travel is not allowed under most grant contracts unless approved in the awarded grant/contract.

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C. Contracts Resulting from Grant Proposals

In many instances a successful grant proposal, by itself, becomes the guiding document for a grant-funded
project. In other instances the successful grant proposal is just the first step in developing a project contract.

Contracts resulting from successful grant proposals must be approved by the Office of Grants and
Sponsored Research and signed by the appropriate University authority. This protects both the University
and the Project Director.

A project contract must be approved in the same fashion as a grant proposal. The same approval form is used.

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D. Program or Budget Modifications

Significant changes in the grant program or budget specifications shall not be made without the prior approval
of the granting agency. Formal requests to the funder for programmatic or budget modifications will be
submitted via the Grants Office after consultation with the P.I. and Fiscal Grants Management Office.

Any changes in a grant project which affect budgeted expenditures should be carefully considered. Total
budgets must never be exceeded. Individual budget lines should not be exceeded without the prior knowledge
and approval of the Director of Grants and Sponsored Research, the Fiscal Grants Management Office, and
the awarding agency.

Under no circumstances may transfers be made from an approved project line item to a use not allowed
by the granting agency. Under no circumstances may transfers be made from the institutional support side
of the budget to the grant request side of the budget or vice versa.

In all circumstances, Project Directors must assure that all the funds allotted to their project are spent
according to the stipulations in the contract or other agreement governing a grant project.

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E. Project Reporting

Project Directors are responsible for preparing and submitting whatever project reports are required by
the funding agency. Copies of all reports must be submitted to the Grants Office as well. Interim and final
narrative reports may be required. The Project Director must read all the documents outlining project
reporting responsibilities and follow the procedures.

In some instances, fiscal reports on projects may be prepared by the Fiscal Grants Management Office. In
all cases, the Fiscal Grants Management Office must approve any fiscal/financial reports before submission
to the awarding agency. The Project Director is responsible for informing the Fiscal Grants Management
Office of all expenditures on grant projects. The Fiscal Grants Management Office provides a monthly
financial report for each project.

If the funding agency requires return of unexpended funds at the end of the grant period, the Fiscal Grants
Management Office will authorize the Accounts Payable Office to prepare a reimbursement check to the
funding agency. This will occur only after all final financial reports have been reviewed and approved for
submission to the awarding agency. Many private foundations are not as strict about this. Nevertheless,
Project Directors should make every effort to expend all the funds allotted to their project within the
contract period.

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E. Project Evaluations

In those circumstances where an independent, outside evaluation of a grant project must be conducted, Project
Directors are responsible for arranging that this be done.

Project Directors should keep in mind that sufficient time must be allowed for the evaluators to review the
project, prepare a report, and submit it to the University and then for the University to submit it to the funding
agency. The results of the evaluation should be addressed in the report. This requires that the evaluation be
completed early enough that the results will be received in time for the Project Director to review them and
incorporate this in the final report.

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Comments and questions about this page can be directed to the Grants Office.