Grant/Contract Terms/Acronyms & FAQS

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is GSR?
GSR stands for Graduate Studies and Research and is the name of the combined services and offices of the Fiscal Grants Management (Administration & Finance division for post award administration, audit and compliance) and Grants and Sponsored Research Offices (Provost Division for Pre-award Administration).

2. Where is GSR?
We are located in a suite of offices on the second floor of Holloway Hall, Rooms 261-266

3. How do I find funding?
GSR staff can advise you on how to locate a funding source that is appropriate for your project and budget. GSR subscribes to SPIN, a database that provides electronic access to funding opportunities. Visit: http://www.salisbury.edu/gsr/research/faculty/opportunities  for new and ongoing opportunities, funding databases and grants bulletins. We recommend that you visit this sight often, as this information us updated on a regular basis.

4. What kind of assistance is provided for the grant writing process?
GSR staff members are available to assist you throughout the process. We can advise you on preparing a project narrative in the appropriate form, and can assist you with proposal preparation, editing the narrative, developing the budget and writing the budget justification. For tips on how to prepare a solid proposal, read Best Practices for Preparing a Winning Proposal (PDF). Additionally, the following links may be beneficial for writing the proposal narrative:

Grant Writing Links & Resources – http://www.proposalwriter.com/grants.html

The Grantsmanship Center – http://www.tgci.com

The Foundation Center – http://fdncenter.org

5. What is the approval procedure for proposals?
In order to process an external proposal through the University, you must complete the Internal Review Form that accompanies the formal proposal through the internal review process, and obtain the approval signatures of the appropriate administrative offices, such as the department chair and dean. The Internal Review form specifies the level of institutional commitment to the proposed activity and provides evidence of departmental and Dean’s support. After departmental approvals are obtained, the application is sent to GSR for final review and approval.

6. Do all grant applications and proposals have to go through the approval process?
University policy requires that all grant applications and proposals must go through the standard approval process before they are submitted to a potential sponsor or funding agency. This policy applies to grant proposals that are submitted to a private funding sponsor, such as a foundation or corporation, a public sponsor, such as a Federal or State agency, or to any other organization, such as a professional association or society. Continuations, renewals, and supplements, as well as new proposals must be approved before submittal.

7. How many days does GSR need to review my proposal before its actual deadline submission to the sponsor?
We strongly recommend that proposals arrive in the GSR office at least three business days before the application is due at the sponsor’s office. However, due to unforeseen delays at the department or dean level, we recommend that faculty members begin their routing at least five business days prior to submission.

8. How do I obtain the Institution Information required on the application?
Information typically required for the application process can be found on the Institutional Information for Grants and Contracts sheet (Download PDF). For additional information, such as Salisbury University’s institutional faculty and student statistics, Congressional Representation, etc., please see the University Analysis, Reporting and Assessment website at: http://www.salisbury.edu/iara/

9. My proposal requires a Grants.gov registration. What is my next step?
Salisbury University has already completed the registration process for Grants.gov, and the GSR Office is equipped to transmit your application electronically.

10. How does the University define a gift, and how do fellowships differ from grants?
Gifts to the University of an unrestricted nature, or those restricted to general or generic program use, which do not include any quid pro quo conditions, are not subject to the endorsement process. A gift is defined as an asset conveyed to the University for which there is no consideration or obligation of performance, and for which the donor has no means of enforcement beyond revocation of the gift in the event that the University fails to honor the covenants under which the asset was bestowed. Gifts are typically handled by the Salisbury University Foundation.

Fellowships are awards made to individual applicants and not Salisbury University. Fellowship applications do not normally go through the approval process; however, in a few cases sponsors choose to award fellowship funds to the University on behalf of a faculty member. In these cases, the University is the applicant and the application must go through the approval process.

11. What is cost sharing or matching?
The Federal Government defines cost sharing as that portion of the project or program costs not borne by the Federal Government. In other words, cost sharing on a proposal is the amount of cash, in-kind support (e.g. department paid salaries), or any other support the University promises to commit to the proposed project. Cost sharing may also include third party support on a budget (e.g. funding from another external grant).

When a grant is awarded with a cost shared budget, the cost sharing becomes a condition of the grant, and the University is held accountable for the management and tracking of the cost sharing portion of the project.

If your proposal budget contains cost sharing or matching funds, you must complete #3 on the Internal Review Form and obtain necessary signatures. Please contact GSR staff if you have any questions concerning cost sharing.

12. How should I proceed if an agency does not allow F&A costs charged in a proposal budget?
Salisbury University has a federally negotiated F&A cost agreement with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Therefore, Federal agencies honor our F&A cost rate charges on grants and proposals. This is a common practice for most universities that receive Federal grant funding. Most Maryland State agencies only allow a small predetermined percentage of F&A costs on the direct award expenses while certain other private foundations or companies do not allow F&A costs on a proposal or award. Contact GSR staff for more information about F&A costs.

13. How should I proceed if another University or organization wants to include me as a Co-Principal Investigator on a grant?
When researchers from Salisbury University are featured as Co-Principal Investigators on another institution’s proposal, the primary organization or institution submitting the proposal usually issues a subcontract to Salisbury University once the grant is awarded. Documentation of sub-awards must be kept on file in the GSR office. Therefore, the SU researcher will need to submit a statement of work, a budget and a signed Internal Review form to the GSR Office. This must be completed before the final proposal documents are sent to the submitting institution.

14. How should I proceed if I need to issue a subcontract from my grant award to another institution?
When a subcontract is issued from a grant awarded to Salisbury University, the Principal Investigator should initiate the subcontracting process by contacting the GSR Office.

15. What happens when a proposal is awarded?
All award documentation should be forwarded, received and recorded by the GSR. GSR shall then proceed with account creation, internal setup and project maintenance. However, some researchers may personally receive the documentation from the sponsor. Therefore it is important that all grant documentation (award letter, checks or other correspondence) be submitted to the GSR for final review and processing.

16. How do I access my project account in PeopleSoft?
You may contact the Director-General Accounting directly for access and training after you have met with GSR for the initial grant award setup meeting. You may also contact GSR staff for individualized, project-specific PeopleSoft help.

17. Can I transfer items within my budget?
Usually yes, although sometimes the awarding agency must approve any budget adjustments or amendments in advance. In all cases, budget adjustments or reallocations should be approved by the GSR before submission to the sponsor. In most cases, the GSR must also reallocate any budget change in its PeopleSoft Financials before spending can occur.

18. May I spend funds after the project ‘official’ end date?
No, the project would require an approved extension date in order to expend remaining funds.

19. Who completes the project programmatic report(s) and the financial report(s)?
The Principal Investigator (PI) normally completes any programmatic reports while GSR completes the financial report requirements. For auditing purposes, GSR maintains copies of all reports.

20. What is a shadow system?
GSR creates and maintains an internal spreadsheet for all restricted projects, to track spending and revenue items. Each month, this spreadsheet is reconciled to PeopleSoft Financials-N-Vision Report and sent to the Project Administrator for review. The internal spreadsheet should capture any outstanding expenses, including payroll and travel, while PeopleSoft Financials N-Vision Report generally does not capture any obligated/encumbered normal expenditure transactions that are “in process” processed.

For additional information, please visit our Training Resources page or contact us at 410-677-0047.