Sense and Sensibility – A
Review of Two Post Award
Office Structures
Presenters:
Rochelle Athey – Executive Director Sponsored Programs
University of Nevada Las Vegas
Kim Calvery – Assistant Director Office of Post Award Administration
Oregon State University
UNLV
The experience of a combined post-award
office in a growing, medium-sized research
university
Background Information
“One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless
it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering.”
UNLV Post-Award Statistics
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$106M in awards in FY07
$104M in expenditures in FY07
Experienced expenditure growth of 16.5%
annually over the past five years
Staff has not increased significantly during
that time frame
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1 Assoc Dir; 4 Sr. Research Administrators; 2
Grant Coordinators
UNLV Post-Award History
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Co-located with the pre-award office in
November 2005
Combined with pre-award in May 2006 as
Sponsored Programs
Oversight under Vice President for Research
Many adjustment issues after combination
Advantages of a Combined Office
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One Vice President to provide vision and
leadership
One Director to manage office
Unification of policy, procedure and process
Better staff understanding of cradle to grave
business processes
Team work is easier
Disadvantages to a Combined Office
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Potential audit issues – no separation of duties
Potential for weak or disfunctional relationship with
other divisions at university
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if under Research, then potential relationship issues with
Finance or vice versa
Sometimes there is little understanding by your
division leadership for aspects of your workload that
may be more familiar to another division (try
explaining F&A proposal development to a
sociologist)
OSU
The experience of a separate post-award office
in a growing, large - sized research university
Background Information
“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
OSU FY07 Statistics
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Carnegie Foundation designation
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Very High Research Activity
$145 million in Awards
$149 million in Expenditures
2,800 Active Awards
Cognizant Agency is DHHS
Major Sponsors are NSF, USDA, HHS
No Audit Findings for Last 12 Years
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A-133 Audits; OIG Investigations; OIG Close-out Audits
Staff – Post Award Admin
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Twelve Total Staff
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1 - Assistant Director
1 - Assistant Manager
5 - Grant Accountants
1 - High Risk Monitoring Accountant
1- Accountant 2 – Award set-up
1- Fiscal Coordinator – Cash Mgmt, Cost Share
1- Lead Fiscal Coordinator – Subcontracts
1- Admin Program Specialist – PAR, Electronic Files
Duties of Post Award Admin
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Award Set-up in FIS –
Banner
Invoicing Agencies
Accounting/Monitoring
Budget Changes
No Cost Extensions
Reporting/Closeout
High Risk Expenditure
Approvals
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Audit Coordination
Cost Share
Subcontract Admin
Electronic Filing
System
Effort Reporting
Fellowship Admin
Training Campus
Department Staff
OSU Pre and Post Award Structure
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OSU has separate Pre and Post Award Offices
 Pre-Award and Contracts combined – Report to
VP for Research
 Post Award – Report to VP for Finance
July 2006 Contracts Combined with Pre-Award
 Previously co-located with Post Award
Advantages of Separate Offices
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Commended by Internal Audit
Allows for Separation of Duties
Maintain Focused Missions
Post Award Reports to Finance VP
Understanding of Financial Issues
Disadvantages of Separate Offices
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No Flexibility for Exceptions
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Unique Circumstances
Post-Award very focused on Regulations
Pre-Award Doesn’t Understand Post-Award Issues
with Invoicing and Budgets
Communication Breaks Down or non-Existent
Conflicting Policies and Procedures
Hard to Establish “Seamless Operation” with Faculty
Culture- UNLV
“One man’s ways may be as good as another’s, but we all like our
own best.”
Culture and Transition at UNLV
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New mission and focus for institution
Workload changes
Technology
External and internal environmental
awareness
Culture – Age of UNLV
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Experience with non-standard research issues
Reputation of university
Culture – Centralization v. Decentralization
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University Systems
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Use to your advantage
Risk management and Office Role
Distribution of Activities
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Time/effort monitoring
Expenditure monitoring
Other post award activities
Culture at OSU
“As long as you’re going to think anyway – you
might as well think BIG!”
Culture – Centralization v.
Decentralization at OSU
Business Centers
Business Centers at OSU
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Combine College Thematic Areas
Central Accounting Office
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Pay Bills up to $500,000; Reimbursements
Process HR Actions
Review Proposal Budgets
Effort Report Monitoring
Reports to Finance and Administration
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Ensures compliance
Provides separation of duties for Colleges
Business Centers at OSU
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Train Staff
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Grant Accountants come to OPAA for Training
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Immersion in OPAA (Central Admin functions)
Train for 4-6 months
Include in staff meetings/social functions when return
to Business Center
Grant Accountant from OPAA will Rotate to
Business Center to Establish Compliance Culture
Growth at OSU
“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and
the inconvenience is often considerable.”
Plan for Growth at OSU
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50% Increase in Awards
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No New Staff
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Reclassed only Admin Support position to Grant
Accountant
Little or no Overtime Allowed
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Occurred over 3 years
Budget Constraints
Leadership Change in Post Award
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New Ideas
Plan for Growth at OSU
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Review Processes
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Can you stop doing non-essential functions?
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Automate Invoicing
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Hand typing invoices and forms
Decentralize Functions
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Double reviews; Shadow Accounting Systems
Bill payment; non-standard invoicing
Student Labor vs Classified Staff
Plan for Growth at OSU
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Automate Processes
Keep VP’s Informed of Growth
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Staff Very Team Oriented
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Let them know your struggles
Suggestions taken from Staff
Nothing implemented w/o staff buy-in
Celebrate Your Successes!!
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Make them Public
Growth at UNLV
“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not
enhanced, and the inconvenience is often
considerable.”
Growth – Complexity at UNLV
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Contract requirements
Export control
Cash
Interest
Program Income
Cost Sharing
Growth – Efficiency at UNLV
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Consolidation of activities in post award
Business processes
Benchmarking
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Keep statistics of process functions
Time tracking
Growth – Audit and Compliance
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Increased funding
Contracts
International awards
Small business relationships
Communication
“Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human
disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little
disguised, or a little mistaken.”
Communication Between Separate PreAward and Post-Award Offices
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Close Proximity of Offices
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Co-locate if you can
Meet Weekly to Discuss Issues
Develop Joint Policies and Procedures
Develop Joint Communications to Campus
Develop and Present Training Jointly
Review Websites for Conflicting Information
Communication Between Separate PreAward and Post-Award Offices
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Release Data Jointly
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OSU offices work together for award and
expenditure data releases
Host Joint “Meet and Greets” for Campus
Create Opportunities for Staff
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Get to know each other
Mentor each other in procedures
Encourage team building
Communication in a Combined Office
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Weekly meetings between Associate Vice President
for Research and Executive Director
Weekly individual meetings with Executive Director
and Associate Directors of pre and post award to
discuss issues
Monthly combined meetings of Executive Director
and both Associate Directors
Monthly staff meetings
Regular meetings with Finance Division staff
Communication in General
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Ad hoc work or issue groups
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Formal university committees
Informal networking within university
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OSU utilizes for policy implementation
OSU meets monthly with campus University
Research Administrators
External networks and groups
Lessons Learned at UNLV
“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it,
than any other person can be.”
Lessons Learned
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Quantify
Create policies and procedures
Write it down and document
Business process redesign
Quality
Network
Communicate
Lessons Learned
“Working together works.”
The End
Any Questions?
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Contact Information:
Rochelle Athey
Office of Sponsored Programs
University of Nevada Las Vegas
702-895-1357
rochelle.athey@unlv.edu
http://research.unlv.edu/osp.html
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Contact Information
Kim Calvery
Office of Post Award
Administration
Oregon State University
541 737-2198
kim.calvery@oregonstate.edu
http://oregonstate.edu/fa/businessaffairs
/postawards/