Research Administration and
Management Program (RAMP)
Introduction to Sponsored
Programs and Research
Administration
Penny Weaver
Assistant Director, OSPRA
Objectives of the Training Series
The purpose of this training series is to:
 Offer insight into the world of sponsored programs and
research administration
 Provide an understanding of the life cycle of a
sponsored project from start to finish
 Provide more detailed training in the areas of budget
preparation, electronic submission portals (e.g., NSF
Fastlane and Grants.gov), cost sharing and in
navigating the proposal submission process
 Describe and refer to University policies related to the
submission of research proposals and negotiation and
acceptance of awards
 Acquaint attendees with the offices responsible for the
oversight and support of sponsored projects
Topics That Will be Covered in the
Sessions
 Introduction to Sponsored Projects and
Research Administration
 Research Administration at UIUC
 Submitting a Proposal – Who Does What?
 Understanding the Proposal Transmittal Form
 Compliance Requirements at UIUC
 Developing a Budget/Budget Justification
 Facilities and Administrative Costs
 Cost sharing
 OMB Circulars
 Electronic submission portals
 Contracts, Award and Award Management
Frequently Asked Questions that will NOT be
Answered
 Why do faculty always wait until the last
minute?
 Why does the government only add
regulations, but never takes any away?
 Is there a profession with more acronyms than
research administration?
Introduction to Sponsored Programs and
Research Administration
 Pre-Award fundamentals
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What is a sponsored project?
Who are the sponsors?
What is the difference between a gift and a grant?
What is research?
What is research administration?
What is a proposal?
What is a Principal Investigator?
What are the types of funding
announcements/solicitations?
– Sources of authority
– Types of agreements
Introduction to Sponsored Programs and
Research Administration
 Research Administration at UIUC
– Why are sponsored projects so important?
– Grants and contracts administrative sections
and their functions/roles
– University policies related to the submission of
research proposals
– What is the life cycle of a research project?
What is a Sponsored Project?
 The OBFS Business and Financial Policies
and Procedures, Chapter 16.1.5 defines
sponsored projects as,
“Sponsored projects are supported by entities
outside the University, have a defined scope or
objective, and include reporting requirements.
They result from proposals submitted by the
University and funded by an external
organization, such as a federal, state, local, or
foreign unit of government, a foundation, an
association, or a commercial entity”.
Who are the Sponsors?
Government
 Federal Programs
– Purpose: To provide for the common welfare through
appropriations for the support of education, health
and welfare, engineering, the arts, defense.
– Structure: There is typically a hierarchy of divisions,
programs and offices (e.g., NSF has many
directorates divisions under them, including the
Directorate of Biological Sciences).
– Deadlines: Vary, but are typically cyclical.
– Types of projects funded: Usually fund projects of
national or universal significance.
Who are the Sponsors?
Government
 State and Local Programs
– Purpose: State agencies exist to fulfill specific
legislative missions that are narrower in scope than
that of federal agencies. Local agencies exist to meet
local needs.
– Structure: Infrastructure varies among agencies.
– Deadlines: Vary.
– Types of Projects Funded: Funds are provided for
projects that promise to benefit the people of the
state, locale. The scope of work is often determined
by the funding agency.
Who are the Sponsors?
Non-Profit Organizations
 Foundations
– Purpose: Usually support interests that are closely related
to their source of funds.
– Structure: Most are managed by an executive director or
board of directors.
– Deadlines: Vary with some having cyclical deadlines to
others having no established deadlines.
– Types of projects funded: Support service related activities
and basic and applied research.
 Other Nonprofit Organizations
– Purpose: A wide range of nonprofit organizations support
University programs (e.g., American Cancer Society,
American Heart Association).
– Structure: Varies greatly.
– Types of projects funded: typically support research and
other activities in their field only.
Who are the Sponsors?
For Profit Organizations-Business and Industry
 Industry is becoming an increasingly important
partner for basic and applied research. Generally,
the company’s objective is to strengthen its
competitive position in the marketplace.
Who are the Sponsors?
Examples of our sponsors
Federal
 DHHS – Department of Health and Human Services
– PHS - Public Health Service
– NIH – National Institutes of Health
 NSF – National Science Foundation
 Department of Defense
– AFOSR – Air Force Office of Scientific Research
– ARO – Army Research Office
– ONR - Office of Naval Research
 USDA – United States Department of Agriculture
Who are the Sponsors?
 Non-Profit
– AHA – American Heart Association
– Mellon Foundation
– ACS - American Cancer Society
 Industry
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Monsanto
Hewlett Packard
Kraft
Pfizer
 State
– Illinois Board of Higher Education
– Illinois Dept of Children and Family Services
What is the Difference Between a Gift and
a Grant?
 What is not considered a sponsored project
(i.e., is a gift)?
– Gifts are contributions made to the
University for which the donor receives no
direct benefit and requires nothing in
exchange beyond a general assurance that
the intent of the contribution will be
honored.
– F&A is not charged on a gift
What is the Difference Between a Gift and
a Grant?
 Terminology/characteristics that may point to
funding being a gift.
– Provider – donor, benefactor
– Donation, unrestricted grant, unrestricted gift.
– No University performance outside of the
general area of work is required.
– Few terms beyond specifying the general intent.
– Reporting not required, but courtesy reporting
may be provided.
– Intellectual or proprietary rights belong to the
University.
What is Research?
 Research is an organized and systematic way of
finding answers to questions.
– Systematic because there is a definite set of
procedures and steps that will be followed.
– Organized in that there is a structure or method in
going about doing research.
– Finding answers is the end of all research, whether it
is the answer to a hypothesis or even a simple
question.
– Questions are central to research. Research is
focused on relevant, useful and important questions.
 The acquisition and dissemination of knowledge.
 Any gathering of data, information and facts for
the advancement of knowledge.
Eddie
What is Research Administration?
 Management of the research enterprise
 Goal is to enhance the success of faculty
and staff in obtaining external funding for
research, training and service activities,
negotiating awards and to assist in the
management of awards.
 OSPRA is responsible for the administration
of the pre-award function on the UIUC
campus.
What is Research Administration?
What does research administration include?
Dissemination of funding opportunities
Communication of policy and processes
Proposal preparation, review and submission
Award negotiation
Award management
Regulatory compliance
Intellectual property protection and technology
transfer
 Post-Award accounting
 Effort commitment and certification
 F&A rate calculation and negotiation
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What is a Proposal?
 A proposal is a request for funding that is
submitted to an external sponsor
 A proposal may be submitted in response to a
solicitation or may be an unsolicited
submission
 Some sponsors provide an application package
for proposal preparation
 The requirements for completing the proposal
application are delivered via various methods
(e.g., a Request for Applications (RFA), Broad
Agency Announcement (BAA) or a Request for
Proposals (RFP) to name a few)
What is a Principal Investigator?
 The Principal Investigator (PI) is the primary individual,
designated by the applicant institution, who is in charge
or a research grant, cooperative agreement or contract
 The PI usually writes the proposal application
 The PI oversees the scientific and technical aspects of
the project and the day-to-day management of the
research.
 The PI has responsibility for the fiscal oversight of the
project
 In the context of Federal funding from agencies like NSF
and NIH, the PI is the person who takes direct
responsibility for the completion of a funded project,
directing the research and prepares reports for the
funding agency.
Types of Funding Announcements
Most common types of funding announcements
– Unsolicited
 PA – Program Announcements (e.g., PA-10-167 is
an NIH unsolicited funding announcement)
– Solicited
 RFA – Request for Applications (grants and
cooperative agreements)
 RFP – Request for Proposals (contracts)
 RFQ – Request for Quotation (contracts)
 RFB – Request for Bid (contracts)
 BAA – Broad Agency Agreement (grants,
cooperative agreements, contracts)
Sources of Authority
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Federal Statutes
Regulations
Authorization and appropriation
Governmental directives
Sponsor’s terms and conditions
State of Illinois and University statutes,
regulations, guidelines
Federal Statutes
 Statutes are laws established by acts of legislature
on the state or federal level
 Typically, statutes command or prohibit something or
declare policy
 Often used to distinguish law made by legislative
bodies from case law, decided by courts and
regulations issued by government agencies
Authorization and Appropriation
 Authorization – establishes a program that will later
spend money, but funding is not necessarily
provided. Appropriation follows authorization
– Examples: Housing and Community Development
Act; No Child Left Behind Act; Workforce
Investment Act; Higher Education Act
 Appropriation - the provision of funds through an
annual appropriations act or permanent law, for
federal agencies to make payments out to the
Treasury for specified purposes.
– (example: HUD and Independent Agencies
Appropriations Act)
Governmental Directives
 Presidential Executive Orders
– Examples: EO 12549 re: Debarment and
Suspension, Affirmative Action
– Generally orders to staff of executive branch
 Treasury Dept Directives and Regulations
– 31 CFR 104 Contracts with Educational Institutions
– 31 CFR 900 Claims Collection
 OMB Circulars – instructions or information
issued by the OMB to Federal agencies
– Uniform Administrative Requirements (A-110)
– Cost Principles (A-21)
– Audit (A-133)
Federal Regulations
 Federal regulations are the actual enforceable
laws authorized by major legislation enacted
by Congress
 The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the
codification and general and permanent rules
and regulations (sometimes called
administrative law). Administrative law exists
because Congress grants broad authority to
the Executive branch to interpret statutes in
the United States Code
 Federal regulations are enacted by the
Executive branch
Federal Regulations
 The Clean Air Act, the Food and Drug Act and
the Civil Rights Act are all examples of
legislation
 Agencies like the FDA, EPA, OSHA and at least
50 others are called regulatory agencies
because they are empowered to create and
enforce rules (regulations)
 Regulations are treated as being as legally
binding as statutory law, which is written law
set down by the Legislative branch
Sponsor’s Terms/Conditions
 Terms and conditions that are established by a
sponsor as a condition of award – varies
among sponsors
 NSF general grant terms and conditions
appear in the Proposal and Award Policies and
Procedures Guide
 NIH grant terms and conditions appear in the
NIH Grants Policy Statement
State of Illinois and University Statutes,
Laws, Guidelines
 May be more or less restrictive
 More restrictive than sponsor, government –
follow State/University guidance
 Less restrictive – follow sponsor, government
guidance
Types of Agreements
GRANT:
An arrangement under
which there is a transfer
of funds, property,
services or anything of
value from the sponsor to
the institution to assist
the institution in reaching
a particular institutional
goal or public purpose
CONTRACT:
A mechanism for the
procurement of a specific
service or product with
specific obligations for
both the buyer and the
seller.
Types of Agreements
GRANTS
PI defines the
project – Scope of
Work or Proposal is
cited in award
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENT
Substantial
involvement
between parties
Sponsor retains the
right to revoke the
award and unused
funds revert back to
sponsor
CONTRACT
Sponsor or sponsor
and PI jointly define
scope of work
Sponsor retains the
right to terminate
the contract
Specified in grant
Specified in coSpecified in contract
operative agreement
Reports are
normally on an
annual basis
Reports may be
required more often
than annually
Reports may be
required more often
than annually
Types of Agreements
GRANTS
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENT
CONTRACT
Institution owns the
IP
May be involved
IP provision in
contract
Publications are not
restricted
May ask to be
informed
Publication may
require the prior
review/approval of
the sponsor
“Best efforts” are
used in completing
the research
Contractor is
generally required to
produce a work
product or
deliverable (possibly
only a report of
findings)
Types of Agreements
GRANTS
Benefit is normally
to the institution/PI
by furthering their
own purposes or
programs
COOPERATIVE
AGREEMENT
Varies
CONTRACT
Benefit is normally
to the sponsor –
anticipates economic
benefit as a result of
the activity
Research Administration at UIUC
Why are sponsored projects so important?
 To the University
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Increase University’s status and prestige
Attract new faculty and students
Train future scientists and teachers
Upgrade programs and build infrastructure
Enhance connections with other segments of
society
– Provide service to country/state/county
Research Administration at UIUC
Why are sponsored projects so important?
 To the faculty
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Employment/promotion criteria
Endorsement of research ideas (credibility)
Employment for students
Money to conduct research
Research Administration at UIUC
How much Sponsored Programs Funding does
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Receive (source: OVCR website)?
FY
Proposal Amount
Award Amount
FY06
$
660,578,903
$
375,461,650
FY07
$
690,204,457
$
392,900,739
FY08
$
804,056,560
$
486,606,333
FY09
$ 1,003,280,657
$
451,503,276
FY10
$ 1,310,358,320
$
668,696,494
Awards
in 2008-09 - $451,503,276
FY05 $ 991,560,318
$ 369,153,224
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 Three grants and contracts units are involved with
research administration on the UIUC campus. They
are:
– The Office of Sponsored Programs and Research
Administration (OSPRA) supports the pre-award
function.
– The Office of Grants and Contracts supports the
post-award accounting function.
– The Grants and Contracts Costing Office supports the
Springfield and Urbana campuses in the calculation
and negotiation of rates (facilities and administrative
and fringe benefit) applicable to sponsored projects,
assists units in the calculation of rates to charge for
Facilities Use Agreements.
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 Office of Sponsored Programs and Research
Administration (OSPRA) Pre-Award
– OSPRA is a unit under the Office of the Vice
Chancellor for Research (OVCR). OSPRA
interacts with faculty, students, department
business staff, University administration, and
external sponsor program officers and award
negotiators to provide service and support to
the University’s missions of instruction,
research, public service, and economic
development.
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 Grants and Contracts (Post-Award)
– The Office of Grants & Contracts is a unit within
the Office of Business and Financial Services
(OBFS). It supports University faculty and their
departments in the administration and
expenditure of sponsored project awards by
developing and disseminating policies and
procedures, managing the financial interactions
with sponsors, and assuring compliance with
university and sponsor policies, while
minimizing the administrative burden on faculty
and protecting the interests of the faculty and
the University.
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 Grants and Contracts Costing
– The Urbana Grants and Contracts Costing office
is a unit within OBFS that supports the Urbana
and Springfield campuses in the calculation and
negotiation of rates applicable to sponsored
projects.
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
OSPRA is comprised of three sections, Proposal,
Award, and Subaward
 The Proposal Section is responsible for
reviewing and approving the requests for
external funding prepared and submitted by
the campus community to Federal, State and
Private sponsors. The proposal staff reviews
proposals for budget accuracy, interprets
regulation and proposal guidelines, provides
training where necessary, and acts as a liaison
with sponsor officials to respond to questions
and requests for additional information to
support award issuance.
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 The Award Section is responsible for
negotiating terms and conditions of awards
resulting from the submission of requests for
funding and no-dollar agreements that may be
associated with requests for funding. The
awards staff responds to agreements provided
by sponsors and also drafts agreements in the
absence of sponsor-provided documents. The
Awards staff interacts with the OVCR,
University Counsel, the Office of Risk
Management and the Office of Technology
Management (OTM).
Grants and contracts administrative
sections and their functions/roles
 The Subaward Section is responsible for
issuing agreements to lower tier sub-recipients
under the prime awards the University
receives from external sponsors. The
subawards staff interprets the wide variety of
terms and conditions to determine appropriate
flow-down language from the prime
agreement depending upon the type of subrecipient, e.g., institution of higher education,
not-for-profit or commercial concern. They
also interact with Counsel and OTM to ensure
appropriate exceptions to standard language
and Intellectual Property terms have been
addressed.
University policies related to the
submission of research proposals
 All proposals for sponsored projects,
regardless of whether funds will be awarded to
the University of Illinois or the University of
Illinois Foundation, must follow certain
proposal approval guidelines.
University policies related to the
submission of research proposals
 Personnel authorized to submit proposals
– Subject to approval, faculty members or
administrators may submit proposals as
Principal Investigators or Project Directors
(PI/PD).
– Other personnel, including professor emeritus
(with zero-time appointments) may do so with
the permission of the unit head.
– New University employees whose appointments
have not yet started may submit proposals
through the University with the permission of
the unit head.
University policies related to the
submission of research proposals
 Approvals required for all proposals
– Campus department/unit – this approval confirms
that the project is aligned with the unit’s educational,
research or service functions. It approves the
proposed budget and confirms its commitment to
making the resources described in the proposal
available. This approval is evidenced through a
signature on the proposal transmittal form.
– Schools and Colleges – may be required per
school/college policy
– OSPRA and Campus Research Board – OSPRA
reviews and approves on behalf of the Campus
Research Board
University policies related to the
submission of research proposals
 Sponsor limitations on the number of
submissions from an institution
– Occasionally, sponsors will limit the number of
applications that may be submitted from an
institution. This is normally spelled out in the
proposal guidelines.
– The OVCR coordinates the review and selection
process for limited submissions.
Proposal Development – Who Does What?
PI/Dept Support Staff
OSPRA
Identify Funding
Identify Funding
Through the use of
SPIN/SMARTS, IRIS, etc.
Assist in the interpretation and
clarification of program
guidelines, if needed
Proposal Preparation and
Submission
Proposal Preparation and
Submission
Prepare the technical
proposal, including,
Provide a preliminary review of
the budget if final version is
provided prior to internal
deadlines
Provide assistance in
completing administrative
information
Offer guidance on appropriate
F&A rates to apply
–Scope of work
–Bio sketch
–Current and pending
support
–Resource statement
Who Does What?
Proposal Preparation and
Submission (cont’d)
Proposal Preparation and
Submission (cont’d)
Identify subcontractors
Develop budget and
justification
Identify and provide
documentation in support of
cost sharing
Identify space requirements
and obtain guidance and
approvals from appropriate
University officials
Review terms and
conditions if proposal
submission is indicative of
their acceptance
Provide guidance on cost
sharing
Review proposal for
conformance with sponsor
and University policies and
to identify potential
compliance issues (e.g., use
of animals, human subjects,
conflict of interest)
Who Does What?
Proposal Preparation and
Submission (cont’d)
Proposal Preparation and
Submission (cont’d)
Engage in timely
communication with OSPRA
when there are
extraordinary circumstances
(e.g., if the sponsor requires
an agreement with terms
and conditions at time of
submission)
Prepare proposal
transmittal form
Assemble proposal
Provide proposal to OSPRA
for review and approval in
accordance with established
processes
Review budget(s) – sponsor
and cost sharing – to ensure
that they calculate correctly,
appropriate F&A and fringe
benefit rates have been
applied, and that costs are
allowable
Review proposal for cost
sharing commitments
Provide institutional
approval
Submit proposal
Who Does What?
Post Submission
Post Submission
Prepare and submit human
subject and animal use
protocols, if applicable
Prepare response to
sponsor request for Just in
Time (JIT) information
Review, provide
institutional approval and
usually submission of
response to sponsor for JIT
requests
Award
Award
Review and accept
agreement
Forward agreement to PI
for approval
Who Does What?
Award (cont’d)
Award (cont’d)
Review terms and
conditions of award to
ensure they are appropriate
for an institution of higher
education
Negotiate terms, if
necessary
Accept the award on behalf
of the University
Draft subaward documents
Early last year, OSPRA implemented a new
proposal process. This process identifies a
specific proposal coordinator who will be
assigned to your department as well as a
backup to accommodate vacations and times
of high proposal volume. The objective is for
you to have a point of contact who will
become knowledgeable about your unit’s
activity. Visit http://www.ospra.uiuc.edu/ to
find out which proposal coordinator is assigned
to your unit.
Questions?