Manage Project

General Information

The Manage Project phase occurs throughout the entire project period of an award. This includes completing the scope of work, charging appropriate expenses to the project index(es), submitting required reports throughout the project period, submitting invoices, receiving payment, and negotiating changes to the contract as needed.

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Roles & Responsibilities

The following is a general overview of the roles for those involved in managing an award:

USU Principal Investigator (PI)

  • Completes the scope of work in adherence to the contract.
  • Reviews expenses charged to the award to ensure that expenses are allowable per federal regulations and USU policies and procedures.
  • Coordinates with Business Services if corrections to expenses need to be made.
  • Submits required reports on time as outlined in the award terms & conditions.
  • Coordinates with SPO if changes to the contract need to be negotiated:
    • Change of scope
    • Extension
    • Additional funding received
    • Change of PI/PD
    • Transfer of award to another institution
    • Leave of absence for PI and/or Co-I
    • Budget Modifications
  • Monitors Subaward progress throughout the duration of the award.
  • Ensures that cost share commitments are met during the project period.

Sponsored Programs Office (SPO)

  • Assists campus by answering questions regarding the allowability of expenses.
  • Monitors overdue reports and reminds faculty when reports are overdue.
  • Assists with the negotiation of changes to the contract.
  • Provides training to campus as needed regarding federal regulations and applicable USU policies and procedures.
  • Approves International Travel Authorizations.
  • Approves Capital Equipment Purchases.
  • Approves Extra Service Compensation Payment Requests.
  • Assists with the review, negotiation and signature of other research-related agreements such as:
    • Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)
    • Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) for incoming materials
    • Data Use Agreements (DUAs) for incoming data
    • Research licensing agreements
    • Research permits.

Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPA)

  • Assists campus by answering questions regarding the allowability of expenses.
  • Submits invoices to the sponsor or drawdown funding directly from the sponsor.
  • Submits required financial reports.
  • Reviews expenses for allowability.
  • Coordinates with the PI/SPO if expenses in Banner indicate that a budget modification is needed.
  • Tracks cost share expenses to ensure commitments are met.

Frequently Asked Questions

When might another Kuali Proposal be required to document a change from the originally submitted proposal?

At times another Kuali Proposal will be required for an existing award or a proposal that has been selected for funding. A Kuali Proposal will be required under the following circumstances:

  • The funded proposal was not received on-time and did not receive a full review prior to submission to the sponsor. If a full review at the time of award reveals significant issues, a new Kuali Proposal will be required to address and correct them. The proposal type in Kuali for this type of proposal should be “Revision”.
  • A sponsor has requested changes to a proposal still under consideration (e.g., a scope and/or budget change). A new Kuali proposal will be required if the scope is changing and/or the budget is being changed by +/- 5% of the originally proposed budget. The proposal type in Kuali for this type of proposal should be “Revision”.
  • The proposal is funded at an amount that is +/- 10% of the originally proposed budget. A new Kuali proposal will be required to indicate how the proposal should be budgeted based on the amount awarded. The proposal type in Kuali for this type of proposal should be “Revision”.
  • An existing award is receiving additional funding that was not previously included in the original Kuali proposal. A new Kuali proposal will be required to indicate how the new funding should be budgeted. The proposal type in Kuali for this type of proposal should be “Augmentation”.
  • A sponsor requires an updated budget to release each increment of funding. If the budget for the next increment will be different than originally proposed, a new Kuali proposal will be required to indicate how the next increment will be budgeted. The proposal type in Kuali for this type of proposal should be “Continuation”.

Who is responsible for submitting reports throughout the duration of the award?

There are several types of reports that may be required throughout the duration of the award. PIs should review the award agreement to ensure they understand the reporting requirements from the sponsor. Most sponsors require annual or semi‑annual progress reports and financial reports. It is best practice for a PI to provide SPO with a copy of the report so that it can be uploaded into Kuali for record retention purposes.

If a PI has a report that is more than 90 days overdue, SPO will be unable to process any new awards or modifications to existing awards. SPO will also not be able to request new modifications (e.g., no-cost extension, re-budget) until the delinquent report is submitted.

If a PI has a report that is more than 180 days overdue, SPO will be unable to submit proposals to sponsors until the delinquent report is resolved. This includes proposals where the PI with the delinquent report is listed as Co-I.

Progress/Final Reports: PIs are responsible for submitting progress reports in accordance with the requirements in the award agreement. If the report requests financial information, the PI should coordinate closely with Business Services and SPA to ensure the figures reported match Banner. If a report requires a signature from an authorized organization representative (AOR), the PI should work with their SPO post-award contact who is authorized to sign on behalf of USU as an AOR.

Financial Reports: Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPA) is primarily responsible for submitting required financial reports on sponsored projects. They will coordinate as needed with the PI, Business Services, and SPO if additional details are required to be included in the financial report.

Other Reports: Other reports may be required for specific awards. PIs should review their award terms and conditions to determine what reports are required. They can then coordinate with their SPO post-award contact to determine who will prepare and submit the reports.

What types of changes to an award should be coordinated with SPO?

Change of PI: The PI on an award may need to be changed if the PI leaves USU or is no longer able to perform the scope of work. The Change of PI/PD Initiation Form should be completed and submitted to SPO for processing. Additional information or documentation may be requested to meet the sponsor’s requirements for a change in PI.

Removal of a Co-I: If a Co-Investigator (Co-I) needs to be removed from an award, the PI should communicate this to their SPO post-award contact. Depending on the terms of the agreement, this may require a formal modification to the award.

PI or CO-I Disengagement or Change in Committed Effort: If a PI or Co-I(s) become disengaged from their project or reduce the amount of committed effort by 25% or more of what was proposed, sponsor notification is usually required. PI disengagement is usually defined as:

  • Being absent for a continuous period of three months or more (e.g., sabbatical or medical leave)
  • Permanently withdrawing from the project

PIs, Co-Is, and departments should notify SPO if they become aware that a PI or Co-I has become disengaged or reduced their level of effort by more than 25% of what was proposed.

Change in Scope of Work: Changes in the scope of work of a project require sponsor approval. If the scope of a project is changing, the PI should coordinate with their SPO Post-Award contact to determine next steps for receiving sponsor approval. At times, a change in scope will require a new Kuali proposal to outline the revised scope, the impact on the budget, and communicate any changes to F&A allocations, cost share, and/or effort commitments. Changes in scope are sometimes accompanied by additional funds. If additional funding will be received to accommodate a change in the scope, an augmentation Kuali proposal should be submitted to document the increase in funding.

Re-Budgeting an Award: USU generally uses a 10% threshold to determine if an award needs to be budgeted. This means that a budget category (e.g., personnel, travel, tuition, equipment, etc.) can go over budget by 10% of the total award amount before a formal budget modification needs to be processed. Some sponsors have thresholds that are different than this, so the award agreement should be referenced to determine what threshold will apply.

If a project needs to be re-budgeted, the PI and Business Manager should coordinate to determine what changes need to be made to the award budget. Sponsored Programs Accounting can assist with this as needed. Once the revised budget has been developed, and approved internally as needed, it should be sent to your SPO post-award contact so that it can be sent to the sponsor for approval. Once approval has been received, SPO will update Kuali and notify the PI, SPA, and the Business Manager so that the budget in Banner can be updated.

Some examples of re-budgeting that may require sponsor approval regardless of the 10% threshold include:

  • Adding a new subrecipient to the award.
  • Traveling internationally when this was not originally communicated in the proposed budget justification.
  • Decreases to the amount of committed cost share funding being provided by USU.
  • Purchasing capital equipment when this was not originally included in the proposed budget justification.
  • Adjustment of funding in the Participant Support Costs category. Most sponsors will not allow a decrease in funding for participants, but they will allow additional funds to be earmarked for participants.
  • Revisions that include restricted carryover or a change to the overall award amount.

Carryforward Requests: Some sponsors automatically allow funds to carry forward from one budget period to the next, while others require USU to make an official request to move unspent funding forward into the next budget period. If a project requires formal carryforward requests, the PI and Business Services should work with SPA when the new funding is received to calculate the amount of the carryforward. This information should then be provided to the SPO post-award contact so that the formal request can be sent to the sponsor. SPO will then update the award information in Kuali and notify SPA, the PI, and the Business Manager when the carryforward request has been approved. SPA will then be able to transfer the budget from the original index to the index that has been set up for the subsequent budget period.

No Cost Extensions: If a no cost extension is needed, the PI should work with their SPO post-award contact to initiate this request prior to the end date of the project. If approved, SPO will notify the PI, SPA, and the Business Manager so that the end date can be updated in Banner and the work can continue. Requesting an extension to spend remaining funds when the scope of work has been completed is not an appropriate reason for a no cost extension.

Relinquishment of an Award: If a PI has moved to another institution and the department has decided that the award should be transferred to another institution, the Relinquishing Memo should be completed and sent to the SPO Post-Award contact to initiate this process.

Termination: If for some reason, an award needs to be terminated prior to the end of the period of performance, the PI should reach out to their SPO post-award contact. The SPO post-award contact will review the termination clause and discuss the various options with the PI and their department prior to notifying the sponsor that we would like to terminate an existing agreement.

Stop Work Orders (SWO): At times, it is deemed necessary to stop work on an active project. This may be an internal (e.g., invoices aren’t being paid) or external decision (e.g., change in administrative priorities). If an SWO is received (externally) or issued (internally) SPO will reach out to the PI, Business Services, Department, College, and Sponsored Programs Accounting to provide resources and information about next steps.

What steps are necessary to set up an approved subaward on a project?

If the proposal included a subaward(s), the PI should complete the Subaward Initiation Form to formally request the setup of the subaward(s) once the main award has been setup and a Banner index has been assigned.

What steps are necessary to make a change to an existing subaward on a project?

The Subaward Initiation Form should be completed to communicate any necessary changes (e.g., add another year of funding, no-cost extension, etc.) to the subaward(s) on a project.

What should I do if I am having problems with a subrecipient on a project?

PIs are responsible for notifying SPO if they are having any issues with subawardees (e.g. non-responsiveness to requests, delinquent reports, invoicing not matching work performed, etc.) Federal regulations require USU to monitor subawards throughout the duration of the project. If significant concerns are identified, the subaward may be amended or terminated as needed.