Project Management

Managing your new award

Congratulations on your new funding award! We know you’re eager to get started on your project, but there are several steps that must be completed before you can start spending your new funds.

FAQs for your new award

No. Individual researchers are not authorized to sign anything on behalf of Oregon State University. Only designated staff in the Research Office have signature authority. The one exception is where a signature line specifies Principal Investigator. Our team can assist with getting OSU signatures.

We can help! Please forward all emails to coe.preawards@oregonstate.edu and our team will work with you on a timely response to the sponsor.

OSRAA maintains an Award Status website that shows the status of all award agreements currently being processed internally. Check here first: https://research.oregonstate.edu/osraa/AwardStatus. This webpage is automatically updated each night. If you need more information, contact us.

If you’re waiting for a new award, you can check the Award Status webpage at https://research.oregonstate.edu/osraa/AwardStatus.  If there’s nothing listed, then it likely means that OSU has not yet received the award agreement from the sponsor.

Note that incoming subawards in particular take a long time to arrive (several months or more) because the outgoing subaward process at the lead organization cannot start until their prime award agreement is fully executed. We suggest you stay in touch with your collaborators about the expected timeframe on their end.

You can request a Pending Index for time-sensitive projects where spending needs to start before the award agreement arrives. You will need approval from your unit since this is considered “at risk” spending, since there is a chance that the award will never arrive. Work with your grant accountant to request a pending index for your award.

Finally, please note that the award set up process takes time once the agreement is received, often 3-4 weeks or longer if there are complications. You can follow its progress on the Award Status webpage. Once the new spending index is created, you will receive an email with the index and an attached PI letter with award details.

COE implemented a new policy on 1/1/22 which requires separate subindexes for awards with multiple PIs/co-PIs, to facilitate research expenditure tracking per person. COE proposal support staff can assist with creating PI budget splits during proposal preparation or upon award.

Yes! To start the subaward process, complete a New Subaward Request Form for each subcontractor and submit to subawards@oregonstate.edu. Your grant accountant can assist with the form.

Go to https://core.oregonstate.edu/reports and type your name into the search bar at the top.  Scroll down to the “Person Grants” section for a list of your grant awards.

You can also go to GRS for a different view: https://bfpsystems.oregonstate.edu/bfponline/GrantResearch/ViewMyGrants

Contact the COE Research Administration team at coe.preawards@oregonstate.edu. We can answer most process questions and will direct you to the right person when needed.

Managing a current project

Adding time, scope, or funds to current project

Your award may be eligible for a No-Cost Extension (NCE) to extend your project’s end date. Many awards allow this, depending on sponsor and award terms. The NCE request form and more information can be found at https://research.oregonstate.edu/osraa/forms-and-rates/no-cost-extension

This will be a supplement to your current award. In order for OSU to accept the new funds, we will need to route a new Cayuse proposal for internal approvals. See Submitting a Proposal.

Tracking expenses and cost share

You can view the budgets and spending on your grants through the Grant Reporting System. Click on “My Grants” in the upper right corner to see a list of indexes for your projects. Budgets, expenses, and balances are broken down by category – refer to this short guide for more information about how to read the grant summary reports.

PIs are required to review and verify charges to their grant indexes at least once per quarter to make sure there are no billing errors. You will receive an email from OSRAA Finance with a link to review and verify expenses for each grant index. You can also access the verification system from the main GRS page. Refer to the OSRAA help document for more information about the grant verification process.

Cost share requirements for a project will be indicated on the PI Letter you receive from OSRAA with your new award. Cost share indexes will be set up to track cost share from faculty effort on the project, as well as sources of outside/in kind cost share. The cost share indexes will have the same initial grant code as indexes with the sponsor funds, but end in “S” (or T, U, etc. for additional indexes). There will be one cost share index for each faculty member on the project. Faculty need to work with their accountants to ensure that their labor distribution is set up to meet the cost share requirement for the project and that cost share reporting stays on track.

Hiring project personnel

You will need to work with Procurement to set up a Personal Services Contract in order to pay outside consultants. See https://procurement.oregonstate.edu/resources-faculty-staff/procurement-forms for more information.

Your School’s Graduate Coordinator or Operations Manager can assist with the Graduate Assistant appointment process. Talk to your School Head and faculty colleagues for recruiting suggestions.

The hiring process is different depending on the position type. Research Associates and Faculty Research Assistants are hired according to policies established by University Human Resources.

Postdoctoral Scholars are hired through a recruitment process led by the investigator, with assistance from the school operations manager. Read more about the appointment and recruitment process for postdocs on the Graduate School website. The Graduate School also has a website to advertise postdoc positions and other resources for supervising postdocs including a handbook.

Purchasing

Answer coming soon...

Answer coming soon...

You will need to work with Procurement to set up a Personal Services Contract in order to pay outside consultants. See https://procurement.oregonstate.edu/resources-faculty-staff/procurement-forms for more information.

To start the subaward process, complete a New Subaward Request Form for each subcontractor and submit to sponsored.programs@oregonstate.edu. Your grant accountant can assist with the form. Note that subaward agreements cannot be created until an index is set up for the prime award to OSU. All subawards must be designated within the proposal and approved by the agency at the time of the award.

Submitting reports

As part of your award agreement, the sponsor will specify reporting requirements covering your progress, budgets, deliverables and other items. Information will also be included in the PI Letter you receive from OSRAA with your new award, and additional details may be included in attachments to the award agreement. Reporting requirements are sponsor specific so please read the detailed requirements for your award and check with your program manager if any questions. Continued funding is often contingent on keeping up to date with reports.

You (as the PI) are responsible for technical reports. OSRAA Finance will manage financial reporting.

Requesting COE project manager support

The Engineering Research Administration team has expanded our services to assist faculty with managing large, complex research projects. Our research program coordinators become an integrated part of a research team, helping with project organization and providing high‐level support to the lead PI for day-to-day research project management needs.

Example services include:

  • Organizing and attending team and stakeholder meetings; tracking progress toward milestones, team decisions and next steps
  • Coordinating project administrative operations including hiring, subawards and fiscal management
  • Directing the preparation of required reports, gathering and synthesizing contributions from team members
  • Promoting the project and its accomplishments by developing outreach and marketing materials such as websites, newsletters and fact sheets

Read about additional services in this flyer.

Please contact us at COE.ProjectManagers@oregonstate.edu to discuss your project needs, staff availability, and funding options.