Essentials for Project Directors / PIs

January 10, 2012

Dear UNH Research Community,

The Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Research (OSVPR) has prioritized high quality services to support UNH Principal Investigators (PIs). Recognizing that PIs are responsible for most aspects of sponsored research, including compliance with institutional policy and federal regulation, the OSVPR is committed to providing information to help PIs succeed.

This year the OSVPR, through Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA), is developing a series of Sponsored Programs Administration Guidance Documents to familiarize PIs with 10 essential sponsored program administration and compliance topics. Each document will include a brief explanation of the topic, guidance on how to comply, and web links to campus resources and additional information.

We want to thank those institutions that served as resources for this effort, particularly the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Delaware, and hope this information proves useful as you manage your research program at UNH.

View Letter

Letter

Financial Conflict of Interest in Research

A financial conflict of interest in research exists when an individual (or his/her immediate family) has a financial interest that affects, is affected by, or has the potential to affect or be affected by, the individual’s research activities.

Research Involving Humans, Vertebrate Animals, & Biological Materials

Federal regulation and UNH policy require that (1) all UNH research activities proposing to involve human subjects must be reviewed and receive written, unconditional approval from the UNH Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research before commencing; (2) all research, teaching/instruction, and testing activities involving the care and/or use of vertebrate animals must be reviewed by and receive approval from the UNH Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) before commencing; and (3) all research and teaching/instruction actvities comply with all federal, state and local regulations and guidelines applicable to biohazardous materials.

Cost Principles

UNH and its principal investigators are jointly responsible for providing appropriate and compliant stewardship of sponsored funds and must comply with federal cost principles.

Administrative Costs

Guidance for direct charging administrative costs to sponsored programs.

How to Determine if Revenue is a Gift or Sponsored Program

Guidance to help determine if revenue is a gift or sponsored program.

Subrecipient vs Vendor Agreement

Guidance to help determine whether to use a Subrecipient or Vendor Agreement.

Cost Transfers

A cost transfer moves costs from one account to another to correct an error, reimburse service center or departmental costs, or for other reasons associated with a department’s regular financial operations; it may not be used as a means for managing project funds (e.g., spending down an award that is expiring).

Cost Sharing

Cost sharing is the portion of project costs not reimbursed by the sponsor and may be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions. In a proposal, cost sharing may be offered in response to a requirement from the sponsor (i.e., “mandatory cost sharing”) or may be offered voluntarily (i.e., “voluntary cost sharing”). Cost sharing is most commonly required under federally-sourced grants.

Effort Certification

Effort certification is the mechanism used to verify that salaries and wages charged to each sponsored agreement are reasonable in relation to the actual work performed.

Research