Managing the administrative aspects of a sponsored research project is critical to meeting its fiscal, administrative and technical/scientific contractual obligations. Succeeding at these aspects of the award is as important as succeeding at technical/scientific aspects to establish good relationships with sponsors and build credentials required to win more and larger research awards in the future. Below are areas common to most types of awards. It is not comprehensive. Please review the terms and conditions of the award documents for information specific to the management of your award and contact the ORG with any questions.

Fiscal Responsibilities

The PI is responsible for all activity on the grant account.  They may delegate some of the duties associated with financial management to a subordinate but remains the responsible person.   

Charging Direct Costs to Awards

For expenditures to be allowable, costs recorded onto a sponsored fund must be:

• Reasonable
• Allocable
• Consistently treated
• Allowable per sponsored award or 2 CFR Part 200

The PI is responsible for complying with all Federal, State, University, and awarding agency rules and regulations.

Examples of common allowable costs include:

• Salaries of technical staff
• Laboratory supplies (e.g. chemicals)
• Animals and Animal care costs
• Travel costs
• Specialized shop costs
• Research equipment repair and maintenance costs
• Data processing supplies
• Printing costs for technical reports, posters, etc.

Below are links to specific agencies and policy documents on allowability.

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH):

The NIH Grants Policy, Section 7, Cost Considerations, provides a list of specific items whose costs are allowable and other items or specific cases in which item costs are not allowed.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF):

The NSF Chapter V Allowability of Costs summarizes the allowability of frequently encountered direct cost items.

DEFENSE CONTRACTS:

10 USC Section 2324, Allowable Costs under Defense Contracts, lists the specific costs that are allowable and not allowable under defense contracts.

Time and Effort Reporting

GCU monitors and documents efforts expended on externally funded projects, whether federal or non-federal, in compliance with 2 CFR 200 requirements. All project directors and principal investigators for such projects (PD/PIs) are required to certify their effort and that of other persons active on such projects led or supervised by PD/PIs. Effort reporting is required for all externally funded projects, whether federal or non-federal in source, following each academic semester (fall, spring, and summer). Reports must be signed and submitted to ORG by the 15th of the month following the end of the reporting period (February 15, June 15, and September 15). Please see the Time and Effort Policy for additional information.

Special Circumstances

There may be circumstances when changes to a sponsored research project must be made during the execution of the project. The most common changes occur when the PI needs to make a change to the scope, key personnel, or timing of the project.  The administrative requirements for making these changes to the sponsored research projects depends on the details of your project, the intended changes, and the sponsor’s requirements.

Contact ORG to discuss the needed changes and how best to implement them in accordance with the sponsor’s regulations.

Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs

When universities, like GCU, perform research on behalf of the federal government through grants, contracts, or other agreements, GUC incurs costs, called Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs (sometimes called indirect costs).  F&A costs, defined by the Office of Management and Budget Uniform Guidance 2 CFR, Part 200.56 encompass such things as the maintenance of laboratories and research facilities; utilities such as lighting and heating; hazardous waste disposal; data-storage; information technology and internet services; and the administrative support required to comply with various federal, state, and local regulations and reporting requirements.

The federal F&A rate is negotiated with the federal government; however GCU does not yet have a federally negotiated rate, so uses the 10% de minimis rate under 2 CFR 200.414(f) on all federal grants.

F&A costs on non-federal grants are dependent upon the sponsor’s requirements. In no circumstance should F&A costs be waived without prior discussion and approval by the Office of Research and Grants.