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Roles & Responsibilities
UR Office of
Research and Project Administration
The Office of Research and Projects Administration (ORPA) is the
administrative office
legally able to submit proposals to
external sponsoring entities for financial support in the
form of
a contract, grant, or agreement, and legally able to commit the University
in the
event an award is made. The head of ORPA is designated
as the Institutional Official and
has the authority (or may delegate
it to other ORPA staff) to sign funding proposals, to
receive
awards and to conduct any other official business with funding agencies,
whether
federal or private. ORPA recommends, drafts and administers
research administration
policies in concert with other University
offices.
The Director of ORPA reports directly
to the Senior Vice President for Administration
and Finance.
PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION
General
It is the responsibility of
ORPA to ensure that all proposals submitted to funding sponsors
adhere to both University and sponsor policy. This is accomplished
by assisting and
advising faculty and Departmental Administrative Staff during
the proposal development
process, facilitating communication
and agreements that need to occur prior to proposal
submission,
and reviewing carefully all proposed project commitments for
unit, Dean’s
Office or other
management approval. In addition, it is the responsibility of ORPA
to ensure
that proposals have undergone regulatory compliance committee
review (i.e., RSRB,
UCAR, etc.) if required at submission time.
As such, ORPA staff are required to be
knowledgeable and current
in all federal and sponsor requirements, including agency
specific
electronic proposal submission systems, and offer workshops and
training
sessions on these topics.
In addition ORPA:
-
maintains a comprehensive
web site that includes links and information to major
sponsoring
agency application forms.
-
provides to the
University community a resource for obtaining information
on funding pportunities and disseminates major program announcements
to interested parties.
-
coordinates limited proposal submissions
with the Dean’s
Offices and the Provost.
-
maintains the COEUS database
and reporting tool in conjunction with Administrative
Computing Services, and provides assistance with using
the reporting tool in order to
generate reports on proposal and award
data.
Proposal Budget
ORPA staff:
- communicate and inform the University
community (via the ORPA web site or its
list serv) of the
appropriate F&A
rates and fringe benefit rates, along with information on commonly
requested costs on proposals. In addition, ORPA provides guidance
on appropriate direct (vs. indirect) charging of costs in proposals.
- verify that the correct F&A and benefit rates are utilized.
If a reduced rate is requested, ORPA staff verify that a waiver
from the Dean’s Office has been obtained.
- verify that proposal costs are appropriate and allowable
(e.g., in accordance with OMB Circular A-21).
- provide guidance on justifying itemized costs in the proposal
budget.
- verify that if matching or cost sharing
is listed in the budget, it is noted on the Proposal Routing
Form and approved by the Department/Unit Head and Dean’s
Office via the Cost Sharing Form.
- Verify that if sharing of indirect (F&A) costs are proposed
among Schools/Colleges it is noted on the Proposal Routing
Form and approved by the Department/Unit Head and Dean’s
Office via the Sharing of Indirect Cost Form.
- If subrecipient agreements are proposed, that the required
information is received from the subrecipients, such as written
agreement to enter into collaborative agreements if the proposal
is funded.
Regulatory Requirements
ORPA staff verify that all necessary
approvals have been applied for or obtained, as necessary. ORPA
staff provide guidance on which sponsors require approvals at proposal
submission time vs. “just in time” prior to award.
ORPA staff :
- review the University of Rochester Proposal Sign-off Form
for completeness and verify that all necessary approvals have
been applied for or obtained. If corrections/modifications
need to be made to the proposal prior to submission, these
are noted for the PI /Department Administrative Staff. If there
are significant corrections that need to be made, or if necessary
University commitments have not been obtained, ORPA staff will
not endorse the proposal until issues are resolved.
- sign the proposal and sign-off form if the proposal adheres
to University and sponsor policy, submit the proposal electronically
if required. For those proposals exceeding $500,000 per year
in direct costs, ORPA staff forward the proposal to the ORPA
Director for endorsement.
ACCEPTANCE OF AWARD
Preaward
ORPA staff:
- if required, endorse revised budgets
or statements of work to the funding sponsor. If revised
budgets result in cost sharing requirements, ORPA staff
ensure that it has been approved by the Department/Unit
Head and Dean’s
Office via the Cost Sharing Form.
- if required, obtain from the Principal
Investigator and send “just
in time” documentation to the sponsor, such as current
and pending support statements or proof of completion
of educational requirements.
- negotiate and sign non-disclosure agreements for information
received from potential sponsors.
Negotiations with Sponsor
ORPA staff :
- negotiate contractual terms and conditions with funding sponsors
in accordance with the scope of work and University policies
and requirements.
- in cases where the University and the sponsor can not agree
on terms, ORPA may consult with necessary offices (including
Office of Counsel, OTT, Finance and RSRB) and the Principal
Investigator to seek to find an acceptable resolution.
- will keep the Principal Investigator and Department Administrative
Staff apprised of negotiation strategy and progress.
- in the case of investigator-initiated clinical trials where
full indemnification is not offered from a study sponsor, ORPA
will seek a risk assessment from the Senior Associate Dean
for Clinical Research.
Acceptance
of Award
ORPA staff:
-
accept the award and notifies the Principal
Investigator, Department Administrative Staff, and ORACS of
the project terms and conditions via the internal Notice of
Award;
-
if necessary, accept and sign the agreement on behalf of the
University;
-
in a timely manner, request the project account in the financial
system and notify the Principal Investigator and Departmental
Administrative Staff that transactions can be posted against
the account via the internal Notice of Award or earlier by other
means.
-
capture all pertinent award data in COEUS
and provide periodic reporting on proposals, awards and expenditures
to University management.
If subrecipients are indicated
in the award, ORPA will obtain a Request to Issue a Subcontract
from the Principal Investigator (for the initial year of the
project period only), will issue a subrecipient agreement and
negotiate its terms (involving the Principal Investigator and
other offices as appropriate), will request F&A and fringe
benefit verification, and will forward all finalized documentation
to the Principal Investigator, Department Administrative Staff
and ORACS.
CONDUCT AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT
General
ORPA is responsible to advise and assist Principal Investigators
and Department Administrative Staff in non-financial and (limited)
financial post award management. ORPA staff advise on the allocability
and allowability of charges posted against sponsored programs accounts,
approval requirements of sponsors and intellectual property management.
As such, ORPA staff are required to be knowledgeable and current
in all federal and sponsor requirements and offer workshops and
training sessions on these topics.
Conduct of the Research
ORPA staff :
- review and provide institutional endorsement to the sponsor
for requests for administrative or programmatic changes initiated
by the principal investigator.
- for selected sponsors, will notify and send non-competing
progress report forms and reminders to Principal Investigators.
- when potential conflict of interest issues are identified,
assist Principal Investigators in developing conflict of interest
management plans, if requested.
- if requested, assist and advise University Audit on issues
and cases.
- will advise on FOIA requests and coordinate responses
to the agency.
Budget Management
ORPA staff:
- when necessary, endorse and co-sign rebudgeting requests
to the sponsor and provide institutional oversight.
- provide institutional oversight over documenting cost sharing
and/or in-kind matching.
- approve carry forward requests to the sponsor, if necessary.
Program Income
ORPA staff:
- identify use and reportability of program income.
- establish the program income account and sends copies of
the Notice of Program Income (via an internal Notice of Award)
to the Principal Investigator, Departmental Administrative
Staff and ORACS.
Inventions
ORPA staff provide a report of the invention (either interim or
final) to the sponsor for federal awards, and will copy OTT on
such correspondence.
Project Closure
ORPA staff:
- assist in resolving payment problems with late or non-payment
by funding agencies when it is deemed to be a contractual issue,
in conjunction with ORACS.
- review and provide guidance for completion of non-financial
closeout reports.
- provide information on property reporting on a periodic basis
for Property Accounting.
- remind faculty of their final reporting obligations, and
when reports are delinquent, ORPA will seek the assistance
of the Departmental Head or Dean’s Office.
- prior to the payment of a final invoice from a subrecipient,
ORPA will request and obtain all final close-out documentation
from the sub, as well as certification of technical completion
from the Principal Investigator. Once all information is obtained,
ORPA will notify ORACS that the final invoice may be paid.
- provide guidance on record retention.
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