Grants Management

Once a faculty member has made the decision to submit a proposal to an identified sponsor, Grants Management is available to assist in and review the financial aspects of the proposal submission. This includes:

• Providing consultation on preparing the budget
• Identifying potential problems in the financial administration of the proposed project
• Options for addressing those problems
• Identifying appropriate sources of cost share
• Interpreting sponsor guidelines

• All proposals for extramural support must be reviewed by Grants Management before they are signed by an authorized official of the University.
• Grants Management will provide DRAFT reviews upon request.
• After the Principal Investigator and department chairperson have signed the proposal, Grants Management will review and gather signatures from the Associate Dean for Research and the Dean.
• Upon completion of the SMHS signatures, Grants Management will bring the proposal to the UND Grants & Contracts Administration office for the final review and authorized signature.

The Grants Management office reviews award documents for scope of work, cost, timing, or other financial considerations. While review is allowable, the Grants Management office in not responsible for negotiating the award document. A Grants & Contracts Officer from the central office will do the negotiation with the potential sponsor.

Grants Management is responsible for monitoring currently funded sponsored projects at the SMHS in tandem with the Principal Investigators and their administrative staff. This includes assuring that costs are allowable, notification of any sponsored projects which are overdrawn or may be ending soon, assuring that employees are properly certifying to their effort, and assisting PI's with re-budgeting, no-cost extensions, and project close-out.

Grant & Contract Training Sessions are provided as a resource for faculty and staff to help with all areas of sponsored funding. Training is available individually or for a group upon request. There is no cost for a training session.

Effort Reporting: What am I signing?

Link to view session

PDF of example PAC form

November 12, 2019 from 10:00-11:00 AM in room E422

Basic/Update: Grants 101

February 19, 2020 from 1:00-3:00 PM in room W201
All are welcome: focus is for Graduate Students, Post Docs and "new" or "new to" SMHS faculty gearing up to submit a proposal for sponsored funding
Questions/RSVP: contact Diane Hillebrand at 701-777-2808 to let her know you will be attending for handout counts

National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) YouTube Tuesdays also provides short presentations on various topics that are new each Tuesday.

• The lead time policy for internal processing of grant proposals is five days. This means that five days prior to the due date of the proposal, a finalized version should have all SMHS signatures and be ready for Grants & Contracts Administration for final signature.
• As the PI of a grant project, you may be contacted by a Federal, State, or University auditor concerning expenses on your grant. When you receive these phone calls or e-mails, it is a good idea to direct that individual to myself for explanations and/or clarifications. If the auditor insists that a discussion with yourself and/or the department head is needed, Diane can then set up a meeting with all parties involved. 
• When a new grant project number is set up by the UND Grants & Contracts Administration Office, the PI of the project is provided a copy of the award document and the UND Information Sheet.
• UND policy states that if your grant project requires IRB approval, a grant project number (ex. UND0012345) will not be set up until the IRB approval has been obtained.
• Your proposal budget may ask for a "Cognizant Agency" for our Indirect Cost Rate Schedule. UND's "Cognizant Agency" is the US Department of Health & Human Services. Our Point of Contact is Robert W. Lee at 415.437.7820.
• Federal and UND regulations require that conflict of interest forms be on file for principal investigators (PI's) of proposals submitted to external funding agencies. UND has an approved a policy on conflict of interest. PIs must also submit a "Certification of Filing of Financial Interests Disclosure Statement" to the Division of Research & Economic Development annually, or more frequently if their status changes during the year.
• The UND Division of Research & Economic Development may provide matching funds for proposals to external funding agencies. In order to properly monitor the amounts and sources of matching funds provided for these proposals, principal investigators requesting matching funds must complete a Matching Funds Request Form.
• In order to ensure that correspondence from granting agencies is received by the Division of Research & Economic Development in a timely manner, please use UND.grantcontracts@research.UND.edu on all external grant proposals.
• Reviewing your "PI Report" monthly helps you verify your budget, expenses and budget balance.
• If you are proposing a subcontract in your budget, you will need to receive a commitment letter with an authorized signature, budget, budget justification, scope of work and any agency mandated forms from that entity, before the proposal is submitted by UND.
• Once an employee receives his/her "Personnel Activity Confirmation" report, they have to review, sign, and return this form to the SMHS Grants Management so it can be certified within 30 days.
• It is very important to verify that your actual effort percentage on a grant project meets the effort percentage shown in the grant proposal.
• "Spending down" a sponsored project when it gets close to the end date of that project is strictly prohibited per the Federal Uniform Guidance.
• Facilities & Administrative Costs (F&A Costs also known as Indirect Costs) are only charged on the first $25,000 of each subcontract, and are not charged on any individual piece of equipment purchase $5,000 and above.
• Salary corrections should not be done on an employee once that employee has certified to their time on their "Personnel Activity Confirmation" report.
• All externally sponsored proposals at the SMHS need to be reviewed and signed by the PI of the project, department chairperson, SMHS Grants Manager, the SMHS Associate Dean for Research, the SMHS Dean, and the UND Grants & Contracts Administration office. These signatures are obtained on the "UND Proposal Routing Form".
• There is a process where a grant project number can be set up prior to the award document being received.
• No-cost extension requests need to be reviewed by Grants Management and submitted by the UND Grants & Contracts Administration office at 701.777.2808.
• Expenses such as office supplies, line charges, postage, administrative salaries, memberships, food purchases, subcontracts and equipment are considered unallowable on grants and contracts unless they are listed in the proposal budget and budget justification.

Below are some general questions concerning the administration of research projects at the SMHS. For questions specific to proposal budgets, please see the Proposal Resources ~ Budget Information section of this website.

Q - How long does it take to route a proposal for signatures?

A - It normally takes five days to route a completed proposal for signatures after the SMHS has signed off on the proposal.

Q - Who needs to sign my grant proposal?

A - Your proposal needs to be reviewed by your department chairperson, SMHS Grants Manager, SMHS Associate Dean for Research, SMHS Dean, and UND Grants & Contracts Administration office before you are allowed to submit it to the sponsor. This process may take up to five days to complete once the SMHS has signed off on the proposal.

Q - How do I verify my PAC Report?

A - Once you have received your Personnel Activity Confirmation Report (PAC), you need to review and sign this report certifying that the effort percentages shown are accurate and included from proposals, along with reporting percentages up to the amount proposed. Then return this form to Grants Management at the SMHS. This form will then be forwarded to UND Grants & Contracts Administration office from the SMHS Grants Management and be back in the UND Grants & Contracts Administration office within thirty (30) days from the time the UND Grants & Contracts Administration office printed.

Q - Where can I find the Proposal Routing Form?

A - The Proposal Routing Form can be found on the Grants Management website on the main index page and also under Proposal Resources ~ Proposals ~ Process. This form is in excel that allows you to complete the boxes and then print it out for signature.

Q - What is the current indirect cost rate for UND?

A - The current indirect cost rates for UND can be found on the Proposal Resources ~ F&A Rates section of the Grants Management website. At the present time, On Campus Research is 39%.

Q - What is the current fringe benefit rate for UND?

A - The current estimated fringe benefit rates for UND can be found on the Proposal Resources ~ Budget Information ~ Budget Categories section of the Grants Management website. Keep in mind that the fringe benefit percentages shown are approximations used for budgeting purposes. Once your proposal is funded, the actual fringe benefits will be charged to your project.

Q - What is the current salary amount for GRA's or GTA's?

A - The current graduate student salary amounts for the SMHS can be found by asking your department administrator.

Q - Do I have to follow my budget line items exactly?

A - Most of the time you are not restricted to follow the budget line items to the exact amount budgeted. You usually have the flexibility to overspend one line item (such as travel), while underspending another line item (such as supplies), as long as you do not exceed the total direct costs awarded. Some agencies will limit the ability to overspend line items and this information will be in the award document or the agency policies.

Q - My proposal requires a subcontractor. What information do they need to provide to me?

A - It is university policy that you obtain a commitment letter signed by an authorized individual, scope of work, budget, budget justification and any agency mandated forms from your subcontractor before your proposal is sent through for the review process. This information obtained from the subcontractor shows a commitment toward your project and is essential to writing the subcontract agreement once your project is funded.

Q - My budget does not include equipment, but I need to purchase some equipment. What do I do?

A - You need to contact the SMHS Grants Manager about your situation, as the purchase of equipment in lieu of other direct costs will affect the indirect expenses of your project. Also in most cases you will need to get the funding agency's approval to purchase any equipment not listed in your proposal.