Frequently Asked Questions

Proposal Approval and Submission

What is a sponsored project?

A project (classified as Instruction, Research, Public Service, or Cooperative Extension) funded by an external entity on the basis of a written proposal or scope of work. The proposal must be submitted through the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) to get the Authorized Institutional Official’s approval and signature, which are required for submission to the sponsor. Restricted accounts are established based on the terms of the agreement and project-related expenses are paid out of the restricted accounts.

I am a new faculty member. Who in Sponsored Programs will help me?

While anyone in Sponsored Programs can assist you, each academic department and administrative unit, and many centers and institutes, have one OSP staff member assigned to help you. Find the OSP person responsible for your department here. Note, as well, that Contracts and Grants also assigns one staff person to each department or unit. The OSP and C&G employees will guide you through the entire grants-getting-continuation, from seeking a sponsor to final grant financial close-out and technical reporting.

What’s the difference between the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) and Contracts and Grants (C&G)?

OSP helps with “pre-award” activities (i.e., finding sponsors, preparing proposals and budgets, approving proposal submissions, negotiating agreements, and accepting awards). OSP reports to the Vice President for Research.

C&G assists with “post-award” accounting and fiscal oversight activities, and monitors externally sponsored programs and projects. C & G reports organizationally to the Controller and up through the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration.

OSP is located on the sixth floor of Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center. C&G is located at 745 North Lumpkin Street in downtown Athens.

Who’s eligible at UGA to submit proposals? I’m a postdoc and I have a proposal I want to submit; can I?

Please read the UGA Eligibility to Submit Proposals Policy to determine whether you can be a principal investigator. Only certain categories of employees can be principal investigators. As a post doc, you can serve as a co-investigator, so long as an eligible employee is the designated PI. Post docs who wish to be principal investigators may be allowed to do so if they get approval from the Vice President for Research or the Director of Sponsored Programs.

I am PI of my first research grant. What is the University going to hold me responsible for?
Although UGA or UGARF is legally the official recipient of a grant or contract, the Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for its proper fiscal management and conduct. The University is legally and financially responsible and accountable to the sponsor for the performance of the activity funded--but needs the full cooperation of the PI to do so.
Forms
• Restricted Projects: Roles & Responsibilities
What is an RFP? What is a RFA?

These acronyms stand for Request for Proposals and Request for Applications,  the announcement mechanisms the Federal government and many other sponsors use to let the University community know that they are seeking proposals relating to a specific topic or broad program. RFPs and RFAs are the guides or roadmaps faculty members need to prepare proposals. RFPs are usually associated with requests for grant proposals and RFAs are usually associated with contract proposals.

How do I know whether to submit my proposal in the name of the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. (UGARF) or the University of Georgia?


All research proposals are submitted in the name of the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. Proposals of other types (i.e., Instruction, Public Service and Outreach, and Cooperative Extension) are submitted in the name of the University of Georgia.

What is the difference between the University of Georgia Foundation and the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc.?

The Arch Foundation (AF) and the University of Georgia Research Foundation (UGARF) are separate 501 (c) (3) organizations (i.e., non-profit). AF can accept gifts and non-federal grants with no “strings” attached and which do not constitute exchange transactions (i.e., where something of value is given in exchange for a gift or grant). UGARF submits proposals for and receives gifts, grants, contracts, and agreements in support of all research projects at UGA.

I’ve written a proposal to the XYZ Foundation, a private organization. From whom do I have to get permission to submit it--Sponsored Programs or the Arch Foundation?

Contact Sponsored Programs or the Arch Foundation before putting the proposal together to avoid wasted effort. All proposals that are submitted to private foundations must first be “cleared” by the Arch Foundation. It is important that you gain clearance because your submission may inadvertently derail some other institutional effort to garner funds from the XYZ Foundation.

You have a choice with respect to which office you utilize to submit your proposal to the XYZ Foundation, you have a choice. For projects submitted to private foundations, you may either work through OSP or the Arch Foundation. Both have trained staff to help you.

I just want to send a letter of inquiry to a foundation I think will fund my project. Do I have to go through OSP for that?

See answer to #9 above.

What’s a DUNS number? What’s our EIN number? What congressional district are we in?

Please see our exhaustive table of information you will always need when developing and submitting proposals..

My sponsor requires that I submit my proposal electronically. How do I do that?

Your assigned Grants Officer in Sponsored Programs will help you with your electronic proposal submissions. View OSP Departmental Contacts›

My sponsor of choice will only accept one application annually from the University of Georgia. How can I be sure that my proposal will be the one UGA accepts for submission?

Call your OSP Grants Officer immediately upon learning that that any grant competition has limited submissions. Only by knowing that UGA will have two or more applicants vying for a given number of submission slots can OVPR Programs mount and manage an internal selection process.

What if I didn’t tell my OSP Grants Officer about a proposal I sent to a potential sponsor. Is that OK?

No; only staff at OSP have the delegated authority to approve and sign proposals being submitted to potential sponsors, including pre-proposals, and bind UGA or UGARF to contract or agreement terms and conditions. Call us immediately and let us assist you in gaining the proper institutional approvals you will need in order to receive funding.

What is the difference between a grant and a contract?

A grant is a financial assistance mechanism a sponsor uses to award funds for conducting a specified, approved project. The responsibility for the performance of the project rests primarily with the grant recipient.

A contract is an award instrument establishing a legally binding procurement relationship between the sponsor and the recipient. It obligates the recipient to furnish a project outcome or service that is defined in detail in the written contract, and it binds the sponsor to pay for it.

What is “academic credit”? What is “center/institute credit”?

Academic Credit: Academic Credit is a method for OSP to capture for departments (on behalf of the deans of their respective colleges and schools) the involvement of faculty in interdisciplinary or center/institute activities. It is defined as a measure of an investigator’s intellectual contribution to a given project. Total project intellectual contribution is always 100%, and this 100% can be apportioned across as many faculty members as participate and in whatever manner the collaborating faculty agree to.

Center/Institute Credit: Sometimes centers and institutes help faculty conceptualize and develop a proposal, but the award is designated to be managed by the faculty member’s academic home department. To help capture for centers and institutes their involvement in projects they end up NOT managing, we give investigators the opportunity to “credit” one to three centers for their assistance.




Budget Development

What is “cost sharing” and how does it work?

Cost sharing is any cost associated with a project that is not paid by the sponsor. It can be a contribution of real dollars or it can be “in kind” (i.e., offering employee time or other contributed goods and services). It can be mandatory (required by the sponsor) or voluntary (offered or performed by the University or a 3rd-party entity). When cost sharing is referred to in any way in the proposal or its budget, it becomes a condition of the agreement. A companion account will be established by the Contracts and Grants Department to track cost sharing at the time the account is established. See UGA's Cost Share Policy.

What is the problem with offering cost sharing to “sweeten the pot”? It’s not as though we really have to come up with those dollars and, besides, it will help me get my grant funded.


Read the article on cost sharing.

Why should I have to pay Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs on my grant? That’s just taking away from what the sponsor is giving me. And just what happens to those dollars anyway?


The  F&A Primer explains why F&A is necessary and how it is handled at the University of Georgia.

What F&A rate do I use on my proposal?

Your Grants Officer in the Office for Sponsored Programs can help you determine this, but you can determine the appropriate rate yourself by viewing our F&A table.

My sponsor won’t pay indirect or F&A costs. What can I do and who do I have to see to get a waiver?

See the policy on F&A. It describes those situations for which you have to formally request a waiver and those for which you don’t.

What does MTDC mean?

Not all direct costs for a project are subject to Facilities and Administrative (F&A) or overhead charges. The basis for calculating F&A excludes equipment, capital expenditures, patient care charges, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships, and the portion of each subgrant or subcontract in excess of $25K.

The direct cost budget items remaining after these exclusions are termed Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).

How do I know what fringe benefit rates to use in my sponsored project proposals?

See the current fringe benefit rates for a specified category of employee. Fringe benefits change yearly in November. These rates are estimates, and are for budget development purposes only. Fringe benefit rates in effect for a given employee will be charged to the restricted account based on actual expenditures.




Compliance Issues

I’ve got animal subjects in one study I’m proposing, human subjects in another; and I’ll be using recombinant DNA and select agents in yet a third. Who gives me the permissions I need for these studies?

Animal subjects: Institutional Animal Care & Use Committee (IACUC), 706-542-5933
Human subjects: Institutional Review Board (IRB), 706-542-3199
Recombinant DNA and select agents: Office of Biosafety, 706-542-7265




Account Set-up and Spending Issues

What is the difference between a restricted account and a state account?

A restricted (or R) account is established by the Office of Contracts and Grants on a PI’s behalf in response to an awarded external grant or contract. The final budget your sponsor approves must be restricted or “protected” so that the funds are spent during the time period of the project (not before or not after) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.

State (or G) accounts are subject to state rules and regulations. They lapse at the end of each fiscal year, with any unspent funds in a state account reverting back to the state on June 30th.

I heard from the sponsor that my project will be funded, but it will take a few weeks to get the paperwork in order. What can I do to start spending on a sponsored project before the award actually reaches the University?

In cases where you are virtually 100% certain that your project will be funded, you may request that a pending award be established so you can get started right away. You should complete the Administrative Action Form and forward it to your Grants Officer. This form serves as a letter from the department  guaranteeing that, should the award not be received, the department is responsible for all unreimbursed expenditures.

What are preaward costs and when can they be incurred?

Preaward costs are costs that need to be incurred by the Principal Investigator for a specific project prior to the actual start date the project. Several federal programs permit, at the risk of the grantee (i.e., the University or UGARF), preaward costs to be incurred within the 90 calendar day period immediately preceeding the effective date of an award. Pre-award spending is not allowable by all sponsors, so you should contact your Grants Officer for more information.

I wrote the proposal and I got the grant; the funds belong to me and I can decide how to spend them, right?

Wrong. All awards are made to the University of Georgia or the University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. Please view our chart depicting those legal entities and who at UGA has authority to submit proposals and receive funding.