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An E-Newsletter Dedicated to UD's Research Administrators
MAY 2016
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The Research Office Welcomes
 The Research Office welcomes Jeanne Galvin-Clarke as the new associate director of pre-award services. Jeanne comes to us with over two decades of research administration experience. She began her research administration career at UD as a research administrator in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. She then moved to the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where she was a manager for sponsored programs administration. As the associate director of pre-award services, Jeanne will oversee all aspects of pre-award activities. She can be reached at jgclarke@udel.edu. |
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 Equipment Purchases on Awards Subject to Uniform Guidance
Did you know that per 2CFR200.439(b.2), capital expenditures for special purpose equipment are allowable provided that the item costs at least $5,000 and has prior written approval of the federal awarding agency or pass-through entity? Always detail equipment purchases in the budget justification, when possible. If a principal investsigator (PI) plans to purchase equipment that was not originally budgeted, refer to the sponsor’s guidelines to determine if prior written approval is required. This requirement may be waived by some federal agencies. If you are uncertain if prior written approval is required, please contact your contract and grants specialist.
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 How to Close a GUR
You may have noticed that a General University Research Program (GUR) award is “different” when looking at the Closeout Report (ACR). No transactions are listed in the After End Date, Potential Unallowables and other sections of the report. The “Confirm Final Expenditure Total” section is also blank.
To complete the closeout, review the transactions in UDataGlance for compliance with GUR terms and conditions.
GUR policy requires adherence to the original objectives and purposes of the grant.
Prior approval is required for budget changes exceeding 10 percent of the total award and rebudgeting of funds into categories not in the original budget (e.g., equipment, foreign travel).
A final progress/technical report is required no later than 90 days after the end date of the grant.
If there are any special compliance issues, please list the transactions and attach the relevant backup in the appropriate section on the ACR. Any transactions that hit more than 90 days after the end date will need backup attached. Attach proof of the final report submission, if available. After confirming that all expenses are valid, complete the field for final total expenditures for this project in the last section and forward the ACR to the Research Office.
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Invoicing Issues Caused by Temporarily "Parking" on Sponsored Projects
Every so often, funding for an award is delayed past the expected start date. This postponement poses a challenge for principal investigators (PIs) prepared to begin their projects. While it may seem convenient to charge expenses to an existing award and transfer the cost when the new award is distributed, this practice is impermissible and could result in invoicing and auditing issues.
Each month, the Research Office processes invoices for active sponsored awards. If charges are parked on an award, those charges are billed to and paid by the sponsor. In some instances, when charges are transferred to the appropriate award at a later date, the original project is left with a credit balance and a refund must be issued to the sponsor due to overpayment.
Intentionally “parking” charges for any reason is considered a misappropriation of grant funds, and cost transfers between awards is a red flag to auditors and sponsors. The following alternatives are possible solutions to bridge the gap between delayed increments: (1) Charge the expenses to an unrestricted department purpose; (2) request a pre-award purpose if possible; or (3) contact your Research Office contract and grant specialist for assistance.
Refer to UD’s Sponsored Project Cost Transfer Policy for additional guidance.
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 REMINDER
Effort reports for Sept. 2015 – Feb. 2016 are due on May 29. As an effort administrator, you can log in to the Effort System and search for incomplete effort reports requiring your attention by selecting both “In Progress” and “Unsent” from the status prompts. If assistance is needed, please contact Dawn Yasik at dyasik@udel.edu.
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