Overview and Principles of Research Administration at UNL

Module 1

nu(research administration management program)• Mission:Mission: To ensure that important research at UNL continues to

move forward, in compliance with funders’ requirements and in support of the principles of institutional integrity and credibility.

• Goal:Goal: To provide the campus with an improved understanding of regulations, policies and procedures and access to important resources; and to strengthen internal controls

• Available for:Available for:

– Faculty engaged in research and creative activity

– Administrative staff who support research

– Graduate students and post docs

Why is nu important?Research is “on the move” at UNL

– NU is now ranked 27th among public research universities (NSF R&D Survey)

• More competition for limited funding

• Federal officials continue to focus on adherence to rules and regulations

• Focus on accountability and productivity

• New protections for human subjects

• Personnel new to research need to know and understand the rules

• Concern for intellectual property rights

• Limits on foreign students/researchers

• Audit findings at other institutions result in fines and penalties, loss of additional awards, loss of public confidence

Why is nu important?

Available courses• Researcher Resources, Funding Searches and Proposal

Development

• Proposal Preparation, Submission and Processing

• Budget Preparation and Development

• Taming the Perilous Skies of Intellectual Property

• Responsibilities of Conducting Research

• Receiving the Award

• Administering the Award

Other sessions• Grant Writing Workshops

• CITI Training (mandatory for research involving humans)

• NUgrant

available soon:

• Responsible conduct of research (RCR) – on-line based seminars

• Grants.gov and other electronic systems

• Effort reporting

• So you are going to be audited? Be prepared!

• Preparing for visits to funding agencies

Office of Research – how do we fit in?

• Partners with your colleges

• Problem-solvers

• Facilitators

• Liaisons

• Bridge to industry

• Protectors/enforcers

Office of Research and Graduate Studies

Office of Research• Provides internal funding opportunities for faculty

– Research Council and Layman Fund competitions

– Strategic Research Cluster grants

– Arts & Humanities Research Enhancement Program

– Tobacco Settlement Funds

– Nebraska Research Initiative

• Provides financial services for internal funding

• Provides recognition and publicity for major awards

• Sponsors special events (annual Research Fair, seminars)

Office of Research Responsibility• Serves researchers in these areas:

– Human Research Protection Program (IRB)

– Institutional Animal Care Program (IACUC)

– Conflict of Interest in Research Committee (COIRC)

• Assures compliance with federal rules and regulations

• Provides training in procedures for the responsible conduct of research

• Develops plans to minimize, eliminate or manage potential conflicts of interest

• Assists in preparing research review (IRB/IACUC) and compliance documents

Office of Sponsored Programs• Assists researchers with pre-award and post-award services

throughout the award life cycle

• Reviews, provides advice on and submits proposals to extramural sponsors for research, training and public service projects

• Negotiates and accepts awards on behalf of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents; drafts and negotiates subcontracts

• Provides financial management and close-out of awards, problem resolution and coordination of interactions with sponsors

Office of Proposal Development• Works with faculty to conceptualize and develop

competitive external grant proposals; facilitates collaboration on interdisciplinary and multi-institutional grant proposals

• Helps UNL grant applicants meet proposal preparation requirements and improve proposal clarity, organization and visual appeal

• Disseminates funding opportunities weekly via the Funding Announcements listserv

Office of Technology Development• Works with inventors to promote the transfer of

technologies created at UNL into the commercial sector for public benefit

• Helps employees protect their inventions through patents or copyrights so their research efforts can lead to new products or services in the marketplace

• Supports efforts to commercialize UNL inventions through start-up companies that can create jobs for students, the local community and the State of Nebraska

Office of Graduate Studies

• Assists faculty with recruitment of students for training grants

• Provides graduate student development programs that can enhance training proposals

• Provides specialty expertise in recruiting underrepresented graduate students

Research policies and informationhttp://www.unl.edu/research/sp1/policies.shtml

• Research misconduct

• Disclosure of interest in research policy

• Royalty distribution policy

• Transfer of personal property to another institution

• Cost share policy/request for cost share

• Research faculty travel awards

• Approved UNL centers for purposes of F&A cost distribution

• Expert review of proposals

Other policies• Board of Regents Policies

– http://www.nebraska.edu/board/board_policies.shtml

• Board of Regents By Laws

– http://www.nebraska.edu/board/board_bylaws.shtml

• UNL Business & Finance

– http://bf.unl.edu/NUPoliciesProceduresInfoLinks.shtml

• State of Nebraska (financial)

– http://www.das.state.ne.us/accounting/nis/amcon.htm

Research administration authorizations• Sponsored Programs:Sponsored Programs:

– Signature authority for proposal submission

– Authorized negotiator and signature authority for accepting grants and contracts on behalf of the Board of Regents

• Technology Development:Technology Development:– Authorized negotiator and signature authority for licensing,

confidentiality and material transfer agreements on behalf of the Board of Regents

• Research Responsibility:Research Responsibility:– Human subjects protocols (IRB)

– Animal subjects protocols (IACUC)

– Conflict of Interest Management Plans (COIR Committee)

NUgrant Research Administration System

For more information, go tohttp://NUgrant.unl.edu

(Go to page 7 in the handout)

NUgrant• NUgrant is a secure web-based research administration system

developed by the UNL Office of Research. This system is used to track and manage sponsored programs, disclosure of interest and IRB protocol information.

• NUgrant benefits– Faster approval/review processing

– Real-time reporting tools

– 24/7 availability

– Remote access

– E-mail “action alerts”

– Historical information

– Improved tracking

Grant life cycle

Click on slide title for illustration of the grant life cycle

Definitions• Grant:Grant: Financial assistance for a project that will benefit

the public. Involves no participation by the sponsor except to provide funds in exchange for some deliverable. Federal grants are governed by Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars and Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

• Cooperative agreement:Cooperative agreement: A grant in which the sponsor is involved in shaping the activities. Federal cooperative agreements are governed by OMB and CFR regulations.

• Contract:Contract: Funding provided in exchange for a particular product (service, report or material) required by the sponsor. Federal contracts are governed by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR).

Definitions• Firm-fixed price contract:Firm-fixed price contract: Contract specifies a set or

“fixed” price to provide an agreed upon set of specified deliverables. The sponsor approves the scope and value of work to be performed, but provides no direction about how the funds are to be spent. Any excess funds are not returned to the sponsor. Any deficits are not covered by the sponsor.

• Gifts or donations:Gifts or donations: Gifts for large dollar amounts are normally processed through the NU Foundation because of various tax implications. Donations or small gifts are normally processed on the Industry Income Form. If a report or other deliverable is due, it is not a gift.

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)• Primary regulation for use by federal agencies

in their acquisition (contracting) of supplies and services with appropriated funds

• Precludes agency acquisition regulations that are redundant – several agencies have supplemental clauses

• Some clauses undermine the university’s fundamental research exemption and subject us to onerous export controls – be careful!

Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP)• Association of federal agencies, academic research

institutions with administrative, faculty and technical representation, and research policy organizations

• Works to streamline the administration of federally sponsored research without compromising stewardship responsibilities

• UNL is a member institution

• FDP terms & conditions give institutions more authority

OMB circulars• A-21 - Cost Principles for Educational InstitutionsA-21 - Cost Principles for Educational Institutions

(Relocated to 2 CFR, Part 220)

– Section C – Basic Considerations: reasonable, allocable, allowable, and consistently applied

– Section J – General Provisions for Selected Items of Cost

– Exhibit C - Examples of "major project" where direct charging of administrative or clerical staff salaries may be appropriate

– Appendix A - CASB's Cost Accounting Standards (CAS)

(Return to page 8 in the handout)

OMB circulars• A-110 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants A-110 - Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit OrganizationsEducation, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations (Relocated to 2 CFR, Part 215)

– Expectations for management systems

– Pre- and post-award requirements

– Procurement standards

– Property standards

– Reports and records – including retention requirements

– Contract provisions

OMB circulars• A-133 - Audits of States, Local Governments A-133 - Audits of States, Local Governments

and Non-Profit Organizationsand Non-Profit Organizations

– Annual supplements providing guidance to auditors about areas of audit emphasis:

• Effort reporting

• Transfers

• Subrecipient monitoring

Federal Web sites:

OMB CircularsOMB Circulars: http://www.omb.gov

CFRCFR: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html

FARFAR: http://www.arnet.gov/far/

FDPFDP: http://www.thefdp.org

Contact Information

Office of ResearchOffice of Research302 Canfield Administration Bldg http://research.unl.edu

NURAMPNURAMP472-7003http://research.unl.edu/nuramp/

Office of Sponsored ProgramsOffice of Sponsored Programs312 N. 14th Street, Alexander Bldg West472-3171http://www.unl.edu/research/sp1/

http://research.unl.edu