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Resources or Quick Links
Request for Proposal Assignment
George Mason University
Media Relations Press Kit
For All Inquiries:
Office of Sponsored Programs
George Mason University
4400 University Dr.
MS 4C6
Fairfax, VA 22030
Phone: (703) 993 2988
Fax: (703) 993 2296
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Frequently Asked Questions
Pre-Award
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What do I need to do to submit a proposal through OSP?
The PI or designee should access the link for Request for Proposal Assignment on the OSP website at:
http://www.randed.gmu.edu/osp/proposal/index.cfm
After submitting the online form an OSP Grants Administrator will be assigned within 2 business days. The Grants Administrator will work with the PI during the proposal preparation and submission process.
Can a PI or departmental administrator send a proposal or quote directly to an external sponsor?
All outgoing proposals or quotes need to go through OSP for review. OSP is responsible for ensuring contractual arrangements are in compliance with federal, state and university guidelines. Review and involvement at the proposal stage helps to avoid issues at the award stage such as using the correct rates (fringe benefits, F&A) and avoiding provisions that cannot be accepted under Commonwealth of Virginia State Law.
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Is it possible to submit proposals that exceed the amount of effort a faculty member has available?
Yes. However, if a proposal is awarded that would exceed the amount of effort a faculty member has available; the PI would need to make adjustments to his/her effort commitments to ensure there are not over-commitments and the commitments made to external sponsors are met. Sponsor approval of effort reductions may be required.
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Can a faculty member serve as a consultant or subcontractor on a grant held by another faculty member?
No. A Mason faculty member cannot be a consultant on a sponsored project, but may serve as a faculty associate or co-principal investigator on the sponsored project of another faculty member. Funding change forms should be processed to accurately reflect effort expended.
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Can Emeritus Faculty serve as a PI on a sponsored project?
Yes, an Emeritus faculty member may serve as the PI of a sponsored project; however there will need to be a "PI-of-record" (i.e., department chair or dean) designated on all internal administrative documents.
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What is cost sharing?
Cost sharing is the portion of project expenses related to a sponsored agreement that is contributed by parties other than the sponsor and not directly charged to the sponsored project account(s). This may include equipment grants, construction projects, or Interagency Personnel Agreements.
Cost sharing may be required by the sponsor as a condition of receiving an award ("mandatory cost sharing") or offered by the Principal Investigator by including it in the sponsored proposal document ("voluntary committed cost sharing").
Cost sharing must be proposed, approved, administered, and accounted for in a consistent and prudent manner. This includes understanding workload implications of the cost-sharing commitment; determining when cost sharing is appropriate; and accurately recording and
reporting cost-sharing expenses.
See below for Mason's Cost Share Policy and Procedures:
http://www.gmu.edu/research/OSP/docs/worddocuments/CostSharingForSponsoredProjects.doc
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What are direct costs?
Direct Costs are costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy.
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What are the current fringe benefit rates?
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Under what circumstances can I charge administrative and clerical salaries to a sponsored project?
On federally sponsored projects, the salaries of administrative and clerical staff should normally be treated as F&A costs according to OMB Circular A-21. Direct charging of these costs may be appropriate where a major project explicitly budgets for administrative or clerical services and individuals can be specifically identified with the project or activity with a high degree of accuracy. (OMB Circular A-21, section F.6.b.(2)) See also Major Projects
Exceptional cases that meet the criteria for direct charging should be identified during the proposal process and a CAS Form A:
http://www.gmu.edu/research/OSP/docs/worddocuments/CostAccountingExemptionRequest.doc
Administrative salaries can be charged to a non-federal sponsored project if approved by the sponsor; A-21 does not apply to non-federal sponsored projects.
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What is a Major Project?
A "Major project" is defined by A-21 as a project that requires an extensive amount of administrative or clerical support, which is significantly greater than the routine level of such services provided by academic units. (OMB Circular A-21, section F.6.b.(2)) Examples of Major Projects
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What are subject payments and are these payments assessed F&A costs?
Subject payments are payments made to research subjects for purposes of recruitment or encouragement for participation in the project study. Subject payments are direct costs and assessed full F&A.
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What are participant support costs?
Participant support costs are direct costs for items such as stipends, per diem, travel costs and or fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees in connection with meetings, conferences, symposia or training projects. Participant support costs are excluded from F&A and should be charged to account code 73865 (Participant Travel), 74784 (Participant Supplies) or 78583 (Participant Stipends).
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What is required to include a subcontractor on a proposal?
A subcontractor will need to provide a statement of work, letter of commitment, budget and budget justification.
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What are facilities & administrative costs?
Facilities & administrative costs (F&A) or indirect costs are costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and, therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a sponsored project, an instructional activity or any other institutional activity. (OMB Circular A-21, section B.4). F&A costs recovered on a sponsored project are a means for reimbursing the University for administrative services and facilities that support sponsored research. These rates are negotiated on a three year cycle with our cognizant agency, the Office of Naval Research.
Mason's F&A rates are:
Sponsored Research includes all research and development activities that are sponsored by Federal and non Federal agencies and organizations. This term involves systematic study directed toward fuller knowledge or understanding of the subject and includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function. Sponsored Research generally includes hypothesis testing and has a defined scope of work, a work plan, time frame and reporting requirements to the sponsor.
Sponsored Instruction is defined as teaching and training activities funded by grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements from Federal or non Federal sponsors. Sponsored Instruction includes agreements that support teaching/training activities, whether offered through regular academic departments or separate divisions.
Other Sponsored Activities include programs and projects financed by Federal and non Federal agencies and organizations which involve performance of work other than instruction and organized research. Other Sponsored Activities are established primarily to provide non instructional services beneficial to individuals and groups external to the institution. Some examples include: Travel, Conferences, Social Service, Community Service, Health Service and Program Operation.
Provisional rates for FY08 are as follows:
On-campus research 43.4%
Off-campus research adjacent 27.1%
Off-campus research remote 26%
On-campus instruction 52.3%
Off-campus instruction adjacent 39.6%
Off-campus instruction remote 26%
On-campus other sponsored activities 34.3%
Off-campus other sponsored activities adjacent 26%
Off-campus other sponsored activities remote 25.4%
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What items are excluded from F&A costs in a proposal budget/project?
In accordance with Mason's negotiated F&A cost structure, the following costs are excluded from the F&A calculation: Tuition, Fellowships, Participant Costs, the portion of any subcontract or subgrant in excess of $25,000, equipment over $2,000, space rental and capital expenditures.
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How do I know when to use the off-campus F&A rate?
The off-campus rate is used if more than 50% of the project effort is carried out off-campus. During the proposal preparation process the determination will be made through communications between the PI and OSP.
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Do I have to budget the full F&A rate that the University is authorized to include?
F&A costs are real costs and the reimbursement received by the University is used to pay for actual expenses such as buildings, utilities and other research support expenses. Unless the sponsor has a written policy that limits the amount or percentage of F&A costs that can recovered; the University will propose its applicable federally-negotiated rate.
If there is a need to request a waiver or reduction in F&A the PI should follow the process outlined at the below url during the proposal preparation process:
http://www.gmu.edu/research/OSP/PolicyAndProcedure/fandawaiverprocess.html
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I anticipate receiving a new award but we have not yet received the fully executed agreement. Can OSP set-up a sponsored fund in anticipation of this fully executed agreement?
In cases where we are confident funding will be received and the PI requires a fund number to process personnel paperwork and initiate spending an at-risk fund is an option. In these cases, if the PI or School/College/Institute official can provide a non-sponsored funding source as a guarantee, OSP will establish a sponsored fund with an At-Risk status.
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I have been awarded a sponsored project that starts in the future, but I need to acquire a major piece of equipment for the project now. Is this allowable?
Some projects allow for pre-award expenses. If the award terms do not specify pre-award expenses are allowable a request will need to be made to the sponsor.
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What is the proposal routing form?
The routing form is a document which summarizes the main project information. It contains certifications and representations to be completed by the PI, as well as a signature page on which the PI and appropriate departmental authorities sign, indicating approval of the project objectives, budget, faculty time commitments, distribution of recovered F&A costs and authorization of any committed cost-share.
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When the sponsor asks for the submitting institution's address, do I provide my departmental address?
The address for the Office of Sponsored Programs should be supplied as the applicant address. The address is:
Office of Sponsored Programs
4400 University Drive
MS 4C6
Fairfax, VA 22030
Post-Award
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Can a PI sign an agreement between an outside party and Mason?
No. The University has delegated signature authority only to certain individuals. The Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs has been duly authorized to sign and legally bind the University for agreements up to $1,000,000. Agreements in excess of $1,000,000 must be signed by the Senior Associate Vice President.
Any agreement signed by a PI may be deemed void by the University and the PI may be personally liable for its contents.
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How do I purchase goods/services on a sponsored project?
Sponsored projects often have budget restrictions. The project budget and award terms and conditions will determine cost allowability. If there are questions whether an expense is allowable under a specific sponsored project contact OSP.
You will need to submit the proper paperwork (Check Request, Purchase Order, Purchase Requisition) to OSP for approval if it meets the criteria listed below. OSP will check the sponsored fund for available funds and cost allowability. If it is not a transaction OSP needs to approve it should be sent to Accounts Payable or Purchasing to process.
http://fiscal.gmu.edu/index.html
OSP provides a review for the following transactions to sponsored funds prior to going to HR, AP or Purchasing:
- All Personnel Paperwork
- All Food & Beverage
- All Travel
- All other non-personnel transactions over $2,000
- Monthly MasterCard Transactions
- Petty Cash
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Can I reallocate the salary for an employee after he/she has already spent time working on a sponsored project?
If the salary is included in the project budget, allowable according to the terms of the award and reflects the actual effort performed by the individual, the salary can be reallocated to the sponsored fund. However, if the transfer is to a federally sponsored fund, the transfer must comply with the cost transfer policy and be made within 120 days from the date of the original transaction. Over 120 day cost transfers are only approved in extenuating circumstances. See the cost transfer policy at:
http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/policy/newpolicy/4005res.html
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What is the Fly-America Act? Does it apply to all sponsored projects?
The Fly America Act requires that airfare charged to federally projects use a US air carrier for international travel unless there are extreme circumstances such as no US air carrier being available on a federally sponsored project must take place on a US air carrier.
The Fly America Act is available at:
http://fiscal.gmu.edu/Departments/Travel%20Office/federal_travel.pdf
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I just received an effort report to certify. What am I signing?
Mason complies with federal requirements related to effort certification by requiring all classified staff and faculty charged to sponsored projects to certify effort. OSP distributes and collects signed effort reports for inclusion in the university's official records of sponsored projects for audit review. This process occurs 3 months after the end of the semester.
The employee, principal investigator, or responsible official(s) who has knowledge of the work and can verify that it was performed signs the reports. Signing the report confirms those salaries and wages charged to the sponsored agreements, as direct charges, are reasonable in relation to the work performed. If effort on a sponsored project is reduced a funding change form needs to be submitted to ensure salary charged to external sponsors does not exceed the commitment made to the sponsor.
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How do I get Banner Access?
Each local unit is responsible for obtaining Banner access for new employees. Details regarding this process can be found at the Financial Administrative Systems Team (FAST) webpage at:
http://fiscal.gmu.edu/Departments/FAST/Fast.htm
As new awards are set-up, OSP requests Banner Access for the PI, Co-PI and Administrator for the newly established sponsored fund. OSP makes this request to FAST when a new award fund is established to ensure the PI, Co-PI and administrative staff have the ability to access the appropriate sponsored funds.
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What are the PI Reports?
The PI reports are financial status reports developed based on input from Principal Investigators. The reports include a summarized snapshot of the financial position for each sponsored project with drill-down capability to detailed financial information including personnel details. The reports use Discoverer and replace Self Service and e-print.
Quick Reference for PI Reports:
http://fiscal.gmu.edu/resources/QuickGuidePIReports.pdf
Quick Reference for PI Reports by Month Range:
http://fiscal.gmu.edu/resources/QuickGuidePIReports.pdf
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Is there training offered on the PI Reports?
PI Reports for Faculty: Offered monthly. This one hour hands-on workshop is intended for George Mason University sponsored project Principal Investigators (PI) and faculty. A representative from the Office of Sponsored Programs is available for questions and consultation. The session provides an overview of the Discoverer PI Reports used to view financial information for sponsored projects. The session will include:
- An overview of the PI Reports and PI Reports by Month Range which display Banner financial data for sponsored projects
- A hands-on demonstration of viewing the reports and drilling for details for all charges including personnel charges
Each participant will receive PI Report Quick Guides. Time is available for questions and answers and for each participant to view the report(s) related to his/her project(s).
PI Reports for Grant Administrators: Offered monthly. This one hour hands-on workshop is intended for departmental administrators who assist Principal Investigators (PIs) with monitoring sponsored project expenditures. A representative from the Office of Sponsored Programs is available for questions and consultation. The session provides an overview of the Discoverer PI Reports used to view financial information for sponsored projects. The session will include:
- An overview of the PI Reports and PI Reports by Month Range which display Banner financial data for sponsored projects
- A hands-on demonstration of viewing the reports and drilling for details for all charges including personnel charges
Each participant will receive PI Report Quick Guides. Time is available for questions and answers and for each participant to view the report(s) related to his/her area of responsibility.
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If I will not be able to complete the project within the period of performance what do I need to do to request a no cost extension?
The PI works with OSP to process this request. The PI should provide a justification as to why additional time is required. A no-cost extension is not meant to simply "spend out" the remainder of the award but it should be used if you need more time to work on the project and you have not reached all your goals and original scope of work for the project. Sponsor requirements may vary as to what is required for a no-cost extension request but OSP is available to assist in this process.
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Is it allowable for separating Mason faculty or staff to receive leave pay-outs from a sponsored project?
The appointment letter will determine if the employee is eligible for a leave payout. If the employee is eligible, it is generally not appropriate to charge the leave payout to a sponsored fund unless the employee has worked on one project during his/her employment at Mason. A sponsored fund should not be charged for a leave payout in excess to the proportion of leave accrued by the employee on that project.
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How are recovered F&A (indirect) funds used and what types of costs are allowable?
Allocations of recovered F&A (indirect) costs are required to be spent in support of research activities. This includes salaries and wages paid to those directly engaged in activities specifically undertaken to produce research. Examples of other costs that may be incurred in support of research include proposal development; administrative support for sponsored research awards, such as budget monitoring and travel planning; support for students participating directly in research or research support activities under faculty supervision, such as graduate student assistantships and tuition assistance; office supplies that are used in support of federally sponsored research; purchase, repair and maintenance of research laboratory equipment; and technology support for research activities.
Contracts
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Are there provisions that Mason can not accept in its contracts?
Unfortunately, yes. Because of our unique status as a public educational institution and an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are bound by limitations and restrictions placed on us by the Virginia General Assembly and Virginia Attorney General. The Contracts Officers are aware of and able to discuss and negotiate these issues with a sponsor on behalf of a PI.
See Mason's position on a number of standard contract terms and conditions:
http://www.gmu.edu/research/OSP/docs/worddocuments/CorporateSponsorLetter.doc
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What is a purchase of services agreement?
Purchased Services are payments to vendors for goods or services that do not provide and intellectual contribution to the project or directly participate or collaborate in the research. Examples are: lab analysis, consulting, translation, animal care, computer and media services). Purchased service arrangements should be made through Purchasing and not as a subcontract.
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What determines if an entity is a vendor or subrecipient?
An entity is considered a subrecipient (subcontractor or subgrantee) if they will perform a significant part of the work scope on a sponsored project. A subrecipient is a research collaborator to which the University may assign certain rights (i.e., ownership of intellectual property) and flow-down the terms and conditions and other requirements (human subjects, A-21, A-133) from the prime award.
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How long does it take to finalize a contract with a sponsor?
Contract negotiations depend on a variety of factors many of which are outside the control of the Contracts Officers performing the negotiation. Some factors that contribute to the time involved are: receipt of information from the PI and/or local unit administrator, responsiveness of sponsors, complexity of legal issues involved, type of sponsor, and whether the sponsor is located in Virginia or not. Often there are multiple versions of the contract exchanged between Mason and the other party. Some negotiations can be protracted, but OSP attempts to provide timely updates to PI and/or administrators.
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What is the difference between cost-reimbursable and fixed price agreements?
Cost Reimbursable agreements are reimbursed based on actual costs incurred in the performance of the contract. A Fixed-Price agreement provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the costs incurred in performing the contract. The fixed price amount is associated with a deliverable or deliverables.
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