Internal Awards have their own processes and requirements.
External Awards
The Research and Sponsored Programs office will receive official
notification that a proposal has been funded. Here are the
steps that will take place (you can also see the award
process flowchart).
:
- The principal investigator communicates with staff from Research and Sponsored Programs to review and approve the terms and conditions of the award.
- The Research and Sponsored Programs staff processes the award documents.
- An MTU officer reviews and signs the documents.
- The Research and Sponsored Programs staff notifies the PI, Research Accounting, and the sponsor that the university has accepted and authorized the award.
- Research Accounting assigns an index number or numbers to use in charging expenses to the project (payroll, supplies, services, travel, etc). The principal investigator and academic department coordinator will receive an email with the index number and a budget arranged by account code. (top)
When charging expenditures to research projects there are several questions to answer before processing the expense or reimbursement:
- Is the expense allowable under OMB Circular A-21 and university guidelines (see allowable/unallowable section)?
- Is the expense an approved expenditure according to the budget submitted to the sponsor (see award modification section)?
- Was the expense incurred within the start and end date of the project (see award modification section)?
- Are there sufficient funds in the budget to cover the expense and related fringes and overhead (see expenditures exceeding the award amount section)?
If the answer to all of these questions is “yes,” then you can process the expense. See Expenditure Processing Flowchart. If there is a question as to whether a charge is allowable, please contact Research Accounting. (top)
Allowable/Unallowable Expenditures
Costs are allowable when they are directly attributable to specific work under a sponsored agreement. The items listed in this section are some of the more common costs involved in sponsored programs and are provided as guidance only. Failure to mention a particular item of costs is not intended to imply that it is either allowable or unallowable.
When expenditures relate to multiple projects, those projects should be charged an appropriate amount based on use to the extent practical.
For a list of common expenditures, and whether they should be charged directly or indirectly to federally sponsored programs, see Sponsored Projects Allowable/Unallowable Direct Costs. If you have any questions about the allowability of any cost on your project, please contact Research & Sponsored Programs or Research Accounting. (top)
In most cases, administrative costs (including office supplies, computers and related equipment and software, postage, local telephone costs, and memberships) are treated as indirect costs on sponsored projects. If, however, a sponsored project requires an extensive amount of administrative support and the project falls within the definitions allowed by OMB A-2, it may be possible to directly charge these costs to the project. These administrative expenses must be:
- incurred for the performance of a “major project or activity,”
- specifically identified and directly benefiting the project,
- specifically budgeted,
- approved by the awarding agency, and
- supported by a budget justification.
Following are examples of indirect costs that normally should not be direct charged to sponsored programs:
- Memberships
- Office Supplies (including general purpose computers & standard computer software)*
- Local Telephone Costs (including line charges, network connections & cell phones)
- Postage or Delivery Costs *
- Proposal Preparation Costs
- Electricity
- Insurance
- Security Costs
- Library Costs
* These costs may be charged directly to a sponsored program provided that they are extraordinary and are being used in significantly greater proportion than a routine level of support would require. (See Sponsored Projects Allowable/Unallowable Direct Costs) (top)
There are various situations requiring a modification to an award. MTU has developed the Request for Modification Form to expedite the process for such requests. The most common types of requests are described below.
Budget Modifications: The Budget Modification Matrix will help determine when a request for a budget modification is required. If the matrix indicates that a modification is necessary, complete the Request for Modification form and send it to the Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) office. RSP staff members will review the request and determine what action is needed (including whether or not the request requires sponsor approval).
Time Extensions: If you determine that the work may not be completed or the final reports and/or deliverables will not be finished, a time extension is necessary. Time extension requests are made on the Request for Modification form.
Advance of Funds or Advance of Time: An Advance of Time or Funds form is used when the sponsoring agency has indicated it will award additional funds and/or time, but has not yet provided the official award document. In order to continue charging expenses past the current end date or award amount, an advance request must be reviewed and approved through Research and Sponsored Programs. (top)
Expenditures Exceeding the Award Amount: If expenditures exceed the award amount, Research Accounting will inactivate the index so no further charges can occur. Please note, this will not stop payroll charges. It is the responsibility of the PI and department to notify Research Accounting of a change in the index for payroll charges.
The PI must work closely with Research Accounting to correct any deficits as soon as possible after they have occurred. The PI should identify a non-sponsored account with sufficient funds to absorb the deficit. It is usually not acceptable to reallocate expenses from one sponsored project to another in order to correct a deficit or pay a disallowed charge. See the Reallocation of Expenditures for more detail.
In the absence of specific advice within 90 days after the expiration of the award, the expenses will normally be charged in the following manner:
- First, to the PI’s incentive account to the extent the funds are available
- next to the department’s incentive account to the extent the funds are available
- next to the dean’s incentive account