WHAT IS AND WHAT IS NOT A SPONSORED PROGRAM?
General Definition:
"Sponsored programs" refers to scholarly,
professional, and creative activities that NEIU personnel conduct with support
from external funding instruments such as grants, contracts, cooperative
agreements, or other agreements.
Specific Definitions:
A. In addition to the general definition above, any
one of the following conditions is sufficient to define a sponsored program:
Conditions Concerning the Nature of the
Agreement/Activity
1.
A formal
proposal exists requiring the endorsement of an NEIU-authorized official.
2. Progress, technical, final reports, and/or other exchanges are required. The proposed activity binds NEIU to a specific delivery of work including service to a sponsor.
3.
The
activity has a specified performance period or completion date.
4.
The
agreement for the activity contains compliance terms and conditions.
5.
The
agreement for the activity contains provisions for confidentiality.
6.
The
testing/evaluating of proprietary products is involved.
Conditions Concerning
Financial/Institutional Involvement
7.
Initial
pricing, expenditures, financial reporting, and/or performance may be subject
to external audit.
8.
Billing,
separate accounting procedures, and/or report of expenditures are required.
9.
Reimbursement/payment
is contingent on completion of specified exchanges.
10.
Unexpended
funds must be returned to the sponsor at the end of the activity.
11.
Cost
sharing/cash matching is involved in the performance of the activity.
12.
The
activity includes budgeted indirect costs.
13.
The
activity involves disposition of property, whether tangible or intangible, that
may result from the activity (e.g., equipment, inventions, copyrights, or
rights in data).
B. A sponsored program is NOT:
1.
A
voluntary donation -- i.e., the donation does not include any of the conditions
defining a sponsored program.
2.
A
voluntary donation of funds given irrevocably.
3.
A
voluntary donation of personal property (e.g., cash, securities, books,
equipment) provided by a donor without expectation of tangible or economic
(except tax) benefit.
4.
The
transfer of property with no implied responsibility on the part of NEIU or the
NEIU foundation to provide the donor a product, service, technical or
scientific report, intellectual property rights, or any other exchanges.
5.
Donations
of real estate.
6.
Funds
received directly by a faculty member (e.g., summer fellowships or travel
grants).
7.
A
project conducted as an external professional activity for pay.
8.
Honoraria
-- funds given directly to a faculty member by agreement not requiring
administrative endorsement.
9.
Non-technical
services to external organizations (e.g., lodging and food service to groups on
campus; meeting facilities; sporting events).
10. Fellowships and/or scholarships
without a service component or other restrictions.
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I want to apply for a grant. What should I do first? Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs to determine who will fund
your project and to initiate the procedures for administrative approval. OSP subscribes
to the Illinois Researchers Information System (IRIS) database of funding
opportunities. OSP also has information on other funding databases and many
application materials from federal, state and private funding sources. Start
the process as early as possible so OSP can provide you with the best
possible service. YES! OSP staff will help you obtain University approval for your
project. Before being mailed, all grant proposals must have a Final Approval
Form filed in the Office of Sponsored Programs. On it the project director
must assure compliance with relevant University policies. Ten working days
prior to the deadline is requested to assure timely routing. Contact the Office of Sponsored Programs for assistance in
interpreting grant program guidelines. Only the president or designated substitutes are authorized to commit
the University to any financial arrangement with an outside entity, including
accepting grants of money, equipment, or services. The Office of Sponsored
Programs will help you obtain authorization and signatures. ABSOLUTELY! Follow the guidelines meticulously, because the reviewers
will. Funding agencies report the most common problem with proposals is
failure to follow directions. When should I have my
application to the Office of Sponsored Programs? Both the Office of Sponsored Programs and the PI's submitting
department need adequate time to review and approve proposal submissions.
Proposals submitted with insufficient review time are at risk for electronic
submission deadlines, although OSP will make every effort to submit each
proposal. Why do I have to submit
ALL of my electronic proposals at least 3 days in advance of the submission
date? The process for submitting a grant via Grant.gov takes quite a bit
longer than the old mailing process. Submitting to a sponsor via Grants.gov
with no problems can take 2-4 business days alone. If there are errors, the
time to submit can increase significantly. A 3-day submission policy is
actually quite liberal. Because there are so many grants submitted
electronically, the lead time for all proposals is increasing, therefore, we
have implemented the new submission deadline across the board. At some point during the agency's evaluation of your grant
application, the budget will be the most important part. A flawed budget can
result in rejection. Give the best estimate possible--a padded budget will be
detected but an inadequate budget will reflect the applicant's inexperience.
Bring a list of anticipated expenses to the Office of Sponsored Programs and
the staff will work with you. Currently, 55 percent of direct salaries and wages for all grants and
contracts with the federal government. Other indirect cost rates may be used
depending upon the funding agency and the program. The Office of Sponsored Programs will help you in determining which
fringe benefits apply to your budget. File an Application for Approval of the Use of Human Subjects with the
chair of the Human Subjects Committee before initiating research. The Human
Subjects Committee is responsible for reviewing all research or related
activities which involve humans as subjects that is proposed by any member of
the NEIU faculty, staff, or student body (whether full or part-time). The
current chair of the Human Subjects Committee is Saba Ayman-Nolley. OSP
serves as support to the committee and provides all necessary forms to
faculty, staff and students. Yes, refer to the memo on expanded authorities granted in part 75 of EDGAR for further details. Also see Expanded Authorities Overview document (available in either Word or PDF format). I have miscalculated expenditures for several categories in
my grant budget, can I transfer funds between categories? Yes, refer to the memo on expanded authorities granted in
part 75 of EDGAR for further details. Also see Expanded Authorities
Overview document (available in either Word or PDF format). Yes, refer to the memo on expanded authorities granted in part 75 of EDGAR for further details. Also see Expanded Authorities Overview document (available in either Word or PDF format). I'd like to use grant money to pay for activities related
to the funded project that occurred before the effective date of the grant, can
I obligate funds for expenses that occurred before the effective date of the
project period? How far back? Yes, refer to the memo on expanded authorities granted in
part 75 of EDGAR for further details. Also see Expanded Authorities
Overview document (available in either Word or PDF format). The staff of OSP will:
For information on the Office of Sponsored Programs or further information on IRB issues, please call or send e-mail to: Office of Sponsored Programsphone (773) 442/4670 Staff listing and e-mail addresses at http://www.neiu.edu/~sprogram/AboutF.html For information on Accounting issues, please call or send e-mail to: BE-Rosen@neiu.edu -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last Updated: |