1. Notification of Award
2. Accepting an Award
3. Budget Administration Responsibility
4. Project Administration Responsibilities
5. Reporting and Documentation
6. Grant Negotiation, Acceptance and Management (Flowchart)

A.  Notification of Award
Notify the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects of the outcome of your proposal, whether it is accepted or denied.

Proposals are often not funded in the first review cycle. The funding agency program officer may be willing to work with you to shape the proposal differently for consideration at a later date. The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will help suggest ways to reframe or revise based on reviewer comments.

If your proposal is funded, the original Award Letter must be placed on file in the Business Office (see "Record keeping" below). The Business Office will establish an account for the project.

If your proposal is not fully funded, a modified budget must be approved by the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects and the Business Office before the grant is accepted. If the budget modifications significantly affect the scope of the project or increase the College's contribution to this project, the amended project must also be approved by the President or the appropriate Principal Administrator. It is critical that the Business Office has a copy of the approved budget, including any negotiated changes, as the Business account is created based on the approved budget. Many problems can be avoided if the Business Office is kept informed.

B.  Accepting an Award
In a legal sense, sponsored programs are liabilities of the College. They represent the consequence of a bona fide offer (the proposal) extended to and accepted by an outside entity (the sponsor). Sponsored program awards come in the form of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.

• A grant is a funding instrument through which the grantor is a patron of the project.
• A cooperative agreement implies substantive mutual interaction between the sponsor and the award recipient.
• A contract is the vehicle for procurement of property or services (e.g., product development, R&D services, evaluation, training, etc.).

The College accepts sponsored funds on behalf of the researcher and/or project staff. Until the College completes the necessary administrative tasks, such as award negotiations and establishing the project account, the award is not legally accepted and costs may not be incurred. If a PI is notified by a sponsor of an award, the originals of any award agreements and other documentation should be sent to the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects.

Who Can Sign an Agreement or Contract? The President of Keene State College is legally authorized to accept awards and agreements for sponsored programs. PI's, Project Directors and Deans are not authorized to sign agreements on behalf of the College. KSC Vice Presidents are authorized to sign agreements in the President's absence when prior approval is granted.

C.  Budget Administration Responsibility
Private sector entities (private agencies, professional associations, private foundations, corporate foundations, and corporations) may be perceived as either donors or sponsors depending on the award instrument. The following indicators have been developed to help direct specific awards to the proper college office.

Indicators for administration by the Business Office

1. The award is from a private sector sponsor for the work of a specific faculty member(s), and the work is characterized by programmatic objectives that are to be accomplished within a specific time and budget framework.
2. The award is from a governmental or quasi-governmental entity, or is from a private-sector sponsor that provides a subcontract or subgrant containing federal "flow down" provisions.
3. The sponsor places restrictions on publication of data from studies supported by the agreement. This would include a requirement that the sponsor review/approve manuscripts, or presentations.
4. The sponsor requests proprietary rights in data or inventions resulting from activities conducted under the agreement. This would include any proprietary rights and/or references to licensing arrangements for patents or copyrights developed as a consequence of the activity.
5. Studies are to be conducted on substances/products/processes, etc., owned by the sponsor.
6. The award comes from a corporation's R&D budget and is perceived by the company as a "cost of doing business" rather than a charitable gift. The characteristics of the resulting grant or contract agreement should reflect this intent.
7. The sponsor hopes to gain economic benefits as a result of the activity to be conducted.
8. The sponsor places restrictions on the use of funds and/or retains the right to revoke the award. Examples of restrictions include requirement for prior sponsor approval for deviation from originally approved budget items and disallowance of certain costs.
9. The sponsor requires regular financial reports on the use of funds, and/or status reports.
10. The sponsor participated in determining the work to be performed or services to be provided on the project.
11. The sponsor requires that any unused funds be returned.

Indicators for administration by Keene State College Office of Advancement

1. The award is from an individual.
2. The award is from a non-governmental source and is either for capital improvements or for the college's endowment fund.
3. The donor specifically intends the award to be a charitable gift as reflected by the absence of any quid pro quo.
4. The conditions or stipulations placed on the use of the award are reasonable and serve to direct the funds to areas such as scholarships, infrastructure, or general research/program support of interest to the donor.
5. The donor intends the gift to be irrevocable and, therefore, relinquishes the rights to reclaim the gift or any unused portion.
6. The donor makes the gift to the university without expectation of direct economic or other tangible benefit commensurate with the value of the gift. Indirect benefits such as tax advantages, business or personal goodwill derived from close association with the university, and miscellaneous benefits derived from donor club status are not sufficient to negate gift intent.

D.  Project Administration Responsibilities
The principal investigator or project director (PI or PD) is responsible for administering the project and managing the project budget. The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects is not responsible for day to day management of grant accounts, nor is the Business Office. The PI/PD must initiate all expenditures of grant funds and manage the process according to current University System policies and procedures and those of the funding agency. The project director must become familiar with the general administrative processes and requirements imposed by both the College and the funding agency. The Business Office is responsible to ensure that University System and funding agency guidelines are adhered to. The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will facilitate support for grant management.

Initial Grant Award Meeting: This meeting involves the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects, the representative from the Business Office, and the PI/PD. When necessary, others may be present, such as Department Chairs and/or Division Deans. The purpose of the meeting is to facilitate a smooth transition from proposal status to actual project status. This includes making certain that everyone involved clearly understands the requirements of the grant, any unique or unusual provisions, fiscal and program reporting requirements and dates, documentation and evaluation. It is important that no grant shall become a working project until this meeting has taken place. Every effort will be made to schedule the meeting at a time convenient to the PI/PD.

The following are also common issues for grant recipients: purchasing, personnel, payroll, and travel. The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects is always available to facilitate support for grant activity, but the primary responsibility grant management is that of the PI/PD.

Establishing a Grant Account: A grant account number will be issued by the Business Office upon their receipt of the Award Letter from the funding agency and an amended budget. The account is created based on the budget the Business Office has with object codes which mirror the budget. It is critical to work with the Business Office to ensure that any changes to the budget as it was originally submitted are communicated and that the accurate official budget is on file in the Business Office.

No charges can be made against any established account prior to the effective date of the grant, nor after its final date. The project director will be responsible for making sure that encumbrances and/or payments are initiated within the grant period.

Prior Approval of Budget or Project Changes: Funding agencies often require prior approval by them for changes in the budget over a certain threshold, changes in Project Director's time on the project or leave of absence, or changes in project activities and/or goals. Work with the Business Office contact and Director of Research and Sponsored Projects to determine what those guidelines are. The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will communicate with the funding agency when appropriate. It is the responsibility of the PI/PD to communicate with the Business Office contact and the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects regarding any proposed changes to the budget. Work closely with the Business Office and maintain thorough documentation (see "Record Keeping" below).

College Relations: The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will notify the KSC College Relations Office of major grant awards. The College Relations Office will be responsible for the preparation of news releases and feature stories. Publicity around the project is the responsibility of the PI/PD working with College Relations. Be sure to communicate any funding agency guidelines regarding publication to College Relations. For example, some funding agencies require that any printed materials contain their logo, while others prefer to remain anonymous.

Human Resources: The project director is responsible for initiating all personnel actions on their projects. They will be supported by the Business Office contact who will work closely with the Human Resources Office and other appropriate administrators to ensure that grant funds are adequate to support the action requested.

Where new personnel will be hired under the grant, the University System Affirmative Action policies must be followed. Proposed salaries must be approved by the Director of Human Resources. The grant budget does not govern salary when there is a conflict with USNH personnel classifications and policies. Letters of appointment for project personnel will not be issued without a request in writing from the project director. The project director is responsible for performance evaluations for all staff hired under a grant project.

Payroll: It is the responsibility of the project director to meet all deadlines for operating staff, non-status staff and hourly worker timesheets and to initiate the appropriate paperwork relating to payroll.

All personnel costs charged to a grant must be necessary to accomplish the work being performed under the grant.

In most cases, general secretarial support is no longer an allowable cost on federal programs. See the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects for an explanation of the exceptions.

The project director must document the amount of time spent on project activities by all staff members quarterly, even if salaries are in-kind contributions of Keene State College.

All faculty must ensure that their Time Effort reports reflect the appropriate time on any grant with which they are involved, whether their time is charged directly to the grant or is in-kind.

Supplies and Equipment: Purchases of supplies and equipment must be authorized by the Purchasing Department, and all KSC purchasing policies must be honored. Unless otherwise specified by the sponsoring agency, the designation "equipment" will be used for single items costing $1000 or more and having a life expectancy of two or more years. The cost of a piece of equipment includes accessories and transportation and installation costs.

Purchases greater than $500 and less than $1,250 must receive three documented phone bids. Purchases greater than $1,250 require three written bids, a process which usually takes 10 to 15 working days.

Travel: Travel expenses charged to a grant must be for travel that is necessary to accomplish the work being performed under the grant. University System policies and procedures pertaining to travel must be followed, as well as any additional restrictions imposed by the sponsor. Travel vouchers, along with supporting receipts and other required documentation should be submitted within thirty days of completion of the travel.

Human and Animal Subjects: Project directors are responsible for ensuring appropriate reviews of all research and related activities involving human and animal subjects. The KSC Institutional Review Board has established policies and guidelines which appear in the Appendix.

E.  Reporting and Documentation
It is the responsibility of the project director to comply with all reporting requirements of the funding agency. Usually two types of reports are required:

• Program Reports - Narrative reports on project progress in meeting the proposal objectives.
• Fiscal Reports - Verification of expended funds. Usually progress reports and a final report are required. If these are not submitted on time, the sponsor may withhold payment of funds to the College or restrict future grants to the College and individual.

The Business Office contact can provide the information necessary for completion of the fiscal report. First-time managers are encouraged to contact their Business Office contact to verify the kinds of reports which are required under the grant.

Documentation: All in-kind contributions and matching funds must be documented. If faculty or staff time is budgeted as in-kind time, time actually spent on the grant must be documented. All faculty Time Effort reports must reflect in-kind as well as paid time.

All other in-kind contributions such as copying must also be documented. Work with your Business Office contact to determine what adequate documentation for your project entails.

Record Keeping: Official records on all funded grants must be maintained by law. The official records are housed in the Business Office. It is the responsibility of the Project Director to forward original copies of the award letter to the Business Office.

Requests for changes to the budget may be authorized by the funding agency. Such requests should be in writing. The response, also in writing, becomes a formal "budget modification" and changes the conditions of the grant. Copies of this correspondence need to become part of the official file for the grant housed in the Business Office. It is the Project Director's responsibility to forward all budget modification documents to the Business Office.

Copies of final reports and other official correspondence should also be forwarded to the Business Office to become official record.

Closing the Project: Every effort should be made to complete the project within the grant or contract period and to promptly submit a final report. Even if a final report is not required, as is sometimes the case with small foundations or corporations, it is good stewardship to inform the donor of your efforts.

Closing the project is the shared responsibility of the project director and the Business Office contact. Prompt compliance with the requirements of the grant impact the individual project director's chances of further support as well as those of others at KSC who may seek future funds from this source.

Any extension of the project period must be authorized in writing by the funding agency. The Project Director must forward all correspondence to the Business Office. Care must be taken to be sure that no obligations are made against a grant account after the closing date.

Audits: Financial audits of grants and contracts will be accomplished through the annual USNH audit function. Some federally funded programs will receive site visits and may be audited by federal program auditors.

G.  Grant Negotiation, Acceptance and Management

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