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Administration

Introduction

The information in this section applies to sponsored projects whose primary funding source is a commercial, for-profit entity and whose recipient is UNMC or UNeHealth. Funds may be received directly from the commercial entity or from another institution that receives commercial funds and then subcontracts to UNMC. The industry-funded projects may be clinical or nonclinical.

Internal Forms

What internal forms are required for industry contracts?

Internal forms document institutional support for the project and provide information related to decision and approvals. They are signed by the PI, Sponsored Programs Administration (SPAdmin) negotiator, appropriate Deans/Directors and Chairs (or designees), and UNMC’s official signatory.

At least two internal forms are required for all industry-sponsored projects:

  • The Routing Form provides basic information about the project
  • The Internal Budget calculates the budget based on institutional rates

Personnel costs are calculated as follows: Each participant and amount of effort (as a percentage) from that participant are entered. The salary requested is based on each participant’s Institutional Base Salary (IBS), which is comprised of:

  • UNMC base salary
  • Specified UNMC stipends
  • UNMC Physicians base salary
  • Children’s Specialty Physicians base salary

The benefits requested are based on UNMC’s federally-negotiated fringe benefits rate agreement.

Cost sharing by UNMC is discouraged for industry-sponsored studies but may be allowed in rare exceptions with proper justification. Cost share occurs when UNMC pays a portion of the project cost instead of the sponsor.

See UNMC’s Institutional Base Salary and Cost-Sharing Policies.

SPAdmin may request additional internal forms, depending on the nature of the project. Examples include:

  • F&A Waiver (generated automatically by the internal forms when F&A is less than UNMC’s institutional rate). Access via ADIS Internal Forms.
  • International Projects Questionnaire.

How are internal forms accessed and submitted?

Internal forms are generated in ADIS. User rights are required to access the internal forms. SPAdmin/UNeHealth assigns user rights upon request by the Department Administrator.

To learn more or access additional internal forms go to unmc.edu/spa/forms/forms-templates. For training, call SPAdmin at 402-559-7456 or UNeHealth at 402-559-7614.

Effort Reporting

What do you mean by “effort” on a sponsored project?

Per UNMC’s Effort Reporting Procedure “effort” is the proportion of time spent on any activity, expressed as a percentage of total time. Total effort for an employee must equal 100% of the employee’s appointment.

Office of Management and Budget's Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards requires that the salary charged to a sponsored project be certified as reasonable in relation to the effort expended on that project.

For more information, see UNMC’s Effort Certification Policy #6105.

How is effort tracked?

Responsibilities for effort tracking and reporting are as follows:

  • Investigators assign effort to all personnel on sponsored project budgets
  • Investigators monitor effort for all personnel on the budget
  • Investigators or delegated staff with first-hand knowledge track effort for all departmental personnel and complete Effort Certification Reports in RSS (Research Support System) on the UNMC intranet
  • SPAccting administers the Effort Reporting System and initiates Effort Certification reporting
  • SPAdmin verifies effort availability prior to submission of new grants and subcontracts

Direct Costs

What are direct costs?

Direct costs are those that can be specifically identified with a particular sponsored project or activity and can be assigned to that project or activity with a high degree of accuracy.

What is the relationship between fringe benefits and sponsored projects?

UNMC negotiates a Fringe Benefit Rate agreement with the federal government each year that identifies specific rates for each personnel group, such as faculty, post-docs, and staff. Fringe benefits at the appropriate rates should be included in the budget you request from the sponsor. UNMC’s fringe benefit rate agreement appears on page 3 of the Current Agreement posted on unmc.edu/spa/about/institutional

Indirect Costs

What are indirect costs?

Indirect costs, also known as overhead or Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs, are costs that cannot be identified specifically with a particular project or activity. Examples include administration, accounting, office supplies, equipment, postage, lighting, heating, and refrigeration.

What indirect costs can I charge to the sponsor?

The F&A rate for industry-funded studies is 26 percent. This amount should be included in the budget total you request from the sponsor.

UNMC’s F&A Rate Agreement is posted on the SPAdmin Web page at unmc.edu/spa/about/institutional.

Conflict of Interest

Could my Conflict of Interest disclosure impact the conduct of my research?

All sponsored project proposals are reviewed prior to grant submission or contract negotiation to identify any real or perceived conflicts of interest. If a potential conflict is identified, it may need to be eliminated or managed. The UNMC Conflict of Interest Committee establishes the COI management plans.

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