Pre-award Activities
Required Regulatory Review Processes
Do I need to complete regulatory review processes prior to grant submission?
NIH and most other sponsors allow applicants to submit grants prior to obtaining final approval of required regulatory processes. This process is called “Just in Time (JIT).” After the application is submitted and approved, but prior to final determination of funding, NIH or other sponsors will request submission of regulatory approval documents. The request will be designated in eCommons using JIT next to the submitted application. However, a JIT request does not guarantee that an award is forthcoming.
When should I complete and submit regulatory documents?
If regulatory approvals are required by the grant, and they are not completed and approved prior to grant application, it is best to begin the application as soon after the grant submission as possible to prevent any delays in grant award once those documents are needed. These may include human studies review (IRB), animal welfare review (IACUC), and safety review (IBC). Human studies projects involving administration of any medication or therapeutic agent also require pharmacy and therapeutics (P&T) review, and any cancer-related project will require Scientific Review Committee (SRC) review and approval. For human studies projects, all personnel on the study budget who will also interact directly with patients or human subjects’ data should complete human subjects training on the CITI Web site. For more about CITI training, see unmc.edu/irb/citi.
Before I receive the Notice of Award, can I hire personnel and order equipment on the grant Budget?
If you have received indication that funding will be awarded you can request an Advance Account from SPAdmin. However, if an Advance Account is set up and the award is not made, the department covers the cost of any expenses incurred.
Access the Advance Account Request form in ADIS Internal forms. A guide is available at unmc.edu/spa/forms/forms-templates
You must have processed your proposal through SPAdmin prior to requesting an Advance Account.
Finalizing Grant Awards
As soon as you receive a Notice of Award, please notify and forward to Sponsored Programs Administration (SPAdmin) to set up your grant. If the internal forms on file are complete and match the award, SPAdmin will prepare the award and send it to Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPAccting) for set-up within one week. If the total award or budget has been changed since the grant application was submitted, the internal forms will need to be revised to match the award. SPAdmin will contact you if changes to internal paperwork are required.
After the award is set up in UNMC’s accounting system, the PI and department administrator are notified by email that the account is ready and that the project “bundle” may be accessed in ADIS. The bundle includes:
- Checklist, which lists the account number (known as the WBS), personnel, effort, budget, regulatory requirements, and budget and award periods
- Internal budget
- Award document
- Routing form signed by the PI
For more, see Award Set-up
Finalizing Subcontracts OUT
What is required to finalize a subcontract OUT?
After UNMC’s grant award is finalized, SPAdmin generates a subcontract OUT to any sub-recipient organizations based on the statement of work and budget collected from the PI and department prior to submission. The subcontract budget may need to be revised if there is a significant variance between the budget request and budget award.
Finalizing Subcontracts IN
What is required to finalize a subcontract IN?
Once the prime recipient organization receives a notice of grant award, SPAdmin works with the organization to execute a subcontract IN based on the statement of work and budget provided by the UNMC investigator and department.
The subcontract from the prime recipient should contain:
- Statement of work
- Detailed budget
- Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number (if federally funded)
- Documentation of terms and conditions
- Copy of prime award
The budget and scope of work may need revisions if a significant variance exists between the budget requested and the budget awarded to the prime recipient.