Roles and Responsibilities in Grant Management

The Principal Investigator will:

1. Communicate with the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and/or Corporate and Foundation Relations in a timely manner. ORSP or CFR will help you assess whether a question or concern must be submitted to the funding agency. Contact ORSP and/or CFR when:

• You anticipate a possible problem (i.e. a grant personnel change, delays in spending budgeted funds, a Human Subjects issue)
• You are proposing a change in your project plan, timeline, or budget
• You discover a discrepancy while balancing your budget
• You have questions about internal processes or paperwork

2. Submit all paperwork to ORSP for approval including check requests, additional faculty and staff payment requests, student employment certifications, consultant and W-9 forms, Travel Reports and mileage reports. Visit Forms and Guidelines for blank copies of forms, sample forms and instructions on filling out forms.

3. Monitor the project budget and track all expenditures, cross referencing them against the official budget approved by the funding agency. In addition, a spreadsheet tracking grant expenses and St. Kate's cost share on a grant (if required) will need to be reconciled with the Business office on a quarterly basis

4. Keep organized records of paperwork for audit purposes or in case of questions.

5. Make sure grant money is being spent in a timely and appropriate manner and in EXACT accordance with the approved budget. Any proposed changes in the use of funds must be brought to the immediate attention of ORSP and, depending on the nature of the proposed change, may need to be approved by the funding agency prior to implementation. A P.I. is responsible for wise and careful management of his or her funds in accordance with the approved budget. Please note that being underspent, is, in the eyes of the funding agency, often a sign of poor management rather than careful stewardship. Funders expect us to request only that which we need; when funds are not spent, our need is called into question and we may not be considered favorably for future funding.

6. Follow St. Catherine University policies concerning Conflict of Interest and Time and Effort Reporting.

7. Prepare any required reports to the agency by the required due date. Note that ORSP will work with the Business Office to generate required financial reports. Please be aware that failure to comply with agency reporting deadlines may jeopardize future funding.

9. Follow all Human Subjects regulations and Research Misconduct Policies.

10. Monitor the work of the grant and the time and effort devoted by grant personnel.

11. Supervise all student research assistants and student employees.



ORSP will

1. Coordinate any acceptance signatures and draft sub-contracts and/or Letters of Understanding as needed.

2. Work with Faculty Contract Office to change contracts of faculty on grants (as needed).

3. Serve as liaison with agencies* on changes of principal investigators, budget line items, or extension requests.

4. Notify Principal Investigator of report deadlines.

5. Coordinate reports* submitted to the agency and provide editorial assistance for reports if needed

6. Assist in obtaining, completing, and submitting any required paperwork.

7. Approve all paperwork relating to expenditures and personnel or student hiring.

8. Oversee the grant budget and serve as liasion to the Business Office as needed.

9. Ensure compliance with federal regulations and internal policies including Conflict of Interest, and Time and Effort Reporting.

* If you grant is privately funded, CFR staff will serve as your liaison and assist with reporting requirements

A Senior Accountant in the Business Office will

1. Assign a Banner number to the grant and set up an account to receive payments from the granting agency according to the proposal budget.

2. Provide Banner access to Principal Investigators and/or grant managers for the purpose of monitoring grant expenditures.

3. Draw-down funds as per the instructions and regulations of the granting agency

4. Assist in compiling financial reports and in monitoring grant budgets.