TURAC Archives

There are many opportunities for a career in research administration. This session is intended to provide career path information to those interested in learning about these opportunities.

In this session, the University of Arizona Health Sciences Research Administration Office will describe the structure and training program we’ve implemented to staff our office with capable Research Administrators. Standard Operating Procedures, evaluation rubrics, and a timeline of projected milestones will be presented and explained, as well as a brief report on our outcomes for three cohorts. We welcome any suggestions for improvement, as well!

What’s involved in a contract and the negotiation of terms and conditions contained therein. The presentation will provide a basic outline of the contract/agreement review, negotiation and signature process, identify troublesome language/clauses and their impact to the PI/Department/University. State of Arizona required clauses/terms and other terms that are non-negotiables will also be highlighted.

In this session we will cover the ins and outs of the Fly America Act. From applicability to documenting exceptions, we will use case studies to help participants learn how to appropriately manage airfare regulations that apply to federal sponsored projects.

Federal funding agencies continue to share concerns about international collaborations and continue to raise concerns. For continued support of international collaborations, we must first understand what the concerns are and the resources available within our universities to address them. This session is intended to assist you with understanding sponsor requirements, best practices, key responsibilities and resources regarding regulations and policies.

This session will cover general cost allocation principles from the proposal development stage through the post award expenditure stage.

Cost sharing is the portion of project costs not paid by the sponsor. Including cost share in a proposal is discouraged when not required by the sponsor. This session will cover when cost share should be included in a proposal (and when it should be avoided), the different types of cost share, as well as best practices for documentation of cost share at the postaward phase.

Large/Complex/Strategic (LCS) proposals often require more advanced understanding and ability than typical research proposals. Such proposals are often inter-, multi-, or cross-disciplinary, may involve significant collaboration with other departments, colleges, and institutions, and often require more time, preparation, and resources than typical research proposals. The University of Arizona and Arizona State University provide significant proposal development support for LCS proposals. In this session we will explore how each institution defines and what features are indicative of a LCS proposal, how and when to identify and request institutional support/resources, and specific roles and responsibilities involved in managing LCS proposal opportunities. We will also explore opportunities for career growth and development.

Discussion about the new National Science Foundation (NSF) current and pending requirements effective October 5, 2020. We will also review the National Institutes of Health (NIH) current and pending requirements, walk through the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) tool and discuss foreign influence reporting requirements from a departmental perspective. This session is intended for those who have limited experience with the NSF new current and pending required template as well as for those who work with NSF proposals on the regular basis and want to explore the NCBI tool with a group.

Federal agencies make up a large portion of submissions. Each federal sponsor has guidelines and regulations to follow during the proposal development and submission process. This session is intended for those who are new to this process or have very limited exposure. We will review the key guidelines for NSF, NIH, NASA, DOEd, DOE, DOD, and USDA, explore uniform guidance, identify how these guidelines can drive individual university policy, and provide an opportunity to review a federal solicitation.

A budget is an essential component of all research proposals. An effective proposal budget serves as a financial blueprint which demonstrates to the sponsor that you have carefully considered how the research will be conducted and what resources will be required to carry out the proposed project. If your budget numbers are inaccurate, confusing, poorly explained or justified, unrealistic or not comprehensive, reviewers may conclude that the research project has similar weaknesses. In this session, we will explore the requirements and composition of a good proposal budget and justification and discuss strategies for working with investigators to ensure they are putting sufficient consideration into the resources required to complete the project and providing you with the information you need.

Recognizing that the budget is a critical and highly scrutinized element of the proposal, complex or unique projects often require more detailed examination to ensure compliance. In this session, we will build on the Proposal Budgets 101, exploring the complicated, infrequent or time-consuming budget elements managed by research administration.

PI summer salary is different from academic year salary both in salary per pay period and federal sponsor restrictions and requirements. This session is intended for post-award RA’s who are new, or have limited experience managing calculation, compliance and coordination of PI summer salaries. The training will focus on identifying and explaining the various components of PI summer salary. Learn sponsor requirements and restrictions; how to calculate summer salary and coordinate PI effort amongst sponsored projects.

When you first encounter a FOA (or RFP, RFGA, solicitation, RFA, or just plain old guidelines) it can be a lot to go through. The more you practice, the easier it will get! In this session we will take you through some common sponsors and map out what to look for in your funding announcement and (hopefully!) funding award. Presenters will also touch base on some more complex items to look for to help you out as your sponsor portfolio grows. After this session, you won’t need a cipher ring to know what to look for in your FOA or NOA.

This session is intended for those new to working with awards from state or local entities, or who have had very limited exposure. The session will include best practices for account set-up, invoicing, and financial reporting due to the complexity of back-up documentation required by state and local agencies. Review and negotiation of agreements with State of Arizona (ABRC, AZ DHS, AZ DOT, etc.), counties, cities, school districts, etc. (IGA’s, ISA’s MoU’s)

The COVID-19 public emergency has created new administrative challenges for the post-award management of sponsored projects. For example, how do we manage airline credits that resulted due to canceled travel due to COVID-19? According to 2 CFR 220, Appendix A, Section C.4, and 2 CFR §200.405, a cost is only allocable to a particular cost objective if the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable to the cost objective in accordance with the relative benefits received or other equitable relationship. To comply with federal regulations, ASU has policies and procedures in place to ensure that we appropriately apply credits received to the funding source(s) to which it charged the original expenses. Join us to learn more about identifying supplier credits and how to manage supplier credits in Workday, including those received due to quick payments.

In this session, we will review in detail the RPPR and its module in eRA Commons, discussing common issues with annual, interim, and final NIH Research Performance Progress Reports. We will also provide various tools and processes utilized by the Research Administration office of University of Arizona’s Health Sciences. This session is intended for those new to or somewhat experienced with NIH progress reports in particular, and eRA Commons in part. Prior approval and no cost extension requests will also be reviewed in brief.

In this session, we will go over actions unit administrators can take when a new award is received to ensure smooth post-award management. We will over how to facilitate handoff from pre-award to post-award staff, tips for setting the PI up for success and strategies for establishing unit processes.

Pre- to Post-Award Handoff Email Template

A subaward is when a portion of UA’s sponsored project is passed through to another entity in order to complete a portion of the project’s scope of work. A subaward agreement is the formal written contract made between UA and another institution or organization to perform a portion of UA’s scope of work. During this session, we will cover the process for subaward issuance and review the streamlined forms required to initiate a subaward agreement.

On February 1, 2021 ASU implemented a new subaward invoice process to provide additional transparency into the approval process, to streamline payment to subrecipients while adhering to federal regulations. In this session we will discuss ASU’s role in monitoring subaward expenditures, we will go over the new ASU subaward invoice process and we will provide best practices to help unit administrators assist Investigators navigate the new process.

Prime awardees are mandated by OMB Uniform Guidance to monitor the work and conduct of subrecipients receiving funds under their federal award. There are many roles and responsibilities involved with subrecipient monitoring so its critical for research administrators to understand the processes and their role within them. This session will provide a general review of: (1) reconciling supplier and subaward invoices which contain sufficient detail to support the invoiced costs prior to payment. (2) review of some key terms and conditions as well as budget elements of the subaward agreement that might impact invoicing.

Supplemental Compensation is compensation from employment at the University, that is in addition to the regular, ordinary salary or wages for an employee. This session is intended for those who initiate or approve requests for supplemental compensation paid from sponsored awards and for those responsible for the financial management of sponsored awards. In this session, participants will learn when it is appropriate to pay supplemental compensation from a sponsored award as well as what is needed for expeditious review and approval of supplemental compensation requests by Sponsored Projects & Contracting Services.

This session will cover the sponsored travel process from start to finish. Participants will gain an understanding of travel best practices, including COVID-19 guidelines, as well as common pitfalls so they can help researchers travel like a pro.