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Postaward

Award Administration & Fiscal Management

The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for all aspects of day-to-day award administration. Research administrators in Contract & Grant Administration (CGA) assist PIs in carrying out administrative functions related to awards. If the PI has questions regarding award compliance, CGA should be contacted for policy interpretation and guidance at CGA@ucmerced.edu.

 

To ensure final invoices can be submitted and the grant can be closed out to meet the sponsor’s deadline, and also, to avoid asking for PI’s un-restricted fund to cover the travel expenses, the following travel reimbursement requirement need to be reiterated and re-enforced:

Travel Reimbursement Requirement for Contracts & Grants

All travel reimbursements must be submitted and routed to Research Administrators for approval 30 days after the award’s end date. Reimbursements submitted after the deadline may need to be covered by PI’s alternative funding source.

 

Amendment to Existing Awards

An award modification or amendment is an award document that changes any aspect of an existing award. Amendments to existing awards can be either initiated by the sponsor or by the university. All modifications or amendments will be processed by Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) in the same manner as the award process.

 

Sponsor Initiated Amendment

If the sponsor initiates the modification or amendment, the sponsor will issue an official award amendment notice. A Contract & Grant Officer (CGO) in the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) matches the official amendment notice with Cayuse's existing award record. CGO reviews the changes of the award and will process the modified award accordingly. Changes are communicated to all appropriate parties via formal email announcement.

 

University Initiated Amendment Request

The PI can initiate a request for modification or amendment of the award for the following circumstances:

  • No-Cost Time Extensions (NCTE/NCE)
  • Change of PI
  • Carryover approvals
  • Incremental/continuation funding
  • Rebudgets

If you would like to request a modification for an existing award, contact your assigned Postaward Research Administrator. Postaward Research Administrators should email award modification requests to SPO (SPO@ucmerced.edu).

 

 

Subawards

Subawards included in projects can be established when a Cayuse record and research expenditure account have been established by the Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) and Project Portfolio Financial Management (PPFM), respectively. To establish a new subaward Postaward Research Administrators must email SPO (SPO@ucmerced.edu) requesting the establishment of a subaward. The following documents (Subaward Request Package) and information should be included in the email:

  1. Subrecipient’s Scope of Work
  2. Subrecipient’s Budget
  3. Subrecipient’s Budget Justification
  4. Subrecipient Commitment Form (MCA Commitment for UC campuses)
  5. Single Audit (or Mini-Audit Questionnaire, when applicable)
  6. Federally Negotiated Rate Agreement
  7. Subrecipient Contacts List - The names and emails of the Principal Investigator, Administrative Contact, Financial Contact, and Authorized Offical.

SPO reviews the Subaward Request Package for completeness and reviews against the prime agreement to ensure compliance. SPO will review the subrecipient’s Single Audit Report (SAR) to assess the risk to University. If a subrecipient does not have a SAR, a Mini-Audit Questionnaire will need to be completed by the subrecipient. SPO may request additional information from the department. International subawards must also be reviewed for export control issues.

If no issues are found with the Subaward Request Package, SPO will draft a subaward agreement. The PI and their research administrator may be asked to provide due dates for invoices, technical and financial reports, and other special terms and conditions.

A subaward agreement is sent to the subrecipient for review and signature. Once a subaward agreement has been fully executed, SPO will update the Cayuse record to include the fully executed subaward agreement. SPO will announce the PI and their research administrator via email, indicating the subcontractor has been awarded.

Amendments requests for subawards should also be emailed to SPO (SPO@ucmerced.edu).

 

Transferring an Award

If you are a new faculty member and would like to transfer your awards to UC Merced, or if you are an outgoing faculty member and would like to transfer your awards to your new institution, the transfer must be carefully coordinated between the relinquishing institution, the receiving institution, and sponsoring agency.

The relinquishing institution must initiate the process with the sponsor. Both relinquishing and receiving institutions must fulfill all sponsor requirements. Most federal sponsors have specific guidance on the transfer of awards, but non-federal sponsors' process is unique.

If you want to transfer an award to UC Merced or transfer your awards from UCM to another institution, please contact us at SPO@ucmerced.edu.

Sponsored Project Cost Allocation Methodology Guidance

UC Merced has established the following guidance for allocating costs that benefit two or more projects or activities when the proportions are not easily determined. This ensures compliance with federal regulations, including Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200.

Costs benefiting a single project should be directly charged to that project. For costs benefiting multiple projects, allocations must be documented and supported using a reasonable and justifiable methodology.

Reason for Guidance

This guidance ensures that costs allocated to sponsored projects comply with Uniform Guidance Subpart E §200.405(d), which requires:

  • Costs benefiting two or more projects must be allocated based on proportional benefit when determinable.
  • If proportions cannot be easily determined, costs may be allocated using a reasonable documented basis.

Allocation Methodology Components

A valid allocation methodology includes:

  1. Percent Allocation: The percentage of the cost charged to each project.
  2. Reasoning: The method or rationale used to determine the percentage.
  3. Documentation: Supporting documents and approvals.

At UC Merced, allocation methodologies must:

  • Establish a clear link between incurred costs and the benefit to each project.
  • Be identified prior to expense allocation whenever possible.
  • Be documented in sufficient detail for transparency and understanding.
  • Allow for consistent treatment of similar costs across projects.
  • Be reviewed and adjusted periodically as needed.

Best Practices

  • Determine allocation methodologies in advance, preferably at the time of purchase, to avoid manual corrections.
  • Use different methodologies for different expense types to best fit the allocation.
  • Periodically review allocations to ensure they reflect proportional benefit and align with changes in funding or project scope.
  • Secure necessary approvals in alignment with UC Merced procedures.

Timing and Compliance

  • Costs allocated at purchase must be reviewed at least quarterly to ensure continued alignment with proportional benefit.
  • Suspended costs must be fully allocated within a quarter and justified according to policy.

Unacceptable Practices

The following practices are not allowed:

  • Rotating charges among projects without demonstrating proportional benefit.
  • Allocating costs based on available funding rather than actual benefit.
  • Misrepresenting expenses to obscure their purpose.
  • Charging costs to sponsored projects when they also benefit non-sponsored activities.

Documentation Practices

Documentation must include:

  1. Cost Description: Types of costs included in the allocation (e.g., lab supplies, service contracts).
  2. Rationale: Clear linkage between costs and their proportional benefit.
  3. Calculation: Percentages and metrics (e.g., usage, headcount) used in the allocation.
  4. Revisions: A process for reviewing and updating the methodology.

Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Principal Investigators (PIs): Ensure compliance with federal and sponsor regulations, review expenditures, and validate allocation methodologies.
  2. Research Administrators: Assist PIs in reconciling expenses, offering valid allocation methodologies, and maintaining documentation.
  3. Sponsored Projects Office: Publish and update guidance, provide clarifications, and ensure adherence to policy.

Definitions

Allocation Methodology: The reasoned basis for distributing costs to benefiting activities when exact proportions cannot be easily determined.
Cost Basis: The metrics used to approximate relative benefit, such as usage or headcount.

Publication Costs

UC Merced Guidance on Allowability of Publication Expenses on Sponsored Projects

Publication costs for both electronic and print media, including distribution, promotion, and general handling, may be charged to federal and non-federal sponsored awards as direct costs when they specifically support the project. UC Merced complies with federal guidelines, including 2 CFR § 200.461, and sponsor-specific requirements.

Allowable Publication Expenses

  • Page charges for professional journal publications are allowable when:
    1. The publication reports work supported by the sponsor.
    2. Charges are impartially applied to all items published by the journal, irrespective of sponsorship.
  • Publication costs incurred after the performance period of an award but before award closeout may be charged to the project, provided these costs are recorded within the award’s general ledger per UC Merced’s financial reporting timeline.

Acknowledgement of Sponsor Support

  • Sponsors typically require acknowledgment of their support in all publications reporting project results. Specific language and formatting requirements vary by sponsor (e.g., NSF or NIH).
  • Publications and journal articles produced under federally funded projects must include acknowledgment and disclaimers as outlined in sponsor policies. Non-compliance may result in the disallowance of charges.

Allocation of Costs

When publications benefit multiple projects or awards:

  1. Single Acknowledgment: Costs benefiting only one project should be directly charged to that project.
  2. Multiple Acknowledgments:
    • Costs should be proportionally allocated to all benefiting projects using a reasonable, documented methodology per 2 CFR § 200.405.
    • Allocation should consider whether the projects are active or closed and whether each project contributed to the published research.

Principal Investigators (PIs) must collaborate with research administrators to document allocation methodologies, ensuring:

  • Allocation is justified and reflects the proportional benefit to each award.
  • Costs are only charged to active awards.

Documentation Requirements

To ensure compliance:

  1. Provide a clear, reasonable justification for the allocation of costs.
  2. Include a rationale for awards acknowledged in the publication but not charged (e.g., award is closed, costs are unallowable).
  3. Retain all documentation alongside publication invoices for auditing purposes.

Non-Compliance

Instances of non-compliance, such as:

  • Missing sponsor acknowledgments.
  • Incomplete or inappropriate allocation methodologies.
  • Unallowable charges on a specific award.

These will result in the disallowance of publication costs and reassignment to a non-sponsored cost center.

For further clarification, please refer to the award terms and conditions or contact the UC Merced Sponsored Projects Office.