Awards
Sponsored Project Office (SPO) is responsible for award negotiations on behalf of the Regents. SPO reviews incoming award agreements from private industry, non-profit organizations, local governments, state governments, the federal government, and foreign sponsors. A CGO negotiates the terms and conditions of the award documentation to be consistent with federal law, state law, University of California policies, and the needs of the researchers.
SPO reviews both funded and unfunded agreements that support research. Agreement types include contracts, data use agreements, subawards, Material Transfer Agreements (MTA), Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA), and grants and/or cooperative agreements with special terms and conditions. SPO also reviews and negotiates terms and conditions that correspond with a specific Request for Proposal (RFP) announcement.
The review period ensures the terms and conditions of the proposal or award agreement are in alignment with the laws and policies applicable to the University of California. Specifically, we seek to ensure that academic freedom is preserved, we protect rights in areas such as intellectual property, we maintain publication and data ownership.
After negotiation of the agreement by SPO, an authorized official of the University will sign the agreement.
Award Setup
Upon receipt of a Notice of Award (NOA) or fully executed agreement, a Contract & Grant Officer will establish a Cayuse award record. The establishment of the record will be communicated via a formal email announcement to the Principal Investigator (PI), Contract & Grant Administration (CGA), Project Portfolio Financial Management (PPFM), and Post-Award Research Administrators (RA). The email announcement will include specific steps that need to be completed before spending on the project. The email announcement will also be accompanied by a Cayuse Award Summary (CAS) form, highlighting important information related to the award agreement.
| Award Setup | Award Setup in Cayuse | Expenditure Account Setup | Expenditure Account Appropriation (Budget Setup) |
| Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) | X | ||
| Project Portfolio Project Management | X | ||
| Contract & Grant Administration (CGA) of Department Research Administrators (DRA) | X |
Pre-Award Spending: Risks, Liabilities and Limitations
The risks, liabilities and limitations associated with pre-award spending must be carefully considered before requesting authorization to spend funds in advance of receiving the fully executed award.
Risks
Whenever the university authorizes pre-award spending, the university is risking monetary loss. The requesting PI must identify other funding that must be available to cover the risk of a delayed start date, costs disallowed by the sponsor or failure of the sponsor to make an award as anticipated.
Liabilities
Special care must be exercised in assessing the impact of pre-award spending on legal obligations of the university before requesting or approving pre-award spending. The university must consider the impact of not having a fully executed grant or contract agreement on its legal obligations regarding intellectual property rights, subject injury, indemnification, etc.
Limitations: A sponsor's policies, the terms and conditions of the anticipated award, campus policies and practices determine whether pre-award spending or pre-award activities are allowable. Restrictions differ depending on the funding agency and the type of award anticipated (i.e., grant, cooperative agreement or contract).
Award FAQ
I submitted a proposal without routing through SPO and have been awarded. What do I do now?
This is considered an "after-the-fact" award. A Cayuse SP record will still need to be created before a project record and research expenditure account can be established. All documents normally collected at the proposal stage will need to be provided or created by the PI with a pre-award research administrator's assistance. If the "after-the-fact" award contains problematic terms and conditions and poses a legal or financial risk to the University, the award may be declined.
If you have been awarded an "after-the-fact" award, submit the proposal/award details through the Proposal Submission Request (PSR).
I am not sure if my award is a gift or sponsored project (grant/contract). How do I make a determination?
You can make a determination using the Grant vs. Gift table found on the Forms & Resources tab.
