Transcript Proposals ‘R Us Grant and Contract Services 817/272-2105 www.uta.edu/ra ATI Building – South East corner of Border and Mesquite Suite 216

Proposals ‘R Us
Grant and Contract Services
817/272-2105
www.uta.edu/ra
ATI Building – South East corner
of Border and Mesquite Suite 216
UTA Research Administration

VP for Research – Dr. Ronald
Elsenbaumer





Earmark Funding, Research Enhancement
Projects, Authorized Official
Grant and Contract Services x2105
Research Compliance x3723
Intellectual Property x1119
Arlington Technology Incubator x1119
UTA Research Administration

Grant and Contract Services


Assist faculty to identify funding
opportunities
Assist faculty in proposal development



Forms/Budget/Compliance/Guidelines
Negotiate award terms and conditions
Assist faculty with award administration
UTA Research Administration

Research Compliance

Human Subjects (IRB)


Animal Subjects (IACUC)



Use of humans in research
Use of animals in research
Conflict of Interest
Scientific Misconduct
UTA Research Administration

Intellectual Property works with faculty,
staff and students to:



Expand and enhance intellectual property
Review confidentiality and non-disclosure
agreements (Individual vs. University NDA)
Manage IP disclosures, patent filing,
license agreements and copyrights
GCS Overview


Why Grant and Contract Services?
Proposal Process

Find Funding opportunities


Elements of the proposal





Tips for proposal writing
Proposal/Sponsor Guidelines
Required Forms
Statement of Work/Budget/Budget justification
Routing Process
Award administration/Compliance
Why GCS exists

Board of Regents Rules and Regulations


Any commitment or use of UTA facilities, equipment, or
resources (faculty time) towards the performance of a grant
or contract must be administered and controlled by UTA
Only authorized officials assigned by the University President
may commit the University to an external project: Proposal
commitments and acceptance of awards
 PI’s, Chairs, and Deans do not have authority to submit
(formally) or accept grants and contracts
 White papers, PI/Sponsor correspondences are not
formal commitments and do not require GCS review or
approval. GCS encourages this communication to
develop relationships with sponsors
Why GCS exists


GCS is the formal authority to review,
submit and accept projects for external
funding
GCS is necessary to ensure that all
research and extramurally funded projects
conducted by University employees, or use
of University resources and facilities comply
with relevant federal, state, UT System,
University and Sponsor policies
Why GCS exists

Issues GCS assists faculty to comply with or
prevent:






Research misconduct/Reputation/Bad publicity
Liability, insurance, indemnification
IRS regulations
Publication Rights
Jail Time
Litigation
Funding Opportunities

GCS has several tools to aid you in locating
funding sources





Major deadlines or programs are listed on our web
site at: http://www.uta.edu/ra/GCS/Funding.php
A subscription search engine called
ResearchResearch at: www.researchresearch.com
Sponsor website or mailings
Grants.gov
Your specialist
ResearchResearch
(A Panhandler’s Paradise)

ResearchResearch is an international
funding, sponsor, and news database.
They offer several different search
methods as well as advice on preparing
a proposal.

Sponsors can be searched out
alphabetically, by discipline, or by keyword
search
ResearchResearch
(A Panhandler’s Paradise)
Funding Opportunities can be searched
by sponsor, discipline, Recent Calls,
Upcoming Deadlines or a keyword
search.
 The Simple Search function allows you
to enter a keyword and search any of
ResearchResearch’s databases
(sponsors, opportunities or news)

Writing your Proposal
(a.k.a. Begging with Style)
Familiarize yourself with the sponsors
general submission guidelines and
requirements
 Follow all program specific guidelines
carefully when drafting your proposal
 Contact the Program Manager if you are
uncertain of a program fitting your area
of research

Writing your Proposal
(a.k.a. Begging with Style)





Use the largest font possible to ease the strain on
reviewer’s weary eyes (you know you wouldn’t want
all your students writing in that font!)
Be concise and keep the verbosity to a minimum
It’s all about the summary
Don’t use jargon if you can avoid it
Peer review is important. Let another set of eyes
look at it. If your peers do their job right, it will only
hurt for a minute
Gift vs. Sponsored Project

A sponsored project (grant, contract,
agreement) is:




Externally funded activity with a statement of
work or set of objectives that provides a basis for
sponsor expectations
Enforceable by law
Subject to revocation for cause
A sponsor and recipient exchange of items that
have economic value (including knowledge, IP)
Gift vs. Sponsored Project

A gift or donation is:



A voluntary and irrevocable transfer of
money, services or property (e.g.,
equipment, personnel time and skill, etc.)
Without any expectation of or receipt of
goods or services from the recipient
Without performance requirements either
written or oral
Gift vs. Sponsored Project


Gifts are handled through the Office of
Development (30-accounts)
Grants are handled through GCS (26accounts)

Any gift determined to be a sponsored project will
need to follow the policies and procedures of GCS
and the UT System Regents Rules and Regulations
Sponsored Project Indicators:
Sponsor

Determined a sponsored project if the sponsor:
 Is a government entity (Federal, State, or Local) or includes
governmental flow-thru funds
 Awarded funds through a competitive bid process or in
answer to an RFP (Request for Proposal)
 Requires the signature of an authorized University Official
and/or the PI
 Issued a contract, cooperative agreement, consortium
agreement, subgrant, subcontract, or purchase order
 Identifies or assigns a technical monitor
 Funds a project for a specific scope of work, product, service
or other deliverable
Sponsored Project Indicators:
Terms and Conditions

Determined a sponsored project if the Terms
and Conditions:




Impose publication restrictions
Require conveyance of rights to tangible
(equipment) or intangible property
Require an audit of facilities or other University
resources
Stipulate compliance with federal or state
regulations, unallowable costs, subcontracting,
insurance, warranties, indemnification, proprietary
or confidential information, modifications,
terminations, penalties, or applicable law
Sponsored Project Indicators:
Financial Considerations

Determined a sponsored project if financial
restrictions include:






How funds are to be used or include a line item
budget
A start or end date on the use of funds
Facilities and Administration Costs (Indirect)
The return of unexpended funds for any reason
Invoicing or detailed financial reports
Funding based on cost reimbursement contingent
upon programmatic and fiscal reporting
Gift vs. Sponsored Project:
Special Considerations

The following issues also require special
consideration in determining external funding
as either a gift or sponsored project:




Funds used as matching or cost sharing towards a
sponsored project
Funds for activity involving humans subjects,
animals, radiation hazards, biohazards or R-DNA
The PI has a potential financial conflict of interest
with the sponsor
Funds are used to generate program income for a
sponsored project
Gift Indicators:



Gifts may require minimal reporting to the
sponsor in the form of a general statement of
how funds are used
Gifts may be limited towards general use in a
specific department, lab, or research area
Gifts may include: endowments, construction
projects (renovation or equipment), or
general student financial assistance
(fellowships or scholarships)
Preparing the Budget
The sponsor guidelines should tell you if
there is a dollar limit, budget limitations
or what costs are allowable
 Evaluate your budget needs to ensure
the project scope is adequately
supported and realistic

Budget Considerations

Elements of the Budget


Direct Cost are easily identified and
beneficial to a specific project
Facilities and Administration (F&A)

Also known as Indirect Costs (IDC)


Utilities, general admin support, general use supplies
Are not easily identifiable: Can be associated with
many other University functions and other sponsored
projects
Budget Considerations


Salaries: UTA employees who will direct effort to the grant:
PI’s, Post Docs, Students
 Persons providing a service under the direction of a
University employee are employees (NOT consultants)
 Must be based on faculty base salary (cannot be paid over
100% effort without special and difficult approval)
Fringe Benefits should reflect UTA’s approved rate or actual
fringe rate if known
 Faculty, Staff and Post Docs are 30%
 Graduate Students are 45%
 Undergrad and Part time employees 15%
Budget Considerations

Equipment must be identified and
justified in the proposal


Must cost or be fabricated to a value of
$5,000 or more and have a lifetime of 1yr
Consultant costs are used to pay
experts outside UTA (justified) who
provide advice/service with little or no
direction from UTA personnel
Budget Considerations

Subcontractors – Collaboration Agreements
where UTA flows money to another entity



Require a detailed budget, budget justification,
work statement and institutional endorsement
Tuition is NOT allowed on federal research
projects
Stipends may not be paid to individuals who
provide a service. There is no contingency
for receiving payment. Usually not allowed
on federal research projects (take the money
and run)
Budget Considerations –
Federal Projects

All federal funding, including federal flow
through, are covered under OMB circulars A21 and A-110

May not directly charge an indirect cost item


Must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable


There are exceptions: I.e. Can charge
paper/postage/copy charges for a mass mailing
Questionable charges must be fully justified to pass audit
Adequately justify and include any foreseeable
questionable costs in your proposal budget
Budget Considerations

Indirect Costs: the “Tax”
 Negotiated with the Federal Government
 Is a Real Cost and are Necessary to conduct the research
 UTA Standard rates are 48% for on campus and 26% for off
campus (rental/lease of facilities)
 UTA MUST apply our full standard IDC rate to ALL external
sponsors
 UTA must charge industry, foundations and state agencies the
same rate we apply to the federal government
 May be limited by sponsor in writing as part of their written
policy
 UTA may “waive” IDC if justified and approved by the VP for
research. The amount waved must be documented
Budget Considerations

Indirect Costs: the “Tax”
 UTA’s standard rate of 48% is based on a Modified Total
Direct Cost Formula and is applied to all direct costs except
for:
 Equipment costs
 The first $25,000 of each subcontract
 Tuition
 Off campus rental facility
 Renovations (require John Hall’s approval)
 Participant support costs
Budget Considerations

Indirect Costs:
 42.5% of the Indirect Costs recovered (of the
100%) are returned to the Dean
 The IDC distribution is made after the fiscal year
end. Late October
Budget Justification




Identify your costs and explain the need for them
Provide the full detail for arriving at budget totals.
Sponsors or GCS may request this information to
ensure adequacy and fair market value
Indicate the base salary, the % effort and yearly
increase allowances (limited by sponsor guidelines or
limited to a yearly 4% increase)
Should reflect the objectives of the project
Completing Agency Forms
(a.k.a The Begging Permit)
Read the form. Follow the form.
 Certain identifying information for UTA
may be required. The majority of this
information may be found at:
http://www.uta.edu/ra/InfoSheet.html



DUNS/TAX ID-EID#
The legal applicant should always be
UTA, not the department or the PI.
New and Inventive Forms of
Faculty Torture

The “Blue Sheet” (BS) – Internal Routing
Form



The BS is actually not intended for torture. It
is a helpful tool that gives your specialist vital
information about your proposal
The BS contains compliance certifications that
ensure you and UTA are protected
The BS lets your department head and deans
know the commitments being made
New and Inventive Forms of
Faculty Torture

The Cost Share Sheet



Anytime UTA or Third Party resources are
committed in a proposal, a cost share
sheet is required
Cost share can be either mandatory or
voluntary
The cost share sheet documents the
source (dept., dean, VP) and type (cash,
in-kind, un-recovered IDC) of cost share
New and Inventive Forms of
Faculty Torture

Conflict of Interest


This form must be completed each fiscal
year. Federal Requirement
Research Compliance

If your proposal involves gathering data
from animals or humans in any way, please
contact Research Compliance at 817/2723723
Submitting the Proposal to GCS
(Chocolate is always an acceptable bribe)
Provide your specialist with a draft of
your proposal in progress as soon as
possible
 Proposals, with Blue Sheet and Cost
Share sheet, if applicable, MUST be
submitted to our office a minimum of 5
business days prior to the deadline 

Submitting the Proposal to GCS
Last minute proposals are always
accepted. Incorrect or incomplete
proposals reflect on the creditability of
the researcher and university and may
cause delay in sponsor review
 GCS reserves the right to formally
withdraw a proposal if it later finds
incomplete or unacceptable items

PI and GCS Relationship

Tips to help each other





Contact your GCS specialist in advance. Put GCS
in the loop to save time for the PI and GCS
Include copies of announcement or agency
guidelines in your proposal to GCS
Give us drafts of your proposal and budget if you
can’t finalize it 5 days before the due date
Be available. Do not submit the day of the
deadline and skip town!
GCS will help in completing necessary forms
Processing the Proposal

Once your Blue Sheet and proposal arrive at
GCS we


Assign a unique internal identifier
Review





your budget to ensure compliance with agency and UTA
requirements
your proposal for formatting requirements
your proposal for readability and completeness
Suggest revisions or corrections
Prepare a transmittal letter, obtain required
signatures, and put your proposal in the correct
order for duplication
The Waiting Game
(Let the nail biting commence)



Once your proposal has been submitted, we
will retain a copy in our files
Any updates received from the sponsor will
be added to the file and forward to the PI
We will review our pending files every six
months and check on funding status. We
retain all files for a minimum of one year in
the event you wish to resubmit after a
declination
Congratulations! It’s an Award!

Once you proposal is accepted for award,
we will work with the funding agency to
ensure that it is properly established.