Changes to Funded Grants > Part One

Some external sponsors allow for a great deal of flexibility in the management of the grant to the university. This is called expanded authority. Grants that are under expanded authority permit ORSP to approve changes to the budget and certain administrative processes without seeking prior approval from the sponsor. The following are changes that may occur without prior approval for grants under expanded authorities. These changes are also available to grants not under expanded authority, but only with prior written approval:

Budget Response - A grant budget may be modified from its proposed form without prior approval from the sponsor. ORSP uses discretion after speaking with the PI/PD and determines if the requested change is allocable and reasonable. Additional budget categories can be added once written justification is obtained for the university file is provided. Some agencies allow a defined percentage variable, such as a 10% flucuation between approved categories, before needing approval. For agencies that do not allow the rebudgeting of funds without prior approval, the ORSP post-award managers will formally submit a request to that agency on your behalf.

No Cost Extensions - If the anticipated progress of your work has slowed, requiring you to seek additional time without additional funds to complete your goals and objectives, you will need to request a no-cost extension. Certain grants under expanded authority allow for an automatic one-time, one-year no cost extension without prior approval being required. In this instance the ORSP post-award manager will assist you in crafting a notification to your sponsor indicating your desire to exercise your expanded authority right. For sponsors that require prior approval, the ORSP manager will work with you to craft a formal written request on behalf of OHIO. Only when written approval is received from that sponsor, will a grant end date be extended.

Carry Forward of Funds - If you have a multi-year grant that is funded, you may have the option to carry forward the remainder of one year’s funds to the next year without prior approval if your grant is subject to expanded authority. If your grant is not subject to that, however, your ORSP post-award manager will work with you to craft a formal written request to carry forward the needed funds to the next year.

There are a number of changes that can occur in a grant period that, regardless of the privilege of expanded authority, require prior written approval from a sponsor. Below are the most common changes that may occur:

Change in the Scope of Work - If you are changing significantly the scope of work that you proposed to the sponsor (either by adding to or subtracting from), you must obtain written approval from your sponsor.

Changing PI/PD and Key Personnel Levels of Effort - If you are the lead PI/PD on a funded project and you are looking to increase your effort and pay accordingly, or significantly decreasing your effort, you must seek written approval from the sponsor. If a significant change will occur with key personnel identified in the grant, you also must seek written approval from the sponsor.

Transfer of Grant to OHIO - If you are a new OHIO faculty member and are seeking to transfer a grant from your old institution to OHIO, you must make sure that approval for the transfer has been granted from your former institution and from the agency. You will also need to confirm that all of your expenditures on the grant have been accounted for by your old institution. The agency will need a final financial status report before they can issue a transfer of the grant to OHIO. Once the ORSP receives the transfer paperwork from the agency, it will establish an account through the process identified in the Restricted Account Establisment subsection.

DON'T FORGET: If you are the lead PI/PD on a funded project and you are looking to increase your effort and pay accordingly or significantly decreasing your effort, you must seek written approval from the sponsor.

Change of Principal Investigator/Project Director - If a change in PI/PD is needed for the purpose of retirement, removal or relocation, for example, written approval must be sought from both the Vice President for Research and the sponsoring agency. In most cases, the curriculum vitae of the replacement PI/PD will need to be sent to the ORSP and the agency. Only when the written approval is obtained, will the change in leadership on the grant be given.

Transfer of Equipment - If you have received approval to reassign your grant to another institution and you have equipment purchased related to that grant, you must obtain written approval from the Vice President for Research and/or the sponsor, when applicable, to transfer each piece of equipment to your new institution. In almost all cases, when equipment is purchased using grant funds, the title of the equipment vests with Ohio University, not the PI/PD. For more information, consult OHIO policy 19.055.

DON'T FORGET: If you have received approval to reassign your grant to another institution and you have equipment purchased related to that grant, you must obtain written approval from the Vice President for Research and/or the sponsor, when applicable, to transfer each piece of equipment to your new institution.

Part Two of this Section >

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