Roles and Responsibilities of the Principal Investigator

Use of PI/PDs and Co-PI/PDs
The Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD) is the primary individual in charge of a grant, contract, cooperative agreement or other externally sponsored activity. The term “principal investigator” is commonly used for research projects while the term “project director” is commonly used for public service projects or educational projects. These two terms are generally used interchangeably, so we will use the term “PI/PD” throughout this document to mean principal investigator and/or project director.In some cases there are multiple investigators included in the application for external funding. Most agencies and the university require one individual to be designated as the principal investigator as the person being ultimately responsible for the conduct of the research. If co-investigators are named on an application, they will be listed as “Co-PI” on the project.

Pre-Award Costs
In some cases grantors will allow the University to incur expenses on a grant before the actual start date. These expenses are called pre-award costs. Under the expanded authorities granted to the university by some funding agencies, 90 day pre-award expenditures may be allowed if prior approval is obtained through the ORSP. If pre-award costs are deemed allowable by an ORSP manager, the PI/PD must prepare the Departmental Guarantee Form located at the following website: http://www.ohiou.edu/orsp/budget/preaward_form.htm .

The form must be signed by the PI/PD’s department chair/school director and dean. The Director of ORSP will then check the account number provided to ensure sufficient funds exist to cover the pre-award c osts requested. If the guarantee funds are sufficient, he/she will be the final signature on the pre-authorization form. Once all signatures have been received, a zero budget account will be established for the PI/PD in the ORACLE FMS Project Accounting module and notice will arrive via electronic mail from ORSP that the account has been activated for your use. However, if approval is granted, it is with the understanding that the department assumes all risk associated with the establishment of accounts pri or to receipt of an award notice from the sponsor. If the award is never received or if the effective date of the award is outside of the agency-allowed pre-award period, the guarantee account provided will be charged with all costs incurred.

Should you consult your pre-award account in ORACLE FMS during the preaward period, you will see negative balances from the costs incurred. Once a formal award document is received by ORSP, the regular account set up process w ill begin and you will receive an electronic congratulatory letter from ORSP as normal.

Project Performance
The PI/PD is responsible for the conduct of the project activities in accordance with the sponsor-approved scope of work and in compliance with all university, state, federal and sponsor policies. Any significant changes to the scope of work and project timetable mus t be approved by the university and the sponsor. The ORSP staff has been designated as the chief liaison between PI/PD’s and sponsor representatives and will generate a formal request on behalf of OHIO. The PI/PD is also responsible for ensuring the performance of any subawardees included in the project. The staff of ORSP and GCA can assist the PI/PD if there are difficulties concerning subawardee performance.

Project Fiscal Management
The PI/PD is also responsible for complying with all of the financial terms and conditions of the award. This includes ensuring that costs are correctly charged to the restricted account according to the sponsor-approved budget and the terms and conditions of the award. Each expense must be directly related to the project, be allowable under the terms and conditions of the award and be included in the sponsor-approved budget. If there is any question on whether a cost will be allowed on your grant account, you should call a staff member in GCA or ORSP prior to charging the grant. When an expense is about to be applied to a grant, the GCA staff performs a pre-audit of the cost, determining whether there are available funds and/or if the grant account is approved to accept that category of expenditure. If the pre-audit staff determines that the account is not able to accept the pending charge, ORSP wi ll review the agreement and determine if the cost is allowable, allocable and reasonable. In some cases, a budget revision may be needed to allow the charge to be applied. In these cases, contact your ORSP post-award administrator and they will seek approval from your sponsor for that charge.

DON'T FORGET : Each expense must be directly related to the project, be allowable under the terms and conditions of the award and be included in the sponsor-approved budget.

Although departmental administrative support staff is critical to the successful financial management of a PI/PD’s accounts, the P I/PD is ultimately responsible for all costs charged to their restricted accounts. Only the PI/PD can verify that each individual expense is appropriate to the account. Ultimately, the PI/PD and their home department are responsible for any over expenditures or any costs that are determined to be unallowable by GCA or auditors. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the PI/PD to carefully monitor all expenditures charged to his/her restricted account and to ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of the aw ard.

TIP: The PI/PD is ultimately responsible for all costs charged to their restricted accounts.

Project Closeout
The PI/PD is responsible for preparing and submitting the final technical report to the sponsor, in a timely manner, according to the schedule outlined in the award. If additional time is needed, the PI/PD should contact ORSP in advance of the project end date to discuss requesting an extension of the project. Extension requests must be made for programmatic reasons, not financial reasons. That is, if y ou have funds remaining but have completed your goals and objectives of your grant, an extension is not appropriate. In some cases, sponsors have delegated authority to the university to grant one-time, twelve-month no-cost extensions. If the university can approve the extension, the ORSP staff will direct the PI/PD to prepare and submit the request in writing. If the extension request must be submitted to the sponsor, ORSP will discuss the extension rationale and make a formal request on behalf of OHIO. Th e GCA staff prepares and submits all final financial report and final property reports, as needed.

DON'T FORGET: Extension requests must be made for programmatic reasons, not financial reasons.

It is a condition of the award that all required reports be submitted to the sponsor according to the schedule provided in the award documents. Failure to do so can result in delays in receiving final payment or sponsor refusal to pay. It is critical for the PI/PD to ensure all reports are completed and submitted to the sponsor on time. Any costs disallowed by the sponsor due to the PI/PD’s failure to submit required reports according to the sponsor’s schedule will be the responsibility of the PI/PD, the department or the dean/unit head.

TIP: Failure to submit progress reports in a timely manner puts the PI/PD’s and OHIO’s future funding prospects from that sponsor in jeopardy.

Now that PI/PD responsibilities have been discussed, the following information will help you understand the process by which a restricted funds account is established for your use in completing the proposed work in your grant.


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