Award setup

Overview
A notice of grant award, NGA, sponsor notice, or award letter-is a notification from a sponsor indicating that a proposal has been funded. Notice of grant awards are typically received by the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), although on occasion a PI may be notified directly. This notification may require the signature of an authorized university official. Notices should be forwarded to the OSP for review and processing.

Review of terms and conditions
Before accepting an award on behalf of the university, the OSP reviews all terms and conditions, regardless of the sponsor, and is responsible for negotiating acceptable terms if an award fits into one of the following categories:

• contains provisions that are incompatible with the university’s policies on sponsored research
• inconsistent with applicable government-wide regulations
• fails to include all elements agreed upon prior to the award
• requires modification to conform to the Principal Investigator’s needs
• includes non-standard terms and conditions (patent and/or licensing, publications, termination, indemnification, etc.)

Specifically, one area that requires special consideration is when university equipment and/or facilities involved in the research have been financed through the issuance of tax-exempt bonds. Internal Revenue Code regulations governing such research impose certain requirements on the licensing of intellectual property that arises from research sponsored under such agreements.

When the notice of grant award and related terms and conditions are accepted by the University, an account activating the award is set up in PeopleSoft. The PI along with several department based contacts receive a Notice of Award Action which details the account number, period of performance, and dollar amounts.

Overview
Upon receiving a sponsor award notice or update to an award, a Pre-Award Administrator, Intermediate (PRA,I)  collaborates with the Post Award Administrator to initiate the account set-up/modification process. New accounts are set up/modified in the PeopleSoft Financial System (Grants Management Application Suite; the official record for all sponsored accounts at Northern Arizona University). Once the account(s) are set up an Notification of Award Actions is sent out to the PI, along with several Department based contacts-receivers, regarding a sponsored award notice accepted by the University. The award terms and conditions, dates and dollars, and accounts activated for the award are included.

Notice of award action
The Notice of Award Action provides pertinent information regarding the award setup in the PeopleSoft Financial System such as:

• type of action (project activation/modification)
• project number
• speedchart number
• project start and end date
• funded amount
• agency name and award number
• indirect rate
• cost sharing information, if applicable

This document is recommended reading if you perform or oversee the financial administration of sponsored awards. The notice provides information with the understanding that the reader has a basic knowledge of the University’s Financial System.

If you require assistance reach out to your OSP contact.