Project Management

Principal Investigators or Co-Principal Investigators are automatically able to authorize expenditures on their current Research Foundation accounts. They are also responsible for designating other authorized signatories, if needed.

To add or remove project personnel from an account’s authorized signature list, please send a completed Signature Authority Form to  [email protected]. Note: Authorizations must be established for all new accounts, as they are not automatically carried over from previous accounts.

An RF User Access Form is needed for access to the Report Center for project support staff. PIs have access automatically, but support staff access needs to be requested.

Please contact [email protected] to request support staff access. They will receive an email when their access has been established that includes login instructions. The Research Foundation also offers online user help.

An individual can be appointed to an RF grant or contract if the person or position is identified in the budget, there is sufficient funding to support the payroll expenses, and the dates of the appointment fall within the dates of the award.

If you intend to appoint project staff to a grant or contract, please complete a Request to Recruit Form in consultation with ORSP and submit it to [email protected] to initiate the search and hiring process.

Payroll expenses are the salaries, wages, and fringe benefits paid to employees for the effort they devote to a Research Foundation grant or contract. Fringe Benefit Rates differ based on an employee’s appointment type.

For more information on completing timesheets and employee benefits, please see our Human Resources page.

Note: Individuals cannot start work on activities associated with a grant or contract prior to the official RF appointment letter being signed and returned to ORSP.

At the conclusion of each semester, the Project Director will be asked to certify the effort of those who worked on the project. Referred to as Effort Reporting / ECC, effort reporting is required for all federal grants, state-funded federal flow-through grants, non-federal grants, and cost shares, per 2 CFR 200.

The term "supplies" is used for a broad range of purchases and expenditures. PIs must complete a Requisition for purchases. If a vendor is new to ORSP/RF, an IRS W-9 Request Tax ID must also be obtained.

• A Requisition is required for each unique vendor, such as "Amazon" or "Fisher Scientific".
  • If many items are ordered and exceed available space, you may enter "see attached list" and attach a list (with item numbers and costs) to the requisition. A screenshot or printout of a shopping cart is acceptable.
  • The PI (or authorized personnel) must sign and date the requisition before ORSP will take any procurement action.
  • ORSP must review requisitions to verify that purchases are allowable under the award and that funds are available.
    • There are several steps to this process. Please allow 10 business days for processing before orders are placed.
    • If a rush order is necessary, please call ORSP to check for available options.
  • A PI (or designated individual) may make purchases directly from companies and submit a requisition for reimbursement.
    • In this case, the "vendor" is the individual to be reimbursed.
    • Purchases from different companies may be submitted on one requisition if there is a single "vendor".
    • Consult with ORSP before purchasing to ensure reimbursement is possible. Unallowable costs, such as NYS tax, cannot be reimbursed.
• Tax Exemption Forms - In addition to NYS, the following states have agreements with RF for SUNY. Please contact ORSP before making a purchase to obtain a copy:
  • Florida
  • Massachusetts
  • Pennsylvania
  • Kentucky
  • New Jersey
  • Tennessee

The classification "Consultant" is also used for Independent Contractors and Incidental Lecturers. These are individuals or firms with expertise in a particular field and are engaged to give advice and/or perform a specific task (such as a guest lecture or seminar series speaker) in return for an established fee.

To hire a consultant, ORSP first requires completion of the Request to Hire Consultant & Independent Contractor Form and IRS W-9 Request Tax ID for each consultant.

Note: Employees of SUNY or RF cannot be hired as independent contractors.

Making travel arrangements in advance can alleviate last-minute difficulties and ensure that travel resources are available. Some sponsors have travel conditions or restrictions, so it is best to consult with ORSP staff if you have any unusual travel circumstances or are uncertain of sponsor or Research Foundation travel policies.

For more information, please navigate to our Travel Page and refer to the RF Travel Handbook.

Please contact ORSP with questions about charging expenses to a Research Foundation account.

Campus Services - These expenses include mail, telephone, and Auxiliary Services.

Membership & Subscription Fees

Subawards

Tuition

Meeting Meal Expenses - Agenda, roster, and justification must be included.

Human Subject Payments - Human research subjects are regularly compensated for their participation. However, these payments can only be made when a researcher obtains data (through intervention or interaction) or identifiable private information from a living individual.

Payments are typically limited to less than $100 per interaction. Payments exceeding that amount must be approved by the RF operations manager and their designee.

Note: All sponsored program activities involving human subjects must be reviewed and pre-approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

The Principal Investigator is responsible for providing adequate documentation on cost sharing. ORSP is not responsible for any disallowances by the sponsor due to inadequate documentation.

Allowable Cost Sharing

• Unpaid personal service — meaning effort not compensated directly with award funds, such as SUNY faculty effort (Note: Regulatory caps do exist with some funding sources.)
• Other than personnel service (OTPS) — meaning contributions by SUNY such as supplies, equipment, or tuition
• Third-party, in-kind contributions — meaning non-cash contributions by a non-federal third party directly benefiting and specifically identifiable to the project, such as services, supplies, equipment, or tuition
• Matching funds, usually Research Foundation non-sponsored funds
• Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs related to cost shared expenses

Unallowable Cost Sharing

• Salaries of certain administrative positions, such as deans and other non-teaching, non-research employees
• Salary dollars above a regulatory cap, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services salary cap
• Unallowable costs specified in OMB Circular A-21, Section J, including alcoholic beverages, entertainment, fundraising, lobbying, etc.
• Costs associated with Research Foundation and SUNY building rental, purchase, and maintenance when collecting the On-Campus Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate
• Costs included on another federal project
• Costs included on a non-federal project, unless specifically authorized by that sponsor

Cost Sharing Documentation Requirements 

Costs charged to a sponsored agreement must be reasonable, allowable, allocable, and consistently applied.

If you have questions regarding the allowability of a specific charge, please contact ORSP at [email protected].

Sponsors set reporting requirements. The PI is responsible for programmatic reporting, and ORSP can assist with financial reporting.

A no cost extension is a sponsor approved non-competitive period of time (usually up to  12 months) to continue a project past its original termination date without any further funding or any change in the approved scope of work.   If there are extenuating circumstances interfering with your approved sponsor project timeline, there is usually a provision to request a no cost extension.  This would give you additional time (typically a year) to accomplish all your goals but with no additional funds added to the original award.  The official submission usually requires an authorized ORSP signature.   Always check first with ORSP as each sponsor has a different procedure to submit a request. 

Federal and Federal Flow Through (sometimes State funded):  Under certain programs, federal agencies have delegated a one time and one year approval to the grantee.  The institution can internally approve an extended date (usually 12 months) unless otherwise noted.  Prior sponsor approval is required for any further extensions. There are usually stated deadlines for notification of all grantee and/or sponsor extensions.  They vary by agency, sometimes, program, but typically range from 0 – 90 days prior to the award term date. 

Non-Federal, Private, and the above agencies that have not adopted the grantee first year option as identified above:  If the sponsor has not delegated the first extension to the grantee, further guidance will be provided to request a no-cost extension approval from the sponsor.  Occasionally a request on letterhead or email signed by formally designated ORSP member will suffice.  This procedure varies by sponsor.

There are certain standard elements required for all no cost extension requests:

• Benefits to the program goals must be identified. What will the additional time add to your activities?

• The projected carryforward of unexpended funds and a plan of how they will be used to further the project goals.  A balance of funds available is not a justifiable reason to request an extension

• Proposed new termination date

• A reasonable justification for not meeting the original timeline and need for  extending it.  For example, extenuating circumstances, a delay in obtaining samples, subjects, an unexpected interference in your planned activities, interim funding if you have applied for or received continuing support, etc.

Occasionally, a sponsor will allow a PI to carry forward an unobligated balance at the end of the grant if all objectives have been successfully met and the negotiated award document allows for a carry forward. There must be an approved plan for the continued use of the carry forward funds that is consistent with the original award scope of work. A carry forward can be different that a no-cost extension depending upon the sponsor policies.