OVPR › Sponsored Programs › Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Proposal Approval and Submission
- What is a sponsored project?
A project (classified as Instruction, Research, Public Service, or Cooperative Extension) funded by an external entity on the basis of a written proposal or scope of work. The proposal must be submitted through the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) to get the Authorized Institutional Official’s approval and signature, which are required for submission to the sponsor. Restricted accounts are established based on the terms of the agreement and project-related expenses are paid out of the restricted accounts.
- What’s the difference between the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) and Contracts and Grants (C&G)?
OSP helps with “pre-award” activities (i.e., finding sponsors, preparing proposals and budgets, approving proposal submissions, negotiating agreements, and accepting awards). OSP reports to the Vice President for Research.
C&G assists with “post-award” accounting and fiscal oversight activities, and monitors externally sponsored programs and projects. C & G reports organizationally to the Controller and up through the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration.
OSP is located on the sixth floor of Boyd Graduate Studies Research Center. C&G is located at 745 North Lumpkin Street in downtown Athens.
- What is an RFP? What is a RFA?
These acronyms stand for Request for Proposals and Request for Applications, the announcement mechanisms the Federal government and many other sponsors use to let the University community know that they are seeking proposals relating to a specific topic or broad program. RFPs and RFAs are the guides or roadmaps faculty members need to prepare proposals. RFPs are usually associated with requests for grant proposals and RFAs are usually associated with contract proposals.
- What is the difference between a grant and a contract?
A grant is a financial assistance mechanism a sponsor uses to award funds for conducting a specified, approved project. The responsibility for the performance of the project rests primarily with the grant recipient.
A contract is an award instrument establishing a legally binding procurement relationship between the sponsor and the recipient. It obligates the recipient to furnish a project outcome or service that is defined in detail in the written contract, and it binds the sponsor to pay for it.
- What is “academic credit”? What is “center/institute credit”?
Academic Credit: Academic Credit is a method for OSP to capture for departments (on behalf of the deans of their respective colleges and schools) the involvement of faculty in interdisciplinary or center/institute activities. It is defined as a measure of an investigator’s intellectual contribution to a given project. Total project intellectual contribution is always 100%, and this 100% can be apportioned across as many faculty members as participate and in whatever manner the collaborating faculty agree to.
Center/Institute Credit: Sometimes centers and institutes help faculty conceptualize and develop a proposal, but the award is designated to be managed by the faculty member’s academic home department. To help capture for centers and institutes their involvement in projects they end up NOT managing, we give investigators the opportunity to “credit” one to three centers for their assistance.
Budget Development
- What is “cost sharing” and how does it work?
Cost sharing is any cost associated with a project that is not paid by the sponsor. It can be a contribution of real dollars or it can be “in kind” (i.e., offering employee time or other contributed goods and services). It can be mandatory (required by the sponsor) or voluntary (offered or performed by the University or a 3rd-party entity). When cost sharing is referred to in any way in the proposal or its budget, it becomes a condition of the agreement. A companion account will be established by the Contracts and Grants Department to track cost sharing at the time the account is established. See UGA's Cost Share Policy.
- What does MTDC mean?
Not all direct costs for a project are subject to Facilities and Administrative (F&A) or overhead charges. The basis for calculating F&A excludes equipment, capital expenditures, patient care charges, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships, and the portion of each subgrant or subcontract in excess of $25K.
The direct cost budget items remaining after these exclusions are termed Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC).
Compliance Issues
Account Set-up and Spending Issues
- What is the difference between a restricted account and a state account?
A restricted (or R) account is established by the Office of Contracts and Grants on a PI’s behalf in response to an awarded external grant or contract. The final budget your sponsor approves must be restricted or “protected” so that the funds are spent during the time period of the project (not before or not after) and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award.
State (or G) accounts are subject to state rules and regulations. They lapse at the end of each fiscal year, with any unspent funds in a state account reverting back to the state on June 30th.
- What are preaward costs and when can they be incurred?
Preaward costs are costs that need to be incurred by the Principal Investigator for a specific project prior to the actual start date the project. Several federal programs permit, at the risk of the grantee (i.e., the University or UGARF), preaward costs to be incurred within the 90 calendar day period immediately preceeding the effective date of an award. Pre-award spending is not allowable by all sponsors, so you should contact your Grants Officer for more information.
