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THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH
NEW INVESTIGATORS: A QUICK GUIDE TO STARTING YOUR RESEARCH AT
UCSF
Table of Contents
Finding, Obtaining and Managing Money -
Other Topics:
| What do I need to know about fiscal
responsibility?
| Pre-award: How do I find and ask
for funds?
| How do I work with Industry? | How do I minimize financial conflicts of interest?
| How do I maximize the value
of and protect the intellectual property I create? |
FINDING, OBTAINING AND MANAGING MONEY
Post-award: How do I manage funding awards?
• When can I start to spend the money?
• How do I manage the money?
• Your Department provides post-award services
• You as the Principal Investigator have responsibilities
• How do I control my funds and prevent problems?
• What resources are available to me?
• Relevant
polices and procedures
When can I start to spend the money?
Contracts and grants are awarded to the UC Regents;
therefore, the University must receive notification
of the award before the account can be set up.
In practice, this means that a series of signatures
and approvals must be in place before you can incur
expenses. Your department will tell you when your account
is officially open. This
account should be used solely for the purposes of the
funding award for which the account
was established.
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How do I manage the money?
You must work with your department to meet the obligations
and responsibilities of managing funds.
Your Department provides post-award services such as:
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Tracking debits
and credits to your account (ledgers) |
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Reporting your balances to you
in a budget report, |
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Submitting grant reports and
correspondence to funding agencies, |
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Assisting you in compliance
with regulations on allowable expenditures, carry
forward of an unobligated balance, close out of
funds, notification of due dates for reports and
other
fund issues. |
You as the Principal Investigator have responsibilities
to:
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Account for
how you spend your funds, |
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Manage your
funds in accordance with the four key
financial principles outlined in the What
do I need to know about PI Fiscal Responsibility section
in this Quick Guide and in the Faculty
Guide to Success, |
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Comply with
all funding regulations and terms of conditions
of each award, |
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Adhere to
any Department or School requirements for fund
management, |
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Keep within your
project’s approved budget, |
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Meet your
funding obligations to submit your reports
in a timely manner, |
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Give special
attention to calculating the following: |
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Cost Sharing:
Some government awards require mandatory cost sharing
whereby they require you or your institution to
share in the costs of the project. Before you apply
for this type of award, you must obtain departmental
approval for this type of funding support. |
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Percent Effort:
Effort as defined by the federal government and
the campus as an individual’s time devoted
to professional activities, regardless of the total
hours worked. By definition, an individual cannot
exceed 100%. When you are preparing a request for
funding as UCSF Faculty, you must assure that effort
is available to cover not only the activities described
in your grant but also your faculty activities,
such as teaching, patient care, and public service,
and commitments to other grants. |
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Program Income: This
is income that you earn as a grantee on a federally
funded grant for the sale of any items that were
fabricated under the award, such as the sale of
transgenic mouse or cell lines that you created
with the federal funds. You must report anticipated
program income on your Financial Status Report
and also
include in progress reports if required. |
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How do I control my funds
and prevent problems?
General practices for financial management that will help you effectively
manage your grant funds include:
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Communicate with
your department - don’t assume answers to
funding award questions |
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Identify and control who has
spending authority on your grant. |
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Spend only as allowed by the
funding sponsor. |
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Review departmental budget
reports to verify your grant expenditures. |
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Submit grant reports on
time so funds can be released (quarterly, annual,
etc). |
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Know when unobligated fund balances
can be carried
forward. |
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Read the award guidelines and
understand the terms and
conditions. |
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Do not overspend your accounts. |
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Follow the
UCSF charging practices.
(Cost
Accounting Standards) |
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Meet all deadlines in submitting
final closeout reports. |
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There are procedures for close
out (ending) or transferring the study outside
UCSF. Don’t just assume the project is done
because the money has
been spent. |
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What resources are available
to me?
Every Department and Organized Research Unit (ORU) has a designated
liaison with OSR who is called a Contracts and Grants Representative
who will distribute OSR information bulletins to all appropriate faculty.
Research Investigators are also welcome to attend university workshops
and seminars offered to administrative staff for professional development
by UCSF Development
and Training and the Research
Administration Program (RAP).
General guidance for UC and UCSF procedures and policies:
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Relevant polices
and procedures
Useful websites for information on managing funds as well as relevant
policies can be found at the following websites:
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