Office of the Vice President forResearch and Innovation

Award receipt, review and processing

Awards are accepted by VCU on behalf of the Principal Investigator (PI). While the PI assumes the responsibility for financial oversight and completion of the work, the University remains legally responsible for the award. All awards must conform to university policies and procedures.

Principal investigator (PI) responsibilities

While sponsored funds may allow a great deal of freedom to conduct a project, they almost always require a concomitant level of responsibility for proper stewardship. Each sponsored project must have a designated leader, a principal investigator (PI) or project director, who has the obligation to see that the terms of the grant or contract are fulfilled.

Although the university is legally accountable to the sponsor as the official recipient of a grant or contract, the principal investigator or project director is responsible for the proper fiscal management and conduct of the project. To assist the faculty member in this very important responsibility, the university provides supporting administrative services and has established policies and procedures to help meet both sponsor and university administrative requirements. The university is, ultimately, legally and financially responsible and accountable to the sponsor for the performance of the sponsored activity and the proper use of funds, but without the full cooperation and vigilance of the PI, the university would fail in its stewardship role. In the truest sense, therefore, the sponsored programs process is a joint effort between the PI and the university; both must do their part well in order to achieve success.

It is very important that the PI reviews the official award and understands all requirements. The PI must comply with all terms and conditions imposed by the sponsor and ensure that project funds are managed efficiently and effectively within approved budgets. The PI must initiate all required approvals for budgetary and programmatic changes that may be necessary during the project. The PI is likewise responsible for the preparation and timely submission of technical reports and any other required deliverables.

In addition, the PI must ensure that all project members are familiar with and comply with the intellectual property and publication clauses of the award, with federal policies regarding research safety and research subjects safety, protections and integrity, as well as with applicable U.S. export control regulations. Inventions and copyrightable material produced under sponsored projects must be governed by the specific terms of the award received from the sponsor and must be handled in accordance with university policy.

Projects are conducted as a function of the appropriate area (department, school or institute). If the project is over expended, or if an expenditure is disallowed by an auditor, the university will ask the PI to cover this cost. It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that over-expenditures and disallowances do not occur.

The PI has responsibilities to the sponsor, the department, the school or institute, and the university to ensure that the requirements of the sponsored project are met and that university policies and procedures are followed.

VCU is Pass-through entity (PTE)

See the Subrecipient(s) section of this navigator for guidance on initiating a subrecipient agreement with an external collaborator.

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