At College of Charleston, we use what we call a "risk account." We require a letter of intent (usually an email or fax) from the funding agency that documents their intention to make an award for the specific project for a certain time period and in a certain dollar amount and then we open the actual grant account that will be used when the award appears. (We don't temporarily charge expenses to an operating account--too much work to transfer expenses when the award does come in.) This is done with the agreement of the department head that the department will be financially responsible if the grant funds evaporate. Sometimes agencies are not as clear in their intent letters as we would like--they'll add something like "subject to agency's receipt of funds". Then we have to use our best judgement about probability that the funds really will materialize and how conservative we should be in our spending before the award arrives. This has worked well for us. Here's what our opertational policy actually says: "Risk Accounts - Occasionally, a PI will be notified that a proposal has been recommended for funding but funding has not yet been officially approved or funding has been approved but the official award paperwork is delayed. In such cases, with proper documentation of the anticipated award, the PI may request establishment of a “risk account” so that work on the project may begin. PIs who wish to request a risk account should consult with ORGA. If ORGA determines that a risk account is necessary or desirable, the department chair/unit director must first agree to accept responsibility for any expenditures incurred and/or any uncancellable obligations if for any reason funding does not materialize." In your third scenario, we would likely be using the same grant account number over the multiple year period. If the hold-up is on the sponsor's end and we knew the incremental award was coming, we would allow the PI to charge necessary expenditures to the existing account--even if it goes in the red. If the problem is a late report, then we be less likely to allow the expenditures, as that would negate leverage we have for getting the PI's cooperation in reporting.. Bill Schulze wrote: >We are seeking to bolster local streamlining efforts by gathering a >collection best practices concerning how universities deal with funding >continuity. By funding continuity, I mean the ways that institutions >provide for recurring situations such as: > >1) You know a grant will have an effective date of October 1st, but you >need to exercise your 90-day preaward option and get graduate assistants on >the payroll & pay their tuition in mid August... > >2) An agreement is only partially executed, and the fully executed copy is >not likely to arrive until after the start date - and the PI needs to order >equipment, hire students, etc.... > >3) The current year of a multi-year award is coming to an end, but the >assured continuation funding has not yet arrived - and employment documents >need to be processed to that project staff & students will continue to get >paid... > >4) A federal cooperative agreement for millions of dollars approved for >multiple projects is in place, but because of continuing resolutions, >initial obligations are insufficient to cover needed encumbrances - but the >research is expected to go forward.... > >These are but a few of the real world situations we encounter, and I'm sure >they are familiar to you as well. In situations such as this the risk >factor is almost zero, and we deal with them - but our current process is >cumbersome and inefficient. I am aware that institutions use various >techniques such as setting up unbillable accounts, temporary accounts, >internal overrides, etc., but it would really help our efforts if I had a >good selection of best practices. > >So if any of you all have policies or procedures you could share via >comment, attached files, or URL references, I would really appreciate >it.... I also will be happy to make what I collect available to others who >may be interested... > >Bill > >**************************************** >William E. Schulze, EdD >Director of Sponsored Programs >University of Nevada, Las Vegas >Phone (702) 895-1357 >Fax (702) 895-0986 >xxxxxx@ccmail.nevada.edu >**************************************** > > >====================================================================== > Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including > subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available > via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") >====================================================================== > > > -- ================================================================== Barbara H. Gray, Director Office of Research & Grants Administration College of Charleston 66 George Street Charleston, SC 29424 Campus Location: 407-G Bell Bldg. Office: 843.953.5673 Desk: 843.953.5885 Fax: 843.953.6577 e-mail: xxxxxx@cofc.edu URL: http://www.orga.cofc.edu/ ================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================
