Pat's response shows her wonderful experience and wisdom.  I'd like to
bring up one other related matter.

The institution should have a policy on ownership, storage, and access to
technical information.  The final technical report should be stored in
accordance with that, BUT IN ADDITION certain offices should have the
information that the report was sent, to whom, and when.  One
policy/procedure is that the PI is responsible to submit the report and to
send a copy of the letter of transmittal to X office(s).  This policy
should take cognizance of the fact that some sponsors require some sort of
supervisory or central office co-signature on the submittal.

As to data ownership and storage, institutions vary greatly.  In my
experience, most academics have the attitude, "I wrote it, therefore its
mine!"  Hence the PI's can usually be relied on to expect to keep those
reports -- but for how long, or can they find them, is another
matter.  Some are both organized and compulsive, and others, well ....  And
are they willing to share?  Do they understand that A-110 language expects
that the "grantee" (monolithic entity that it is!) owns and controls the
results?  What happens when the PI departs?

Maybe electronic record keeping can help.  If the storage space
requirements become small, maybe both the PI and a central repository
should have copies.

Now, didn't that make your life simpler?

Chuck

At 11:42 AM 10/3/00 -0700, you wrote:
>Mary,
>
>A lot of what you ask depends on how each institution has its "system" set
>up, and separate pre- and post-award offices need some coordination in this
>area, but here's some things to remember.
>
>If you look at A-110 (sometimes I think I need more of a life if I can sit
>and rattle off A-110 requirements), it says that your institution isn't
>supposed to submit the final financial report until the final technical
>report has been submitted.  So while your post-award section doesn't need a
>copy of the report, it sure does need to know when it's okay to submit the
>financial report.  You in the pre-award side need to know when the financial
>status report has been submitted so that your "file retention clock" can
>start ticking.  You should have either copies of your final technical
>reports, transmittal letters, or that e-mail notification you get from
>FastLane showing submission of a report, in your pre-award office files so
>that (a) there's evidence of submission and (b) you can show that you've met
>the conditions of the award (we got asked about this on our A-133 audit last
>year).
>
>I don't think you need to keep a copy of the financial reports in your file,
>and I don't think the post-award side needs a copy of the technical reports,
>but both of you need to know that the other office has them (this is where
>"checklists" come in handy).  And actually, if you're like most institutions
>(even though we're an integrated pre- and post-award office), your
>"official" file is probably comprised of what's in the PI's file as well as
>what's in your pre- and post-award office files.  PIs quite often have
>correspondence, payment documents, travel approvals, etc. that are part of
>the entire official file.
>
>So have I helped any?
>
>Pat
>
>Patricia A. Hawk
>Sponsored Projects Administrator
>5219 University of Oregon
>Eugene, OR  97403-5219
>tel: 541/346-2504
>fax: 541/346-5138
>e-mail:  xxxxxx@orsa.uoregon.edu
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Mary Farnham
>[mailto:Mary_Laura_Farnham/OAA/UNO/xxxxxx@UNOMAIL.UNOMAHA.EDU]
>Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2000 11:03 AM
>To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
>Subject: retention of final financial and techincal reports
>
>
>Dear Resadm-lers,
>Please help to clarify something for me.  At our institution, we have both a
>pre
>award and post award office.  The pre award office handles all pre award and
>non
>financial post award responsibilities.  In the past we (in the pre award
>office)
>have not included copies of the final financial and technical reports in our
>"official" award file.  The post award office obviously keeps copies of the
>financial reports, but no one (that I can find) is responsible for keeping
>copies of the final technical reports, and we do not include a copy of the
>final
>financial in our files.  Would you share with me how your institutions
>handle
>this situation?  Are you required to keep copies of the final technical
>reports?
>If so, is this an agency or an institutional requirement?  Do you maintain
>one
>"official" file where all information (from birth to death) is kept?  Also,
>who
>at your institution is charged with this responsibility?
>As always, thanks for sharing!
>Mary Laura
>
>Mary Laura Farnham, Director
>Office of Sponsored Programs & Research
>University of Nebraska at Omaha
>6001 Dodge Street
>Omaha, Nebraska 68182-0210
>(402) 554-2286 (voice)
>(402) 554-3698 (fax)
>xxxxxx@unomaha.edu
>http://www.unomaha.edu/~wwwspr/osp.html
>
>
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Herbert B. Chermside, CRA
Director, Sponsored Programs Administration
Virginia Commonwealth University
PO BOX 980568
Richmond, VA  23298-0568
Express Delivery Only:
 Sanger Hall, Rm. 1-073
 11th & Marshall Streets
 Richmond, VA  23219
Voice:  804-828-6772
Fax     804-828-2521
OFFICE e-mail   xxxxxx@VCU.EDU
Personal e-mail xxxxxx@vcu.edu
http://views.vcu.edu/ospa/

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