I believe this is a case where you would definitely want to contact the agency before moving forward with this AND get their response in writing.

This should probably have been done BEFORE the reward was posted... but, we all know how those things go with investigators.

Jennifer Morgan, MHA
Vice Chair for Research Administration
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
Medical University of South Carolina
67 President Street, Suite 504
Charleston, South Carolina  29425

voice:  843-792-0191
fax:  843-792-0048
email:  xxxxxx@musc.edu

>>> xxxxxx@MIDDLEBURY.EDU 01/13/04 09:27 AM >>>
We have an unusal situation.   A piece of grant-funded oceanography
equipment was lost while deployed, so the PI offered a reward to anyone who
found it ($1000).     A publicly-funded employee found it and said he can't
accept the reward, but asked if the reward could be sent to the "benevolent"
society connected with his employment.    THE QUESTION:    Can we use
federal grant funds to pay this reward?

It certainly passes the "prudent person" test (the equipment is quite
expensive, finding the equipment has research value even if the equipment is
not salvageable .. and I believe that it still can be used, and it would
have been paid to a private citizen who found it).    But "rewards" were not
part of the original budget and I can't find anything related in a quick
search of A-21.

If you reply directly to me I'll post a summary to the list.

Franci Farnsworth

Frances Vinal Farnsworth
Coordinator of Sponsored Research
Munford House
Middlebury College
Middlebury, VT 05753

Tel:  802-443-5889
Fax:  802-443-2081
Email:  xxxxxx@middlebury.edu
Web:  http://www.middlebury.edu/~grants/

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