I agree with Michael.  The first thing I thought was: get the university's attorney involved.
Are there Liability issues?  I see the need for a signed contract with the consultant "PI" who doesn't work for the university to make sure he knows the rules of engagement, so to speak.
Another possibility is let the individuals be on their own for the grant, and rent them off-hours space/time in your facilities.
But like Michael said, you'd need to be sure it didn't interfere with student and faculty work.
Also, what's in it for you? Indirect costs?  rental fees? is it worth it?
Good luck,
Diana

Diana Thompson Vincelli
Director of Grant Support
Foundation, Corporate & Government Relations
University of Richmond
104 Puryear Hall
28 Westhampton Way
Richmond, VA 23173
804-289-8005, 804-426-6907
xxxxxx@richmond.edu

________________________________________
From: Research Administration List [xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] on behalf of Michael Spires [xxxxxx@COLORADO.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2015 10:55 AM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: Re: [RESADM-L] Outside Consultant Acting As PI?

I think the scenario you describe is fraught with dangers, and if it were my call, I’d quash the idea in a heartbeat.

We all have rules for who can be a principal investigator on sponsored research, and most of them boil down to the need to have some administrative and fiscal control over the project, to ensure that the funds are used responsibly and appropriately for the designated purpose(s) of the project, and to protect the university and its reputation. By putting in a figurehead PI with little or no involvement in the work, and letting someone with no existing ties to the university continue to use its facilities could very easily lead to waste, fraud, and/or abuse.

There’s also the UBIT problem. Since this research is sponsored by a private company, and effectively is being run by someone not affiliated with the university, there would have to be very specific procedures in place, and documented, that this project was not being treated more favorably than others, and that the university’s facilities and equipment were not being used to support for-profit research at the expense of the university’s non-profit and educational missions.

If the substitute PI were in a position to do real work on the project, and had regular input in and involvement with it, I’d say no problem. But in the scenario you’ve described, I wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.

Michael Spires, M.A., M.S., CRA
Senior Proposal Analyst
Office of Contracts and Grants
Woodbury 401, 572 UCB
University of Colorado Boulder
Boulder, Colorado 80309-0572
O (303) 492-6646
F (303) 492-6421
E xxxxxx@colorado.edu
W www.colorado.edu/ocg

[cid:image001.png@01D00961.10A4D520]

Please note: CU Boulder is operating on its summer schedule. Offices are open 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. from Monday, May 11, through Sunday, August 16.

From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] On Behalf Of Bond, Chris
Sent: Thursday, August 06, 2015 8:35 AM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] Outside Consultant Acting As PI?

Hello Colleagues,

I wanted to pose a scenario and see what thoughts or advice you all have on how your university might proceed in a similar situation. Please feel free to respond off-list.

Essentially, we have an individual who was a faculty member at the university and was a PI on a sponsored research project between the university and a private company. The faculty member has left the university and is no longer an employee, but the company wishes to retain this individual as a private consultant to essentially continue the project.

Because the project also requires machinery and equipment housed at the university, the proposition is that another faculty member will step in as “PI” of the project (but for all intents-and-purposes is not likely to be doing anything on the project) and instead, the former faculty member turned independent consultant will be running the project (directing students, using university equipment, being paid an hourly consulting rate, etc.).

Has anyone encountered anything like this before? Assuming new contracts are put in place between the university and the company, as well as the university and the private consultant, are there other potential issues to be aware of with a scenario like this?

Thanks for any thoughts,

-------
Chris Bond
Director, Sponsored Research Administration
Alfred University
607-871-2964 | xxxxxx@alfred.edu<mailto:xxxxxx@alfred.edu>

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A link directly to helpful tips: http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help ======================================================================

======================================================================
 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.healthresearch.org (click on the
 "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner)

 A link directly to helpful tips:  http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help
======================================================================