In response to the question concerning the computer purge cycles for pending
 grant/contract proposals,Yale School of Medicine has these practices: All
pending proposals are entered to the database with the status of P for
pending. Private grants to foundations  and private fellowships are
typically held in that status for 6 to 12 months beyond the anticipated
start date. Federal proposals are held for  one year or longer depending on
"hold until" notification from the NIH. When notification from the funding
agency is received that an award will not be made, the status of the
proposal is changed to N for not funded and the physical file is discarded.
The computer record is retained to calculate the "yield" on pending
proposals. When the agency  does not notify Yale that an award will not be
made, (this is very common)  then the above mentioned purge cycles  are in
effect. Practically speaking, we go through this process 3 or 4 times a
year.

Of course the process is more complicated when researchers submit amended
applications. Then this process must be applied to both the original
application as well as the amended one. In this case, the paper chase can
become interesting.

Richard Peterson, Grant and Contract Office, Yale School of Medicine
xxxxxx@MASPO1.MAS.YALE.EDU

 ----------
From: RESADM-L
To: Multiple recipients of list RESADM-L
Date: Monday, August 15, 1994 9:30AM

Updating Grant and Contract Databases
 -------------------------------------
Question:

I am interested in learning how often institutions with proposal and award
databases automatically remove from their systems the following types of
records:
Pending proposals in which the proposed project begin dates have passed but
notification of declination/rejection/withdrawal has not reached the grant
and contract office
Do offices which automatically purge such records from their databases do
so at fixed intervals--one year after the proposed project begin date?  two
years after the proposed project begin date?

 ----- End forwarded message

Answer:
The Office of Research within the Queensland University of Technology,
Brisbane, Australia maintains a mainframe database (the RIS) on which is
stored
information regarding applications (proposals) for funding and funding
awarded.

All applications are entered on the system as "pending"..and move to either
the
"successful" or "unsuccessful" statud. All applications regardless of status
are retained on the database. This allows statistics (trend data) to be
compiled over several years to give a picture of success rates. If
applications
that are unsuccessful are removed then it is impossible to determine if the
research effort of a particular area/faculty/discipline is improving in
relation to funds awarded.

Moira Wood
Coordinator, Research Information and Budgets
Office of Research
Queensland University of Technology
Brisbane,  Qld AUSTRALIA

email: xxxxxx@qut.edu.au