In my former life at a private university in the northeast, the working
relationship with the development office was very good at the time I left.
We had no formal policy, but we did have an understanding--they wanted to
count every dollar that came in the door, including the spare change in the
back seat of my car, to include in their reports.  So as a good
administrator I let them.  I would provide them with quarterly information
of activity of all sponsored programs.

Our biggest problem was getting both the faculty and the development office
to have the sponsored programs office review the proposals before they sent
them out.  Otherwise they would go out the door trying to give the place
away.  We wanted to have some consistency with compliance issues, indirect
cost and cost sharing.  you can imagine how the faculty would react to the
possiblity of sending out a proposal with no indirect cost.  Do you think
they would jump through hoops for that--you bet they would.  The other
concern I had was how to label the programs--ie. research or restricted
gift or unrestricted gift.  There should be great care in how this is
determined.  see section B.1.b (2) of A-21 changes dated July 1993.  If you
are too eager to show these programs as research it will inflate your base
and delute you indirect cost rate,  another item to consider.  There was
difficulty in getting the development office and faculty to have these
proposals go through the sponsored program process.  They would rather keep
life simple.

Charlie Tardivo
Director of Grant Administration and Accounting Operations
Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research
Cambridge  MA  02142
phone--617-258-5107
xxxxxx@wi.mit.edu