Reply to:   RE>proposal review
Reasons for a central university office are not philosophical, they are legal.
Awards are made to an institution on behalf of one or more faculty members to
carry out research or complete a particular project.  The institution is the
responsible party, and a central office is delegated the responsibility to
enter into such an agreement with the agency.  In other words, the central
office speaks for the institution in agreeing to the contract (a grant is
legally a contract).  It also is responsible to the institution to ensure that
the terms  and conditions of the contract are acceptable to the university and
comply with other other applicable law such as state law for state
institutions.  It is responsible to the agency to ensure that the institution
complies with specific agency requirements (such as animal care and use
assurances and human subject assurances).  It is particularly important that
research contracts with private industry be reviewed centrally to ensure that
terms and conditions are consistent with university policies and consistent
from contract to contract because the expectations and assumptions of private
industry and universities are frequently different and agreements are not
always in the univerisity's interest (although faculty members may think so).
In addition it is important to ascertain centrally that that appropriate
administrative offices haveapproved the availability of resources - personnel,
space, equipment.

That's a shortened version - but I hope that the question does not mean that
there is a serious discussion about decentralizing the process at your
institution!

Diane Jacobs
VP for Research and Graduate Studies
University of Central Florida

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Date: 5/22/96 9:13 PM
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X-From:       "Martha M. Taylor" <xxxxxx@MAIL.AUBURN.EDU>
Subject:      proposal review
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Dear Colleagues:

A philosophical question for general discussion:

Why should a central university office review and approve proposals before
they are submitted to external sponsors?

----------------------------------------------------------
Martha M. Taylor,   Director               (334) 844-4438
Contracts and Grants Administration         FAX (334) 844-5953
307 Samford Hall
Auburn University,  AL  36849-5131
xxxxxx@mail.auburn.edu