Manage Awards FAQs

Common Award Management Questions

Our Unit Directory allows you to search by department to find your contacts at the Office of Contracts and Grants. In the directory you willÌýfind your Proposal Analyst,ÌýGrant Officer, Contract Officer, and SubcontractÌýOfficer.

Incoming Awards and Funds: Incoming funds can be defined as any number of items, including a grant, contract,Ìýor subcontract. Regardless of its definition, these specifically addressÌýwhenÌýa sponsor awards CU Boulder funding to perform a specific project.ÌýAll incoming awards should be routed toÌýocg@colorado.edu and the award will be assigned to a Grant or Contract Officer for review and negotiation.

Outgoing Awards and Funds: CUÌýBoulder generally issues outgoingÌýsubagreements (awarding and funding)Ìýto collaborators outside of CUÌýBoulder in order to further specific research goals.

The Regents of the University of Colorado delegates signature authority to the president of CU Boulder, whoÌýthen grants signature authority to named individuals within the university. CU Boulder's signature authority delegations are designed to protect the university's intellectual property and academic freedoms, including a faculty member’s right to publish.Ìý

The Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) holds the delegation of signature authority for CU Boulder grants and contracts that pertain to sponsored projects. OCG also holds the delegation for unfunded contracts related to sponsored projects, such as Nondisclosure Agreements, Material Transfer Agreements, and Data Transfer and Use Agreements.

OCG is also the authorizedÌýrepresentative for officialÌýsponsored project correspondence over the life of an award. These can include:

  • Requests to the sponsor for No-Cost Extensions
  • Budget deviations
  • Prior approval authorizations
  • Other modifications to the terms of an award

View the Signature Authority Delegations fact sheetÌýfor more information.

Fixed-price contracts are paid in a set dollar amount, regardless of how much is expended. If funds remainÌýafter completion of the project and fulfillment of the deliverable, the remaining funds are administered according to CU BoulderÌýpolicyÌý(the remaining funds become residuals).Ìý

If the budget is exceeded before the project is completed, CU BoulderÌýtakes on the liability of carrying outÌýthe projectÌýuntil the project's conclusion.

In cost-reimbursable contracts, CU Boulder can only be reimbursed for actual expenses incurred during the project. The risk of project completion falls upon the sponsor.

To request a No-Cost Extension, please complete the online No-Cost Extension Form for the appropriate sponsor. You will need the following information to complete the form:

  • Award number
  • Project title
  • Current Period of Performance
  • Requested extension end date
  • Amount of funds expected to be available on the current end date
  • Brief technical or scientific reason for the extension
  • Brief summary of work to be accomplished during the extension period

Please note that some sponsors may require additional information. The request will be submitted in accordance withÌýthe procedures of the sponsoring agency. Some sponsors use online systems for No-Cost Extension requests, such as Research.gov, NSSC, or eRAÌýCommons, while other sponsors require that No-Cost Extension requests beÌýsubmitted via email to the sponsor's authorized official. Deadlines for submitting No-Cost ExtensionÌýrequests vary according to sponsor requirements.

Student projects, such as Senior Design courses, are negotiated and executedÌýby Contract Officers at the Office of Contracts and Grants.

Contract Officers use a standard template contract for sponsors funding student projects. A Statement of Work, project title, and sponsor contact are needed for Contract Officers to initiate contract negotiations with sponsors. Contract Officers negotiate and follow up with sponsors in order for theÌýagreements to be finalized.

Data Transfer and Use Agreements (DTUA/DUAs), Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs), andÌýMaterial Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are negotiated and executed by Contract Officers in the Office of Contracts and Grants.

Contract Officers assist in the sharing and receipt of intellectual property through these unfunded contracts.ÌýTo initiate a new contract, please submit your request via the NDA, MTA, and DTUA/DUA Online Request Form.

SpeedType Questions

Each sponsored project award will be assigned a SpeedType and project number.Ìý

The SpeedType is a number assigned by the finance system and is the number to which charges on sponsored projects will be posted.

The assignment of SpeedTypes is initiated by the Campus Controller's Office (CCO). After the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) has completed the review and processing of an incoming award, the file is routed electronically to CCO to be put into their financial system. CCO's financial system then generates a SpeedType.

If CCO has no questions or issues with the award processing or documentation,Ìýthe SpeedType is usually assigned within two days after being received by CCO. If there are issues, the file will be routed back to OCG to resolve, which may delay the SpeedType generation.Ìý

Principal Investigators can help facilitate quick assignment of SpeedTypes by ensuring:

  • DEPAs are current
  • Institutional Review Board (IRB) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approvals are current and have been obtained

The Office of Contracts and Grants must have a proposal on file for all incoming awards before the awards can be processed.ÌýWorkÌýwith your Proposal Analyst to create a proposal prior to receiving an award.

Funds must post by the end date of the project to be considered allowable expenses. If an expense is pending or encumbered, it must clear by the project end date to be an allowable expense.

Federal sponsors typically give 90 days to invoice for our final payment.

Industry sponsors and other contract terms do not usuallyÌýallow this extra invoicing time.ÌýIndustry sponsors have hard stop dates for projects. No-Cost Extensions with industry sponsors are not guaranteed.ÌýWhen working with industry sponsors, as much of the funds as possible should be spent before the end date.

When awards are received that have more than one year of funding, and the funding agency requires prior approval to carry forward funds from one year to the next,Ìýa new SpeedType for each year'sÌýfunding must be requested.ÌýNew SpeedTypes for each yearÌýhelps to create a cut off for the prior budget period so that the department and/or Principal Investigator cannot post to the previous SpeedType.

Funds cannot be commingled without sponsor approval.

There are a variety of reasons why separate SpeedTypes might be needed for one award.

If an award has an outgoing subagreement included in the budget, the subagreement account must be split out into a separate project number and SpeedType.

If an award includes Participant Support costs, a separate project number and SpeedType must be set up because Participant Support costs usually do not have Indirect Costs (IDC/F&A) associated with them.ÌýIn some cases, the award terms require that the Participant Support costs be tracked separately from the main project.

Supplements that are awarded with a different IDC rate than that of the original award need to have a new project number and SpeedType. If the supplement is received with the same IDC rate, it may be able to remain in the main project number and SpeedType.

Anytime there are multiple IDC rates associated with an award, each different IDC rate would need to have a separate project number and SpeedType.

Separate SpeedTypes may be requested by a department for a variety of reasons, such as when there areÌýmultiple departments, programs, and/or Principal Investigators associated with the award and each department would like to account for their portion separately.

A fully executed award contract is neededÌýin order to set up a SpeedType. If a Principal Investigator (PI)Ìýwould like a SpeedType prior to the award being fully executed, the PI has the option of making an At-Risk Project request. After completing the At-Risk Project Request Form, send it to your Grant or Contract Officer forÌýreview.

The at-risk awardÌýprocess will vary somewhat depending upon whether theÌýaward is issued as a federal grant or under another funding mechanism. Some examples include:

  • Federal grant: Under 2 CFR 200 Part 458 (Uniform Guidance), the recipient is allowed 90 day pre-award spending unless disallowed or restricted by the funding agency. An At-Risk Project Request Form will be required for pre-award spending.
  • Contracts, federal grant flow-down, or non-federal grants: Approval from the funding institution is needed to ensure costs prior to the performance start date will be allowed. Complete an At-Risk Project Request FormÌýand contact your Grant or Contract Officer to request approval.

A non-Fund 30 Department SpeedType is required to determine which charges can be transferred in the event that the award is not issued.

Without an at-risk award account, the PI will have to wait for the contract to be reviewed, accepted, signed and sent through the system between the Office of Contracts and Grants and the Campus Controller's Office to have a SpeedType set up.

The other option is to communicate this with your Contract Officer, who will request pre-award authorization. The sponsor may or may not approve the request, but if approved, it will be noted in the contract.

Budget Questions

Review your award document to see if there are restrictions regarding budget revisions.Ìý

If there are restrictions, ask your Grant or Contract Officer to work with the sponsor to request a revised budget.Ìý

Please see CU Boulder's Procedural Statement for additional information.

As a general policy, NSF limits the salary compensation requested in the proposal budget for senior personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year. CUÌýBoulder considers our fiscal year as the one year period. This limit includes salary compensation received from all NSF-funded grants.ÌýIf anticipated, any compensation in excess of the two months can be requested from NSF in the proposal with the required documentation and justification.ÌýNSF also provides CUÌýBoulder rebudgeting authority to internally approve changes to personnel salary support, even if that results in support that exceeds two months.

If you want to propose and/or expense more than twoÌýmonths direct NSF salary support in any 12 month period, you should include the following applicable criteria to assist you in developing your justification, either at proposal or for a budget deviation after the award has been funded:

  • The additional salary support is necessary to fulfill the research objective of the project
  • The project will be negatively impacted by not supporting additional Principal InvestigatorÌýpaid effort
  • How the costs are reasonable, directly benefit the project, and represent prudent use of the sponsor’s funds
  • An explanation for other budgeted costs that will be reduced in order to compensate for the additional unbudgeted salary support

Effective 02/12/2024, all Carryforward restricted projects must fill out the Carryforward Restricted Project Allocation Form. It must be signed by the Principal Investigator and Fiscal Manager, and provided to the unit’s Grant or Contract Officer.

The Grant or Contract Officer will work with the unit if any additional information is required before submitting the request to the sponsor.

Award Status & Change Questions

Changing the Principal Investigator (PI) on an award will require sponsor approval. Send a request to your Grant or Contract Officer with the following information:

  • Names of both the current PI and the new PI (NSF ID numbers if an NSF award)
  • Project number(s) affected
  • Why the current PI is leaving the award
  • Why the new PI was chosen
  • Current CV and Current and Pending SupportÌýfor the new PI
  • Impact of this change on the project

Your Grant or Contract Officer will submit theÌýrequest to the sponsor for approval.

You must complete the Project Manager Change Form found on theÌýCampus Controller's Office (CCO) website.Ìý

Follow the instructions on the form for returning the form to CCO. CCO will validate the new personnel and update PeopleSoft. Once PeopleSoft is updated, the change is forwarded to ocg@colorado.edu to be updated in infoEd.

You must complete theÌýReorgÌýRequest Form found on the Campus Controller's Office (CCO) website.Ìý

Follow the instructions on the form for returning the form to CCO. CCO will update PeopleSoft. Once PeopleSoft is updated, the change is forwarded to ocg@colorado.eduÌýto be updated in infoEd.

Email your in the Campus Controller's Office.Ìý

The answer depends upon the following:

  • The award sponsor and their terms and conditions. The terms and conditions may restrict re-budgeting without prior approval, and/orÌýmay impose a dollar amount limitation on reallocations.
  • The categories of expenses that you are trying to move to/from;Ìýfor example, funding cannot be moved from participant support to another category without prior approval from the sponsor.

It is best to check with your Grant or Contract Officer, so they can advise you on how to proceed in your individual situation.Ìý

The Principal Investigator (PI) and the departmentÌýmonitor all spending. Once the threshold has been reached, it is the PI's responsibility to notify the sponsor. Contact your Grant orÌýContract Officer for assistance or questions related to these notifications.

There are multiple steps and approvals required in order to transfer an existing award to another institution when a Principal Investigator (PI) is leaving CU Boulder and wishes to transfer active awards.

How the transfer request is initiated with the sponsor depends on the sponsor. Some agencies, such as NSF and NIH, have an online process. In other cases, the transferÌýmay be handled through email correspondence with the sponsor.

Typically, a transfer will involve relinquishing the unexpended balance on an award back to the sponsor, who will then reissue it to the new institution.

Required supporting documentation typically includes a budget, budget justification, and statement of work. There may be additional requirements depending on the sponsor. The PI and/or Department Administrator will need to work with the Grant Accountant to ensure there are no outstanding encumbrances and to determine the final transfer amount.

Your Grant or Contract Officer will submit the transfer request. Prior to doing so, the Office of Contracts and Grants will need an Award Relinquishment Letter stating that the Department does not wish to nominate a substitute PI for the award, the effective date of the transfer, the transfer amount, whether there is equipment on the award, and that the Department agrees to be responsible for any overexpenditures. The letter must be signed by the Department Chair or Director and the PI.

Departing Researcher ResourcesÌýÌý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý Ìý

When something is being deobligated, it means that the sponsor is removing funds from the project. This sometimes means that they are reducing the overall anticipated budget.ÌýOther times, it means that they are reducing the dollar amount on the project, and we have to send back funds that we may already have received. Work with your Grant or Contract Officer to determine the deobligation action and next steps.

Send a request to your Grant or Contract Officer with the following information:

  • Name(s) of new co-PI (and NSF ID number if an NSF award)
  • Explanation detailing why the change is necessary and why the new co-PI is qualified
  • New co-PI's biosketch/CV and Current and Pending Support Document
  • Effective date of the change

Sabbatical or extended leave may impact federal or federal flow-down sponsored projects that are still in progress when leave begins.

Recipients are required to notify the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG):

  • If there will be a reduction in personnel effort by the approved project director or Principal Investigator (PI) on an award. Prior approval must be requested in advance for those budget deviations when there is disengagement from the project for more than three months or a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project.
  • If a PI is going on sabbatical to work on a federally sponsored project.

Contact your Grant or Contract Officer in OCG for assistance with submitting these requests to the sponsor.

If aÌýsubrecipientÌýwas not identified as part of the proposal documentation, the sponsor usually requires prior approval to add them to the sponsored project. Work directly with your Grant or Contract Officer to get sponsor prior approval for the subrecipient request.

Your Grant or Contract officer will need the following documentation to submit to the sponsor:Ìý

  • Description of work to be performed by the subrecipient for the prime award
  • Ìý
  • Budget reflecting reallocation of funds for the subrecipientÌý
  • Subrecipient budget and budget justification
  • Justification for subrecipient

Once approved by the sponsor, your Subcontracts Officer will need:

Budget Note: CU Boulder will charge IDC on the first $25,000 of the subagreementÌýaccording to our negotiated rate agreement. The existing budget will have to be revised to cover these costs.

NSF Salary Limit Questions

Yes. The NSF policy is a general rule, meaning that exceptions can and will be made where the needs of the project warrant. You should request a salary amount from the project that is commensurate with the effort required to complete the research being proposed. If you ask for more than two months’ salary on a single proposal or if you are receiving more than two months’ salary across all of your funded proposals, you will need to provide additional justification for the amount(s) received.

Not necessarily.

  • If the change in effort does not entail a change to the overall scope or objectives of the project, prior NSF approval is not required. Notify your Grant Officer so the change and your documentation can be retained in the Office of Contracts and Grants' records;Ìýalso alert your Proposal Analyst during your next NSF proposal submission to adjust your current and pending support information.
  • However, if the change in your effort does represent a change to the project’s overall scope or objectives, then work with your Grant Officer to notify NSF and get approval to make the change. Moreover, work with your Proposal Analyst during your next NSF proposal submission to adjust your records.

Yes. NSF changed its policy in 2009. The policy now applies to any NSF salary support taken in summer and during the academic year during a CU fiscal year.

No, the two-month rule only applies to NSF-funded salary that is paid to senior personnel.

Yes, this policy is specific to the National Science Foundation, although some NSF programs have different limits, as do other funding agencies. Always be sure to check the guidelines for the specific competition you are applying to (or from which you have received funding), to ensure that you are following the correct policies.

NSF permitted exceptions to this limitation since the ruling became effective in 2009.Ìý However, it is only since 12/26/2014 that allowable exceptions were incorporated into the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).Ìý Therefore, only senior personnel salary earned on awards receiving new funding after 12/26/2014 is governed by CU Boulder’s procedural statement, NSF Two-Month Salary Rule for Project Senior Personnel.

Situational Questions

If your project has salary posted to it, a sponsor will not usually give additional funding for increases in salary, fringe, or facilities and administration costs after an award is made. It is up to the Department to adjust the percentage of salary distribution based on the approved budget.

There are m-Fin reports that will show you the actual fringe rate of each employee (m-Fin Compensation Summary) and will often get you as close to exact as possible for charging salaries over the course of the year without creating an overage. Doing this can prevent Payroll Expense Transfers (PETs) in the future.

MonthlyÌýor quarterly monitoring is suggested by departmental staff of Fund 30 SpeedTypes for this reason. An adjustment might be required on each of your fund 30 SpeedTypes in July to account for faculty and staff salary increases. PETs also create questions from sponsorsÌýand the potential for unallowable expensesÌýlater in the project period.

With a period of performance that only extends a year, you should not be expensing or obligating funds beyond year two, even if we are paying for year twoÌýactivities in year one. The reason for this is that there is no guarantee that the sponsor will awardÌýmore funds than are currently awarded and obligated in year one.

You will need twoÌýseparate actions.ÌýThe first action will be for the actual subcontracted dollars, which will be worked through with your Subcontract Officer.ÌýAÌýsecond action will be with the procurement department, which will issueÌýa Purchase Order for the piece of equipment. If you need assistance during this process, please work with your Grant or Contact Officer.Ìý

The strength of the U.S. dollar (USD) may ebb and flow through the period of performance on a contract. For example, an award amount valued today at 200,000 Euros (EUR) may be worth 400,000 USD if the exchange rate is 2 USD to 1 EUR; however,Ìýin three years, the exchange rate could change to 1 USD to 1 EUR. Essentially, that would mean receiving 200,000 USD to perform the same anticipated work. While an exaggerated example, the decrease in dollars received is a source of great fiscal risk for CU Boulder. BelowÌýare a few ways we can mitigate the risk:

  • The bestÌýway to minimize the risk is to negotiate a fixed-price contract in dollars. Why? We receive a set amount of U.S. dollars no matter the actual cost to us, whether more or less than anticipated, and regardless of the fluctuationÌýin the exchange rate. Of course, CU Boulder bears the risk of inflation in the U.S., but the foreign sponsor is legally bound to pay the bargained-for amount no matter how weak or strong its currency becomes as compared to USD. Therefore, if in the above example, the exchange rate becomes 2 EUR to 1 USDÌýfor a 400,000 USD award, the foreign sponsor will bear the risk of paying twice as many EURÌýas originally anticipated.
  • Negotiating a fixed-price contract in USDÌýcould be an unrealistic goal for most foreign sponsors. If that is the case, negotiating a fixed-price contract in the foreign currency and requesting a lump sum payment upon execution is another viable option. Why? CU BoulderÌýmust onlyÌýdeal with the uncertainty of the currency conversion once, not each time an invoice (as in the case of a cost-reimbursable contract) is submitted. The department can then plan accordingly and adjust the budget as necessary based on any shortfalls or excess.

If obtaining a lump sum upon execution of a fixed-price contract in foreign currency is not possible, anotherÌýoption would be to obtainÌýlump sums on an annual basis. Again, by minimizing the number of exchange conversions throughout the period of performance, CU BoulderÌýcan mitigate the deficits created by unknowingly overspending and then invoicing, only to find that the number of dollars received is less than anticipated.