Manage Award
A Research Advancement (RA) staff member will be assigned to help principal investigators/project directors (PI/PD) manage their awards. Tasks assigned to the Research Advancement team include the following:
- Serving as liaison to ASU's Office of Research and Sponsored Project Administration (ORSPA).
- Facilitating account set up with ORSPA
- Approving account expenditures
- Submitting payroll allocations
- Arranging supply and equipment orders in SunRISE
- Processing grant modifications
- Financial and Effort Reporting
Pre to Post Kick-off Meeting
When the grant account has been officially activated, the Research Advancement team (Pre and Post Award) will schedule a kick-off meeting with the PI/PD and their support staff. The terms outlined in the notice of award (NOA) will be reviewed. Also, plans for hiring project personnel and purchasing supplies & equipment will be discussed as applicable. Upon adjournment of the meeting, PI/PD will be given a Pre-Post Kick-off meeting document which specifies the following has been reviewed:
- Period of Performance
- Deliverables
- Purchasing
- Hiring
- Reporting requirements
- Subcontractors
- Export Controls
- Research Compliance (IRB, IACUC, Biosafety)
- After-The-Fact Reporting requirements
- Close-out procedures
Please review the following sections which include guidance to accomplish various Post-Award tasks.
The CHS Research Advancement team provides support to investigators by helping them to navigate the purchasing process. The following 4- steps was developed for this purpose. Please check out the CHS Purchasing section for additional guidance. In all cases, grant purchases are approved by the research advancement team.
If a situation arises when a staff person trained in Workday is unavailable to assist with a purchase, please use this powerform to send a request to the research advancement team. We can assist with your purchase.
STEP 1 – Determine if the expense is appropriate
It’s important to understand that there are many policies, protocols, and regulations involved with grant funding. The main consideration for all grant purchases is to ensure that expenses adhere to federal regulation by being deemed reasonable, allowable and allocable.
Reasonableness
“A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the goods or services acquired or applied, and the amount involved, reflect the action that a prudent person would have taken under the circumstances prevailing at the time the decision to incur the cost was made.” A good question to ask yourself is would I pay that amount if it were my money?
Allowability
Is the cost in compliance with the terms and conditions of the award, the sponsoring agency policy, Circular A-21, and University policy? You must check with the RA or review the agreement to ensure the expense is not labeled as unallowed.
Commonly unallowable expenses:
- Alcoholic beverages
- Entertainment
- Fines and penalties
- Fundraising/alumni activities
- Internal interest charges
- Subscription
- Advertisement and public relations costs
- Travel tickets in excess of coach
Allocability
1) Is the cost benefiting the sponsored project? The best way to determine if it benefits the project is to read the budget justification. In most cases, the PI will describe in detail the project-related expenses. The PI must also provide a statement of the expense’s benefit to the project as part of the purchasing process. This is typically listed on the purchase requisition form.
Other considerations:
- Purchasing American-made goods- Federal law requires that, to the greatest extent possible, all equipment and products purchased with Federal funds should be American-made. Therefore, PIs with Federally sponsored projects must make a reasonable effort to ensure that whatever they purchase on the project is made in the United States.
- Furthermore, they must adhere to the Fly America Act when making airline reservations.
- Purchasing made during the end of the project will be highly scrutinized. It’s imperative to ensure that purchases are not being made to spend down the unobligated balance.
STEP 2 – Determine the appropriate way to make the purchase - Process
- Sunrise Order – For purchases under $10,000, SunRISE is a web-based application for ordering ASU supplies and equipment. With the new FMS system, end users must access Workday to conduct shopping in SunRise. This can be achieved by logging into the Workday Homepage by following this path: Purchases Worklet, Connect to Supplier Website, Connect...
- Purchase Requisition – This option is for paying single invoices of a supplier (good already received) or for requesting a purchase order for larger volume expenses. A purchase order is required if the expense will be over $10,000. A legacy purchase requisition form should be completed with the PI’s approval unless you are requesting assistance from the Research Advancement Post Award team. In this event, a link to the purchasing powerform will be provided to the purchaser. In all cases, the supplier must be set up in as a vendor in the Workday system for a payment to be initiated.
- Purchasing Card – For purchases under $10,000, a PCard can also be used. The PI must apply for and use a grant PCard for all grant-related purchases. It is not appropriate to use any other type of PCard (Program, Gift) for grant purchases...
STEP 3 – Make the purchase – Work Instructions
PI/PDs and support staff who are fully trained in the use of Workday, will be able to complete tasks and purchases in the system. Work instructions are provided for common tasks and are linked below. Newer support staff may need guidance and support of the Research Administrative team. Regardless of which category you fall in, we are available to help you:
It’s important for you to check if the supplier is set up in the Workday system. They will need to complete a registration process and submit tax-related information.
To check if a supplier has an active account in Workday, enter the name in the supplier name field and click okay. If an account is active for the supplier, it will show up. Otherwise, they will need to register.
Select the appropriate link from the two options:
Domestic: If your tax status is: U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident or Resident for U.S. tax purposes, view instructions here and use this link to register.
International: If you are an international citizen and have not yet passed your residency test for U.S. tax purposes, view instructions here and use this link to register.
The Research Advancement team is here to help so please reach out to us if you run into any issues.
STEP 4 – Reconcile the expense – Final approvals
Once the purchases have been made, there may be a final step before the charge is allowed to hit the grant accounts.
Sunrise Order – The expense will route through Workday and ultimately be approved by a grant manager
Purchase Requisition – For each invoice that is paid, a receipt will need to be entered that the goods or services were received. The purchasing team will typically be the ones to enter the receipt and then send the invoice to Accounts Payable for processing. In order for the invoice to be paid, the PI must sign the invoice that it’s okay to pay or send an email to that effect. The PO number must also be included on the invoice.
Other questions to consider when submitting an invoice for payment:
- Is the invoice for services within the period of performance of the grant?
- Is the cost reasonable, allowable and allocable?
Purchasing Card – A PCard can be requested for a grant by completing the PCard application. Once a PCard has been issued, it may be used ONLY for the specified grant. It's also imperative for the Pcard to be updated if a new account number has been assigned for a subsequent grant year. If it's not updated, new expenditures will continue to hit the old account. This could result in additional effort to transfer the costs onto the correct account. For more information about PCards, please review the following resources.
The CHS Research Advancement Team can also assist to process reimbursements. If a staff person with training in Workday is not available to assist with a reimbursement, please use this Powerform to send a request to the research advancement team.
PI reimbursement from grants
The PI can be reimbursed for expenditure by completing the reimbursement form. The support staff can create an expense report for a worker in Workday and include the reimbursement forms and receipts as a back-up. The PI can also create his or her own expense report by following similar work instructions to create an expense report.
Other personnel reimbursements from grants
Other personnel, including students, can be reimbursed for expenses by creating an expense report in Workday. They must ensure that proper back up (receipts, mileage log) for the expense is included as an attachment. The support staff can also submit reimbursement for project personnel by creating an expense report for a worker.
Human subject’s reimbursements from grants
Participant
Other ASU personnel
Non-ASU person
CHS Reimbursements
The PI
Salary payments from grants
The PI can be paid off a grant by using the grant allocation form and submitting it to the Research Advancement Team. Typically, the admin support staff will not be involved in this process. These matters are usually resolved during the Pre to Post Kick-off meetings when the grant account has been set up. If the PI has questions about the allocation, he should contact the assigned Post Award staff.
Student
Wage payments from grants
The student can be paid on a grant by being hired through the HR hiring process. The PI must ensure adequate grant funding to cover the wages and associated fringe benefits.
Human subject
The CHS Research Advancement Team can also assist to process reimbursements. If a staff person with training in Workday is not available to assist with a reimbursement, please use this Powerform for Confidential Subject pay form to send a request to the Research Advancement team.
According to 45 CFR 46, a human subject is "a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research:
Obtains information or biospecimens through intervention or interaction with the individual, and uses, studies, or analyzes the information or biospecimens; or
Obtains, uses, studies, analyzes, or generates identifiable private information or identifiable biospecimens."
If the PI is using or planning on conducting human subjects research, there may be a need to pay or reimburse them for their participation.
For human subjects, payments may be made in several forms:
- Cash
- Check
- Gift cards – Cash equivalent payments
- Non cash – T-shirts, backpack, Ipads, etc.
The PI/PD and support staff must become familiar with certain stipulations which could have tax implications for the human subjects. Cumulative payments from all research projects of $600 or more to a single individual in a calendar year will result in tax information reporting to the IRS by the Tax Unit of Financial Services via issuance of Form 1099-MISC.
The process for each type of payments follows:
- Cash
- The PI must request a sponsored account cash advance so that cash will be on hand to pay the subjects. This account is called a spend authorization.
- Check
- The PI has two options when selecting to pay by check. A check can be requested through Workday by
- Gift cards – Cash equivalent payments
- Non-cash – T-shirts, backpack, Ipads, etc
The type of position that the PI/PD hopes to fill will be the main consideration when starting the hiring process. The methods of payment, amount of payments, fringe benefits and hiring steps will be determined based on the type of position as well as the grant budget. It’s important for research support staff to be aware of general salary and wage information (minimum and maximum salaries, appointment types, related fringe benefits rates. Please contact the Research Advancement Team so that we can help you navigate the process.
General requirements for hiring:
- Undergraduate Student Workers
Undergraduate students are typically classified as hourly employees. Before starting the hiring process, the hourly rate (ranges found in the recruitment guide), hours per week and number of weeks should be confirmed with the PI. Job levels and codes are used to distinguish the wage rate and level of expertise required for the position. Research Advancement should also confirm that funds are available for the position. The PI can get this information from the assigned research administrator. A recruitment guide, other resources and the 4-part process for hiring a student can be found on the employee intranet site – student hire page. - Graduate Student Workers
Graduate students are typically classified as either a Graduate Service Assistant (GSA), Graduate Research Assistant (RA), Graduate Teaching Assistants (TA). The main difference is that GSA does not get tuition as a part of their package. Before starting the hiring process, the stipend amount (hourly rate X hours per week) should be confirmed with the PI. Research Advancement should also confirm that funds are available for the position. The PI can get this information from the assigned research administrator. A recruitment guide, other resources and the 4-part process for hiring a student can be found on the employee intranet site – grad student hire page. - Post Doc
CHS guidance provides that Post Docs are budgeted and paid on grants at the NIH recommended levels. Post Doc positions are hired as non-faculty administrators. CHS has a specific process that must be followed to fill these positions. The first step is always to confirm that the funding is available to hire the personnel. The PI can confirm this with the assigned research administrator. A recruitment guide and the 3 part process for hiring can be found on the employee intranet site – staff hiring page. - Faculty
Before any salary for ASU faculty (including summer salary) and ASU salaried staff can be paid from a grant, an account allocation form must be completed and submitted to the assigned Research Advancement Team Member. Faculty or salaried staff working on the grant-funded project must indicate the amount (or percentage) of salary to be charged to a grant (consistent with the approved budget) and an estimate of time and effort to be expended on the grant during the upcoming summer or academic year. In most instances, Research Advancement will request confirmation (or corrections) for the estimated time and effort for the previous summer or academic year. - Staff
CHS has a specific process that must be followed to fill positions such as university staff or non-faculty administrators. The first step is always to confirm that the funding is available to hire the personnel. A recruitment guide and the 3 part process for hiring can be found on the employee intranet site – staff hiring page. - Consultant
The grant may provide for hiring a consultant to perform certain duties in relation to your grant. To determine whether or not the individual should be hired as a consultant or independent employee view information on the research admin support site.
If a consultant will be hired, they must be registered to do business with ASU. In preparation for registration, potential vendors should review the documentation that will be required.
Select the appropriate link from the two options:- Domestic: If your tax status is: U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident or Resident for U.S. tax purposes, view instructions here and use this link to register.
- International: If you are an international citizen and have not yet passed your residency test for U.S. tax purposes, view instructions here and use this link to register.
The principal investigator is responsible to complete periodic and final progress reports. Oftentimes, there will be a financial component to the reports. The assigned research advancement administrator should be notified at least 2 weeks in advance so that we can assist you in considering other items in our queue. The following are instructions for some sponsor's reporting mechanisms.
- Department of Education
- National Institute of Health
- National Science Foundation
Federal regulations have placed an added layer of responsibility on the investigators and their respective institutions to ensure that sub-recipients are completing tasks and remaining compliant with laws and applicable regulations. At ASU, a number of best practices and procedures have been put in place to manage sub-recipients.
Invoicing is handled by the Award Management Team of the Office for Research and Sponsored Projects Administration (ORSPA). The frequency, method and content of the invoice is typically specified in the award agreement or established following ASU’s standard practices. If you have questions about the status of an invoice, please contact your research advancement administrator.
Invoicing
How to submit an invoice
Sponsors are expected to pay all of the costs associated with the research that they support. Generally, cost sharing is prohibited. If the sponsor guidelines require cost share or restrict indirect cost recovery, this matter is typically handled at the proposal stage. It’s critical to have cost-sharing issues resolved before the proposal is submitted to the sponsor.
Contact Information
General mailbox: CHSResearch@asu.edu