Award Administration

OSPA is responsible for negotiating and accepting grants, contracts and other awards for sponsored projects funded by federal and state agencies, foundations, business and industry and other public and private sources on behalf of the University of Kentucky Research Foundation in accordance with AR 7:3. The Executive Director of OSPA serves as the authorized official for signature of sponsored project awards. Awards are reviewed by OSPA to ensure compliance with Federal and State laws, sponsor guidelines and university policies.

The sponsored project award document is an official binding agreement that sets forth the rights and obligations of the parties and governs the conduct of the sponsored project.

OSPA is the signatory for all research partnerships and grants through the University of Kentucky Research Foundation. Sample contracts are available on the Templates page. 

Information on E-Verify can be found here.

Information on Industry Sponsored Agreements can be found here.

When the WBS Element (grant account) is established, the following should be coordinated with the department business office:

Guidelines for Investigators and Business Officers on Sponsored Projects

E-Accounts

Grant Lifetime Activities
Activities that occur after acceptance of the award from the funding agency.

Project Changes or Alterations
Changes to the budget, lifetime or structure of the grant.

Project Closeout
Activities allowed and required during the final months and post the closing of a grant.

Faculty Transfers

A Principal Investigator (PI) may transfer into or out of UK either after a proposal has been submitted or after a grant has been funded. The following procedures should be followed for the various situations.

Note that faculty and other investigators who are planning to leave the University should refer to "Memorandum of Understanding Between a Departing Investigator and the University of Kentucky." This is a guide for researchers and a required document.  Investigators should work with their CGO, GPS or GMS as appropriate to complete the form.

• Proposal Transfer
  • In
    • The PI should contact the sponsor Program Officer to discuss the transfer. 
    • The PI's former institution will submit a letter or form to the agency relinquishing the proposal.
    • Any proposal pending at an agency must be resubmitted from UK with a budget, a signed Internal Approval Form, Financial Disclosure Form(s), and any other materials required by the sponsor.
    • If necessary, the OSPA Research Administrator will find out to whom the new proposal materials should be submitted. In addition to the internal UK documents mentioned above, other materials, such as a new cover page, certifications and representations, sponsor budget page may be required.
  • Out
    • The PI and department chair must determine if the proposal should stay at UK or be relinquished. 
    • If the university relinquishes the proposal, a relinquishing letter should be submitted internally to OSPA with signatures from the PI, department Chair, and Dean. Upon receipt of this letter, the RA will prepare a letter withdrawing the proposal, obtain the appropriate signature, and submit it to the sponsor. 
    • If it is decided that the proposal should remain and the PI simply replaced, a letter of explanation with the signatures of the PI, the new PI and OSPA should be submitted to the agency along with the new PI's curriculum vitae. The new PI should submit a Disclosure of Financial Interest form to OSPA if this wasn't done previously. In addition, if the new PI is not in the same department as the previous PI, a revised Internal Approval Form will be necessary. 
• Grant Transfer
  • In
    • The PI should contact the sponsor Program Officer to discuss the transfer.
    • The PI's former institution will submit to the agency a letter or form relinquishing the grant.
    • The grant must then be resubmitted through UK with the materials required by the sponsor, which can include: a brief summary of the progress to date, a description of work yet to be accomplished, and a budget for the amount to be transferred.
    • Internal UK documentation must also be submitted, including an Internal Approval Form, Disclosure of Financial Interest form, and a copy of the proposal if possible. 
  • Out
    • The PI and department chair must determine if the grant should stay at UK or be relinquished.
    • If the grant is to be transferred, the PI will provide the necessary information by completing the "Memorandum of Understanding between a Departing Investigator and the University of Kentucky." See the Equipment Transfer section for more information.
    • OSPA will prepare a letter or form to the sponsor relinquishing the grant. If the letter or form includes an estimate of the remaining balance of funds, this amount must be verified by a department or college businessperson and Sponsored Projects Accounting. (The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health have specific forms for transfers with include an estimate of the remaining balance). 
    • If required by the sponsor, RAs should request an invention statement from the outgoing PI. 
    • OSPA will reduce the budget and change the ending date on the account by preparing a PADR.
    • Departments should prepare revised DOEs for all faculty involved in the project.
    • If UK chooses not to relinquish the grant, but simply replace the PI, a letter of explanation signed by the PI and OSPA will be submitted to the sponsor, along with any materials required by the sponsor (usually the new PI's vitae). The RA and CGO will determine if new internal documentation is needed. 

Important Tips

• Federal contracts and fellowships are rarely transferred
• Training grants are not transferred
• Some sponsors have a minimum amount of time which must be remaining in the grant before it will be transferred
• The amount of remaining funds is also a consideration

Equipment Transfer

A PI transferring to or from UK may wish to transfer equipment. The following procedures should be followed.

• In
  • ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The PI should contact the business officer in the UK department and inform him/her that equipment will be transferred to UK. The business officer will work with Plant Assets to record and tag the items properly.
• Out
  • Faculty and other investigators who are planning to leave the University should refer to "Memorandum of Understanding Between a Departing Investigator and the University of Kentucky." Items 2 and 3 of the MOU refer specifically to equipment. This is a guide for researchers and a required document. Also, see Administrative Regulation 8.1 and note section III.B.6. And refer to Business Procedure E-12-4 "Property Disposition Policy". 

• Cost Sharing/Grant Matching guidelines
• Information on the eIAF, including instructions for completing the eIAF through the MyUK portal are available on the Electronic Resources page. 
• Rebudgeting/E-Accounts:  Request for Action/Revision Form (pdf, 1pg) 
• Information on Pre-Award or E-Accounts
• MOU between a Departing Investigator and the University of Kentucky
  • MOU Appendix A
  • MOU Appendix B
  • MOU Appendix C
  • MOU Appendix D
  • MOU Appendix E
  • MOU Appendix F
  • MOU Appendix G