Resources and Forms

There are many sources for external funds, including federal, state, and local government agencies, and private foundations and corporations. All of these sponsors have various funding priorities and submission requirements, which are spelled out via agency-specific Requests for Proposals, Program Announcements, Grant Application Guidelines, Fellowship Opportunities, and Small Grant Applications, for example. Determining the most appropriate funding source takes careful research and preparation. The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) can assist in researching funding opportunities, communicating with the funding agencies, and with obtaining and interpreting guidelines and applications. 

Before developing a concept, it may be helpful to assess your capability as a potential awardee on a project. Determining you have the necessary resources, skills, and staff to perform the work you would like to propose may alter the concept you develop. Also, you may find it helpful to consult colleagues, review the literature, develop a clear-cut statement of the need for your project, and write a short description of your project to help identify appropriate funding sources. The Grant Writing Laboratory (GWL) can assist with project conceptualization.

After a funding opportunity has been selected, the principal investigator/project director is responsible for preparing the proposal, with assistance available from the GWL and the OSP. The OSP and GWL can provide information on various aspects of proposal preparation (i.e., outlining the proposal format; obtaining current University-wide boilerplate information; proposal editing; identifying sponsor and University requirements; developing the project budget and justification; and completing forms and required assurances). The extent to which these offices can assist is contingent upon the lead time provided by the principal investigator/project director.

Early in the proposal development process, it is critical to discuss your project with your dean or director, as appropriate, to enlist their approval and support for the project. Release time, space, cost sharing, and other center or institutional issues should be clarified early in the proposal development process in order to avoid delays in proposal submission. Informing appropriate parties early in the process allows any institutional issues to be addressed in a timely fashion and successful proposal submission. The Preliminary Grant Development Guide form may be used for this purpose.

Each funding agency has its own set of guidelines for the proposal narrative section. However, there are certain general characteristics that apply to most proposals submitted for external funding:

• State clearly the need for, and the objectives of, the project.
• Match the stated priorities of the funding agency as closely as possible.
• Make clear the ways in which your project is innovative, necessary, timely, and significant.
• Clearly describe your project, including timeliness charts, and graphs as appropriate.
• Collaborate with other individuals, agencies, or organizations whenever possible.
• Carefully follow any instructions from the funding agency, including page limitations, deadlines, and review criteria.
• Include, if requested, a current, clean copy of your curriculum vitae, and biographical sketches of other key personnel.
• Determine if you will need approval for projects involving human subjects, animal subjects, copyrights, etc., in consultation with the OSP, well before the agency deadline.

It is sometimes helpful to have others (a colleague, the GWL, and/or the OSP) review your draft proposal before a final version is prepared. This helps to ensure clarity and completeness.

Budget Template: A tool to assist PI/PD with budget development.
Complete and email to your OSP Grant Officer (salary information is confidential so your Grant Officer will upload to the Admin Only section in Cayuse).

Job Description Guidelines
Use this resource to view position descriptions for to-be-hired positions on your proposed budget.

Grant Toolkit: Summary Chart of Research Job Families:
Use this resource to budget for to-be-hired positions on your proposed budget.

Grant Toolkit: Research Job Descriptions
Use this resource to view position descriptions for to-be-hired positions on your proposed budget.

NSU uses Cayuse, a cloud-based software solution, for proposal routing and approvals.  

Within the Cayuse Proposal Record, certain actions may require the PI to upload internal forms (see table below under “Forms”). Please work with your assigned OSP Grant Officer to determine which forms may need to be completed. Forms may be electronically signed in Adobe, or can be routed in DocuSign, and uploaded to the Cayuse Proposal Record.

Forms (Upload to Cayuse Proposal Record as applicable)	Revision Date	PDF
Principal Investigator (PI)/Project Director (PD) Responsibilities on Sponsored Projects – INFORMATION ONLY Investigators complete certification via Cayuse, form not required.	08/17/2020
Waiver of F&A Costs (Indirect Costs) Complete if the College requests less F&A costs than the sponsor will allow	02/18/2022
F&A Distribution Agreement Complete if F&A recovery will be split between investigators or colleges.	08/09/2022
PI/PD Eligibility Exception Approval Request Complete if proposed PI does not have automatic eligibility to be an NSU PI under OSP Policy 3.1.	07/24/2017
Plan/Procedure for NSF Responsible and Ethical Conduct in Research Requirement Investigators complete certification via Cayuse, form not required (refer to PDF for information on NSF’s RECR requirement).	09/07/2023
Subrecipient vs Contractor Checklist Work with OSP Grant Officer for determining if third parties are subrecipients or contractors (i.e., vendor providing services)	11/20/2024

Websites below provide links to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance and links to federal agency-specific grant policies (not all inclusive).

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant Information -http://www.nfwf.org/whatwedo/grants/recipients/Pages/home.aspx
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants Policy Statement - grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/policy.htm
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Grant Policy -http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/policy.html
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Award & Administration Guide -www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/
• OMB Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (OMB Uniform Guidance) – https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/12/26/2013-30465/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards
• U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Grants and Cooperative Agreement Regulations - www.osec.doc.gov/
• U.S. Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-32/subtitle-A/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-21/subpart-C
•      Office of Naval Research (ONR) - https://www.nre.navy.mil/
•      U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity (USMRAA) -  https://usamraa.health.mil/Pages/Main01.aspx
• U.S. Department of Education Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) - www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.html
• U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) Grants Policy Information - http://www.hhs.gov/grants/grants/policies-regulations/index.html (DHHS Grants Policy Statement is accessible from this site)
• U.S. Department of the Interior Policy and Regulations -www.doi.gov/grants/policies-and-guidance
• Research General Terms and Conditions -www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Policy, Regulations and Guidancewww.epa.gov/ogd/grants/regulations.htm

Listed below are internal forms used for post-award management for awards managed by the OSP. Please work with your assigned OSP Grant Officer to determine when forms need to be completed.

NEW: Digital signature on internal OSP PDF forms is now enabled.  For instructions on how to affix your digital signature using Adobe Acrobat Professional, click here.

Post-Award Forms (As Applicable)	Revision Date	PDF
Request Use of Unobligated Balance on a Fixed Price Contract Form In conjunction with OSP's Policy #47 (Award Closing: Financial Disposition of Residual Funds – Fixed Price Amount Awards), this form is required to transfer funds on a fixed price award, when funds are not required to be returned to the agency, from the restricted account to a unrestricted account.	12/15/2023
Rebudgeting Prior Approval Request Form This form should be completed when you will be making changes from your budget as proposed and/or as set up in the NSU Banner System. Please reference OSP's Policy #25 (Recording of Budgets and Encumbrances).	10/2019
Cost Sharing Approval This form should be completed when cost sharing will be occurring on a sponsored award and when the cost sharing was not already approved via the Proposal Approval Record (PAR).	12/15/2016
PHS Assurance for Progress Reports and Prior Approval Requests This form should be completed prior to submitting a prior approval request or progress report to the PHS (NIH/ARHRQ).	12/16/2020
OSP Authorized Signatory Form In accordance with OSP Policy #24, this form should be completed if the Principal Investigator/Project Director wishes to delegate certain approval authorities for internal award transactions on sponsored projects.  The PI/PD remains accountable for actions where authorities have been delegated.	05/21/23

Project Digest: When a new award is issued, and when changes occur through the project period, the Office of Sponsored Programs issues a Project Digest to the Principal Investigator/Project Director, the Departmental Contact, the CGA Accountant, the Budget Office, and other stakeholders as applicable to communicate relevant information related to the award. The Project Digest packet is a synopsis of the award which includes contact information, the terms and conditions of the award, budget information, and other information necessary for award set-up, management, and compliance.  While the Project Digest includes overview information, the Principal Investigator/Project Director should initially (and periodically thereafter) review all award terms and conditions included with the Project Digest so the project can be managed effectively and in accordance with sponsor regulations. Questions regarding the Project Digest or your award requirements should be referred to your OSP Grant Officer.

Allowable expenses: Allowable expenses on your award can be determined in the agency-specific award terms and conditions, and in OMB Uniform Guidance. Generally speaking, expenses must meet the following criteria to be allowable:

• Allocable: The cost is solely benefiting the sponsored project, or can be apportioned to more than one project based on a reasonable method. 
• Reasonable: The nature and amount of the cost to be incurred is consistent with the action of a 'prudent person' in the same circumstances.
• Consistently treated: This refers to consistent treatment based on application of generally accepted accounting principles.
• Conforming to restrictions of the sponsor or to OMB Uniform Guidance:  Certain items of cost are not permissible by the sponsor.  Consult sponsor-specific terms and conditions, OMB Uniform Guidance, or contact your OSP Grant Officer.

Reviewing my account: It is essential that Principal Investigators/Project Directors are aware of expenditure activity so they can properly plan for and manage their project. All Principal Investigators/Project Directors should have Banner access to their restricted account, and can view grant activity to date in the FRIGITD Screen. The assigned Grant Accountant in the Contract and Grant Accounting Office is also available to provide and help you interpret financial information.

Rebudgeting: When expenses don’t go as expected, it may be necessary to rebudget funds from one line to another. However, it is important to review the terms and conditions of your award so you can determine what, if any, restrictions for re-budgeting are imposed by the sponsor. Prior approval (before an expenditure occurs) may be necessary and can be submitted on your behalf from the OSP Grant Officer.  Whether rebudgeting requires sponsor approval or not, a rebudgeting form should be submitted (under Post-Award Forms).

When would I need to issue a subaward? Generally, if substantive programmatic work is going to be performed by another institution or company, then NSU, through the Office of Sponsored Programs, will need to issue a subaward. The sponsor generally must provide approval for a subaward to be issued. The time to plan for this is at the proposal stage, to ensure subawards are sponsor approved and subaward costs are correctly budgeted.

How is a subaward issued?  The Office of Sponsored Programs will work with the PI/PD to develop a subaward to the collaborating institution or organizations. If there are questions regarding the process, please contact your OSP Grant Officer.

Can a subaward be issued prior to NSU receiving its notice of award? No, the subaward can only be issued after the prime award to NSU has been fully executed/accepted.

If I discover that a subaward is needed that was not in the proposal, what should I do? In most circumstances, you will need to request prior approval from the sponsoring agency through the Office of Sponsored Programs. Please contact your OSP Grant Officer for assistance.

What are the PI/PD responsibilities for monitoring the subaward? During the life of the subaward, the PI/PD is responsible for monitoring the subrecipient.  The OSP will work with you to complete the necessary documentation to develop a subrecipient risk assessment and monitoring plan when the subaward is issued. The following list provides a checklist of some of the activities that the PI/PD, or authorized designee, should be monitoring:

• Reviewing invoices from the sponsor to verify that
  • amounts, dates, and cumulative totals (including subrecipient cost-share, if applicable) are in line with the subcontract approved budget
  • expenses are charged to proper budget categories and totals are correct
  • billing is appropriate to the progress of the project and type of award (i.e., actual expenses if cost reimbursement or fixed amounts if based on deliverables)
  • cumulative amounts do not exceed the maximum subcontract amount
  • any cost-share is reported on the invoice
  • cost categories are approved in the budget and allowable under the terms of the award.
• Asking for additional back-up documentation as deemed necessary to determine appropriateness of expenses, if needed
• Reviewing and monitoring implementation of the subcontractor's scope of work via regular /documented communication to ensure and verify that sufficient progress is being made
• Ensuring technical reports and deliverables are received timely and completed sufficiently per the requirements of the subaward and scope of work
• Notifying OSP if any changes are required to the budget or subaward amount, or if any issues or concerns arise
• Verifying that the subrecipient has met all programmatic expectations of the subaward, that all deliverables and reports have been received in an acceptable format, and that the final invoice is properly completed and in accordance with budgeted amounts, prior to closeout of the subaward.

What if the scope of work needs revision or I need to make changes to the budget? You can amend the subaward by contacting your OSP Grant Officer. Some changes may require sponsor approval, depending on the terms and conditions of your award.

How does a subrecipient/subcontractor get paid?  The subrecipient will need to issue an invoice in accordance with the terms of their Subaward Agreement. The invoice will be charged to the restricted sponsored program account and processed through Ariba as a check request in the Ariba system.  The PI, or authorized designee, should review the invoice for completeness based on the work performed and the requirements of the subaward, before approving the invoice in Ariba.  The PI’s approval in Ariba serves as his or her attestation that the subrecipient is meeting its responsibilities under the subaward, and that each invoice is correct and complete.

The OSP can provide a sample subrecipient invoice template.