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Roles and Responsibilities for Sponsored Award Life Cycle

Virginia Tech’s Office of Sponsored Programs strives to ensure individuals within the management and oversight of sponsored awards are knowledgeable of their roles and responsibilities throughout the life cycle of an award.

Given the variety of support structures throughout the university, the information on this page differentiates responsibilities for four primary stakeholder groups: principal investigators, department personnel, Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), and the Office of Research and Innovation. The following information clarifies when specific parties are responsible for tasks or processes, so it is important to note the subgroups that fall under the primary categories.

Principal Investigators includes co-principal investigators.

Department Personnel includes department administration, business managers, fiscal staff, grants coordinators, and others directly responsible for the management and oversight of sponsored awards.

Office of Sponsored Programs includes leadership and specialists in the four OSP units: pre-award, contracts and agreements, post-award, and financial compliance and integrity.

Office of Research and Innovation includes personnel who provide oversight, services, and support to the research community at Virginia Tech.

Select each stakeholder group to view specific roles and responsibilities.

Pre-Award/Proposal

Proposal Preparation
  • Identify and disseminate sponsor solicitation.
  • Review sponsor solicitation.
  • Apply for approval for limited submission.
  • Prepare and submit letter of intent to sponsor.
  • Prepare proposal cover page.
  • Prepare table of contents (if applicable).
  • Prepare references cited.
  • Prepare project summary/abstract.
  • Prepare project description/research narrative.
  • Prepare/collect biosketches.
  • Prepare internal project budget(s).
  • Prepare budget justification(s).
  • Gather and document cost share as required by the sponsor.
  • Fill in sponsor required budget forms.
  • Review/accept project budgets for compliance with proposal guidelines and budget before routing for internal approvals in Summit.
  • Prepare/collect current and pending support.
  • Prepare post-doc mentoring plan.
  • Prepare data management plan.
  • Prepare facilities/equipment and other resources.
  • Complete other sponsor-required forms.
  • Collect other supplementary documents including letters of support.
  • Complete and upload documents to sponsor system.
  • Review final proposal for adherence to sponsor and institutional guidelines.
Proposal Preparation - Subawards
  • Prepare/collect required subrecipient documentation: subrecipient form, statement of work, budget and justification, indirect cost agreement, and letter of intent to collaborate.
  • Approve subaward statement of work and budget for inclusion in proposal.
  • Prepare/collect subrecipient facilities/equipment, resources, and letters of support.
  • Enter subaward proposal into sponsor-required formats.
Proposal Preparation - Summit
  • Determine lead department for proposal preparation.
  • Identify lead department code for proposal.
  • Determine F&A distribution by project (subfunds/Form C).
  • Accept budget in Summit.
  • Complete compliance questions in Summit.
  • Complete cost share documentation in Summit.
  • Route proposal for approval in Summit.
  • Verify that all information in Summit is accurate.
Submission by Lead Principal Investigator in collaboration with Research Development
  • Attend and actively participate in conceptual proposal development and follow-up meetings.
After Submission
  • Complete Just-in-Time requests in sponsor systems.                   
  • Check with sponsor on status of proposal.
  • Update budget/sponsor forms at the request of sponsor. 

Contracts and Agreements

  • Approve unique terms and conditions related to performance.                
  • Respond to principal investigator verification email.
  • Review proposal documentation and award documentation.        
  • Confirm/update the budget, if necessary, prior to award.

Post-Award and Financial Compliance

Grant/Contract Management
  • Provide overall project and financial oversight.
  • Post cost-share expenditures not in Banner to cost share funds.               
  • Approve subaward invoices; confirm technical work is completed by subaward. 
  • Initiate Closeout.
  • Confirm final charges have posted in Banner, upload copy of final technical report in Award Management System.
  • Complete and submit technical reports in a timely manner (interim and final).
  • Initiate request for budget revision.
  • Initiate request for no-cost extension.
  • Upload reports in sponsors’ systems.
  • Process no-cost extensions in accordance with university and sponsor guidelines (in sponsors’ online systems when required).
Effort Reporting
  • Release the effort reports to the departments.
  • Consistently work with the departments to ensure that the effort reports are pre-reviewed and certified accurately and in a timely manner.
  • Conduct a review of effort reports for associates who reported 100% of their effort to sponsored funds to determine that they did not teach or submit proposals.
Cost Transfers
  • Review the labor redistributions and approve or return them.
  • Review operational expenses (non-labor) journal entries over $2,000. Approve or return them.
  • Review the journal entries within 90 days from the original posting date report received from the Controller's office for accuracy and timeliness after they are posted.
Cost Account Standard Transactions
  • Review the cost account standard transactions and confirm accuracy of these transactions.
Expenditures
  • Monitor expenditures to ensure allowability, allocability, and reasonableness.
    • Expenditures charged after grant end date.
    • Expenditures charged within the last 90 days of grant end date.
    • Specific expenditures review.
  • Monitor grant’s burn rate to ensure the expenses incurred correlate with the grant’s period of performance.
  • Review grants where expenses are not charged 60 days after issuance of the Project Authorization Notice.
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) salary cap/cost-sharing review.
    • Conduct a review of salary costs charged to DHHS-funded projects for each personnel whose salary is above the Executive Level II salary cap.
    • Ensure that their effort is charged to the grant fund at the capped rate.
    • Ensure that the allocable portion of their salary above the capped rate is being cost-shared.
  • Conduct a review of the National Science Foundation (NSF) reports submitted by principal investigators to NSF to ensure accuracy of associates charged to the grants.
  • NSF two months’ salary review: Conduct a review Senior personnel for NSF grants to ensure that no more than two months of their salary is charged to all NSF grants.
  • Project Closeouts
    • Ensure final invoices and final financial report submitted to sponsor timely and accurately.
    • Ensure grants are terminated in a timely manner per sponsor requirements.
Audits and Internal Controls
  • Respond to the audit requirements.
  • Complete risk assessments and questionnaires.
  • Provide requested documentation.
  • Document the Management Action Plans if Virginia Tech has any findings and recommendations.
Miscellaneous
  • Meet all compliance requirements in the division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance, such as Responsible Conduct of Research training requirements.

Pre-Award/Proposal

Proposal Preparation
  • Review sponsor solicitation.
  • Provide guidance and interpretation of federal regulations, agency specific requirements, and university policies and procedures.
  • Prepare proposal cover letter (if applicable).
  • Prepare proposal cover page.
  • Prepare table of contents (if applicable).
  • Prepare/collect biosketches.
  • Prepare internal project budget(s).
  • Prepare budget justification(s).
  • Gather and document cost share as required by the sponsor.        
  • Fill in sponsor required budget forms.
  • Review/accept project budgets for compliance with proposal guidelines and budget before routing for internal approvals in Summit.
  • Prepare/collect current and pending support.
  • Complete other sponsor-required forms.
  • Collect other supplementary documents including letters of support.      
  • Complete and upload documents to sponsor system.       
  • Review final proposal for adherence to sponsor and institutional guidelines.       
  • Submit the proposal.
Proposal Preparation--Subawards
  • Prepare/collect required subrecipient documentation: subrecipient form, statement of work, budget and justification, indirect cost agreement, and letter of intent to collaborate.
  • Approve subaward statement of work and budget for inclusion in proposal.
  • Prepare/collect subrecipient facilities/equipment, resources, and letters of support.
  • Enter subaward proposal into sponsor-required formats.
Proposal Preparation--Summit
  • Determine facilities and administrative distribution by project (subfunds/Form C).
  • Accept budget in Summit.
  • Complete compliance questions in Summit.
  • Complete cost share documentation in Summit.
  • Route proposal for approval in Summit.
Submission by Lead Principal Investigator in collaboration with Research Development
  • Attend and actively participate in conceptual proposal development and follow-up meetings.
After Submission
  • Complete Just-in-Time requests in sponsor systems.       
  • Submit Just-in-Time requests in sponsor systems.
  • Check with sponsor on status of proposal.
  • Update budget/sponsor forms at the request of sponsor.

Contracts and Agreements

  • Approve unique terms and conditions related to performance.                
  • Respond to principal investigator verification email.
  • Review proposal documentation and award documentation.        
  • Confirm/update the budget, if necessary, prior to award.

Post-Award and Financial Compliance

Grant/Contract Management
  • Provide overall project and financial oversight.
  • Post cost share expenditures not in Banner to cost share funds.   
  • Confirm final charges have posted in Banner
  • Upload copy of final technical report in Award Management System.
  • Prepare cost transfers, journal voucher or labor redistributions, in accordance with university and federal policy and procedures.
Effort Reporting
  • Release the effort reports to the departments.
  • Consistently work with the departments to ensure that the effort reports are pre-reviewed and certified accurately and in a timely manner.
  • Conduct a review of effort reports for associates who reported 100% of their effort to sponsored funds to determine that they did not teach or submit proposals.
Cost Transfers
  • Review the labor redistributions and approve or return them.
  • Review operational expenses (non-labor) journal entries over $2,000. Approve or return them.
  • Review the journal entries within 90 days from the original posting date report received from the Controller's office for accuracy and timeliness after they are posted.
Cost Account Standard Transactions
  • Review the cost account standard transactions and confirm accuracy of these transactions.
Expenditures
  • Monitor expenditures to ensure allowability, allocability, and reasonableness.
    • Expenditures charged after grant end date.
    • Expenditures charged within the last 90 days of grant end date.
    • Specific expenditures review.
  • Monitor grant’s burn rate to ensure the expenses incurred correlate with the grant’s period of performance.
  • Review grants where expenses are not charged 60 days after issuance of the Project Authorization Notice.
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) salary cap/cost-sharing review.
    • Conduct a review of salary costs charged to DHHS-funded projects for each personnel whose salary is above the Executive Level II salary cap.
    • Ensure that their effort is charged to the grant fund at the capped rate.
    • Ensure that the allocable portion of their salary above the capped rate is being cost-shared.
  • Conduct a review of the National Science Foundation (NSF) reports submitted by principal investigators to NSF to ensure accuracy of associates charged to the grants.
  • National Science Foundation two months’ salary review: Conduct a review of senior personnel for NSF grants to ensure that no more than two months of their salary is charged to all NSF grants.
  • Project Closeouts
    • Ensure final invoices and final financial report submitted to sponsor accurately and in a timely manner.
    • Ensure grants are terminated in a timely manner per sponsor requirements.
Audits and Internal Controls
  • Respond to the audit requirements.
  • Complete risk assessments and questionnaires.
  • Provide requested documentation.
  • Document the Management Action Plans if Virginia Tech has any findings and recommendations.
Miscellaneous
  • Assist the division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance with Responsible Conduct of Research training requirements for researchers.

Pre-Award/Proposal

Proposal Preparation
  • Review sponsor solicitation.
  • Provide guidance and interpretation of federal regulations, agency specific requirements, and university policies and procedures.
  • Prepare proposal cover letter (if applicable).
  • Prepare internal project budget(s).
  • Review/accept project budgets for compliance with proposal guidelines and budget before routing for internal approvals in Summit.
  • Complete subrecipient data sheet.
  • Complete representations and certifications and financial information forms.
  • Review final proposal for adherence to sponsor and institutional guidelines.
  • Submit the proposal.
Proposal Preparation--Subawards
  • Confirm subrecipient’s forms are complete and correct.
Proposal Preparation--Summit
  • Accept budget in Summit.
  • Finalize proposal in Summit after submission.
After Submission
  • Submit Just-in-Time requests in sponsor systems.
  • Update budget/sponsor forms at the request of sponsor.

Contracts and Agreements

  • Review and execute all awards, agreements, and initiated subawards.
  • Review the agreement and work with the faculty and sponsor to negotiate appropriate terms and conditions that meet sponsor, state, and university policies and procedures.
  • Create and assign tasks needed to be carried out to successfully process and negotiate the award.
  • Establish award funds in accordance with award documentation.
  • Accept awards on behalf of the university, including modifications to existing awards.
  • Analyze upcoming and new federal contracting regulations.
  • Initiate an agreement request in Summit Agreements and send principal investigator verification email.
  • Review proposal documentation and award documentation.
  • Confirm/update the budget, if necessary, prior to award.
  • Prepare and distribute the notice of award to the principal investigator and the research administrator.
  • Establish speed-type and chart-field setup for projects.
  • Modify budget in PAN system.
  • Review Summit entries that the contracts team makes for accuracy.
  • Add billing and reporting information, Controller’s office codes to Summit Agreements for award setup in banner.
  • Manually enter award information into Banner or validate award information entered by automated software.

Post-Award

Grant/Contract Management
  • Provide overall project and financial oversight.
  • Manage substantive modifications and re-budgeting.       
  • Prepare and submit non-technical deliverables (does not include closeout reporting) as required (in sponsor's online system when required).     
  • Review cost share expenditures for compliance; reports cost share to sponsor.
  • Process subaward invoices and modifications.
  • Update the Award Management System with notes and documents; complete necessary tasks.
  • Review, complete, and submit closeout checklist in a timely manner.
  • Close and inactivate awards/projects in the university financial system.
  • Proof indirect costs.
  • Assist principal investigator with request for budget revision, including preparation of budget document and any of the documents required by sponsor.
  • Process no-cost extensions in accordance with university and sponsor guidelines (in sponsor's online systems when required).
  • Prepare and submit closeout paperwork as required by sponsor includes patent and property reporting.
  • Prepare and complete principal investigator transfer, award transfer, relinquishment requests.
  • Prepare and complete carry-over requests.
Financial Management
  • Review the PAN notice received.
    • For new awards establish award-pending events.
    • For existing awards revise the end date for awards that are extended in Banner.
  • Confirm that the billing and reporting terms for new grants are accurate. For special billing terms, make notes in Award Management System billing section and bill the sponsor per the requirements.
  • Prepare and submit invoices (Banner reports, supporting documents if required) for all sponsored research awards.     
  • Prepare and submit required interim and final financial reports and contractor release reports (patent and equipment inventory reports – grant management team’s responsibility).
  • Follow up with sponsor on past due invoices as needed.
  • Work with the cash management team on accounts receivable (GBAG) report for past due invoices.
Cash Management
  • Receive and post payments.
  • Process letter of credit drawdowns.
  • Comply with foundation funds guidelines.
  • Manage, cradle to grave, all unrestricted various and foundation funds.
  • Initiate requisitions for subaward agreements after receipt of award.
  • Approve/forward interdepartmental service requests (ISR) requisitions in Hokie Mart.
  • Manage sponsor cash flow issues and write-off/collections activity.
  • Manage the accounts receivable (GBAG) report. Prepare, distribute, ensure comments/action items are up to date and present to the credit committee at the monthly meetings.
  • Manage, retrieve, and store records.

Financial Compliance and Integrity

Effort Reporting
  • Review effort reports prior to releasing them to the departments to ensure accuracy of the effort reports generated.
  • Release the effort reports to the departments.
  • Consistently work with the departments to ensure that the effort reports are pre-reviewed and certified accurately and in a timely manner.
  • Conduct a review of effort reports for associates who reported 100% of their effort to sponsored funds to determine that they did not teach or submit proposals.
Cost Transfers
  • Generate labor redistribution reports daily.
  • Review the labor redistributions and approve or return them.
  • Review operational expenses (non-labor) journal entries over $2,000. Approve or return them.
  • Review the journal entries within 90 days from the original posting date report received from the Controller's office for accuracy and timeliness after they are posted.
Cost Account Standard Transactions
  • Review the cost account standard transactions and confirm accuracy of these transactions.
Subrecipients' Audit Reports
  • Obtain and review annual audit reports from active subrecipients.
  • If there are audit findings related to sponsored research, coordinate with contracts and agreements team on action to be taken to manage the risks.
  • Provide Virginia Tech’s audit reports/responses/certifications requested by our prime sponsors or pass-through-entity sponsors when Virginia Tech is the subrecipient.
Expenditures
  • Monitor expenditures to ensure allowability, allocability, and reasonableness.
    • Expenditures charged after grant end date.
    • Expenditures charged within the last 90 days of grant end date.
    • Specific expenditures review.
  • Monitor grant’s burn rate to ensure the expenses incurred correlate with the grant’s period of performance.
  • Review grants where expenses are not charged 60 days after issuance of the Project Authorization Notice.
  • Conduct cost share review to ensure that committed cost sharing is met and adequately supported.
  • Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) salary cap/cost-sharing review.
    • Conduct a review of salary costs charged to DHHS-funded projects for each personnel whose salary is above the Executive Level II salary cap.
    • Ensure that their effort is charged to the grant fund at the capped rate.
    • Ensure that the allocable portion of their salary above the capped rate is being cost-shared.
  • Conduct a review of the National Science Foundation (NSF) reports submitted by principal investigators to NSF to ensure accuracy of associates charged to the grants.
  • National Science Foundation two months’ salary review: Conduct a review of senior personnel for NSF grants to ensure that no more than two months of their salary is charged to all NSF grants.
  • Project Closeouts
    • Ensure final invoices and final financial report submitted to sponsor accurately and in a timely manner.
    • Ensure grants are terminated in a timely manner per sponsor requirements.
Audits and Internal Controls
  • Main contact for sponsored research audits – internal and external.
  • Respond to the audit requirements.
  • Complete risk assessments and questionnaires.
  • Provide requested documentation.
  • Document the Management Action Plans if Virginia Tech has any findings and recommendations.
Miscellaneous
  • Assist the division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance with Responsible Conduct of Research training requirements of researchers.
  • Keep abreast of emerging financial compliance issues in sponsored research.
  • Review and revise sponsored research related to policies and procedures.
  • Liaison with Internal Audit.
    • Meet with the director of internal audit to discuss the annual audit plan related to sponsored research.
    • Discuss issued faced by Internal Audit/OSP.
    • Provide guidance to the internal auditors as required.
  • Provide training and guidance to university faculty and staff on proper financial management of their sponsored funding and on questions related to allowability and allocability of costs, in accordance with applicable regulations, policies, and procedures.

Pre-Award Proposal

Proposal Preparation
  • Notify limited submission approval.
Submission by Lead Principal Investigator in collaboration with Research Development
  • Identify and disseminate large funding opportunities aligned with strategic initiatives.
  • Identify limited submission solicitations, disseminate opportunities, and manage the selection process.
  • Provide guidance and unobtrusive project management supervision.
  • Attend and actively participate in conceptual proposal development and follow-up meetings.
  • Provide secure document management for large proposal files with shared server space for proposal team members.

Contracts and Agreements

  • Analyze upcoming and new federal contracting regulations.
Download Roles and Responsibilities in Table Format (PDF)