Overview of the Award Management Process

The following is a general overview of the Penn State award management process. You can go directly to the main award management page.

Awards are usually received as the final step of a lengthy process. First, a funding agency (or "sponsor") will issue a solicitation or call for proposals. One or more faculty members (led by a "Principal Investigator") will prepare a proposal in response to the call. Most sponsors expect proposals to be signed by an authorized organizational representative. (This provides them with assurance that the institution is capable and willing to support the project, that the rates used in the proposal budget are appropriate, etc.). The Principal Investigator completes a Proposal Internal Approval Form at the time of submission, which is routed through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). If the sponsor decides to issue an award to Penn State, it will issue that award through OSP, which will review the contractual terms and conditions to make sure they are acceptable to Penn State.

A Principal Investigator (PI) sometimes will receive an award without ever having submitted a proposal. This generally results from a more informal conversation with a sponsor (such as the submission of a "white paper"). In such cases, the PI should work with his or her Research Administrator to complete an Award Internal Approval Form (AIAF) who will then forward it to OSP, along with a copy of any prior correspondence with the sponsor that resulted in the award. OSP will then review the terms and conditions of the award.

Once OSP has determined that the award is acceptable to Penn State, a copy of the award documents will be scanned and distributed electronically to the PI and the College Research Administrator. The College Research Administrator can then request an account number (also known as a "budget/fund" number) against which the PI can charge project-related expenditures. The original award documents will be forwarded to Research Accounting, which is responsible for invoicing against the award and preparing financial reports.

It is imperative that the PI carefully review any reporting requirements (also known as "deliverables") associated with the award. Dissatisfied sponsors can suspend awards, refuse to make payments, and demand refunds of previously provided funds. In extreme cases, sponsors can threaten to have Penn State debarred (which would make Penn State ineligible to receive federal funds). Different awards have different reporting requirements, but the most common report types are progress reports, final technical reports, patent reports, property reports, and financial reports.

If a portion of the award is to be subcontracted to another institution, a Subaward/Subcontract Request Form will have to be completed. For more detailed instructions on this process see Issuing Subawards and Subcontracts Overview.

The PI has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that project funds are spent appropriately. (Faculty members can monitor their expenditures and balances at myResearch.) Separate projects must be accounted for separately. In some cases it may be appropriate to split the cost of an item between two or more projects (such as when a large piece of equipment will be used on multiple projects), but in such cases it is crucial than the cost be allocated appropriately among the projects. (For example, it may be appropriate to split the cost of an item based on usage rates, but never simply because one project had a larger remaining balance.) See Penn State's basic cost principles.

The terms and conditions of the award frequently include additional instructions on allowable costs. Some project will not permit the purchase of any item not included in the original proposal budget. Other projects require the sponsor's prior approval before purchasing certain items. Many sponsors require prior approval before issuing subcontracts, purchasing capital equipment, or authorizing foreign travel on an award.

It is always a good idea to keep the sponsor well informed of any unforeseen problems. For more information on extension requests, budget revisions, changes in project personnel (especially when changing the PI), and changes in the scope of work see Extensions and Revisions.

You may proceed to the main award administration page.