Roles and responsibilities in research administration
Summary and quick links
Roles and responsibilities matrix (at the Office of Grants and Contracts)
Offices supporting research at UVA
The award process at UVA (offices, timelines)
Faculty
Trainees
Clinical research coordinators
Department research administrators
University offices
The award process at UVA. Grant and contract proposals must be approved by the University before their submission to the sponsor. At the SOM, proposals must be endorsed by the PI, Chair, and Dean's Office (i.e., Office of Grants and Contracts).
The fiscal/administrative description of the proposal and approval signatures are collected on a four-page proposal approval sheet (known familiarly as the "goldenrod," after its former color). Grants and Contracts has posted two versions of this form: one specifically for NIH e-SNAP proposals and another, generic SOM version. Your research administrator should help you complete this form, though you, as Principal Investigator, are responsible for its contents. The approval sheet and the entire proposal, including budget, justification, and any other supporting documents required by the agency, are forwarded to your Chair and then to Grants and Contracts (who require at least five working days before the submission deadline). The office may ask additional questions concerning the project or information on the approval form before it is signed and ready for submission to the funding agency. See our Web site for detailed information on the proposal submission process and how to avoid pitfalls along the way. If your NIH proposal is submitted under just-in-time regulations and is likely to be funded, Grants and Contracts will be asked to submit documentation of other grant support, IRB or IACUC approvals, etc.
Sponsors generally notify Grants and Contracts and the PI. Sponsored Programs then creates an internal account in the Oracle system, which may take a few weeks to complete. To avoid delays in initiating your project, ask your department to request a preliminary Oracle account as soon as it is clear that your project will be funded. Many NIH awards permit project-related expenditures 90 days prior to the start date. This will allow you to encumber and spend funds for equipment and other items that have a large delay in delivery.
Faculty. Sponsored Programs describes the responsibilities of principal investigators on its Web site. Of paramount importance is the freedom to choose the nature and direction of their research program and to disseminate the results of that research to the public, within any constraints placed by the funding agency. Non-PI faculty have similar responsibilities to the PI, with the exception of overall responsibility for project direction and reporting. All faculty conducting human subjects research should also refer to the section below on the roles/responsibilities of clinical research coordinators. Collaborating investigators must:
- Ensure that their expenditures are in accordance with sponsor and university regulations, policies, and procedures
- Coordinate with PI any approvals for restricted expenditures (e.g., equipment)
- Maintain knowledge of and compliance with University procedures related to sponsored research
- Disclose conflicts of interest to the PI
- Obtain and maintain applicable IACUC, IRB, IBC, and EHS approvals before initiating a research project
- Verify disbarment, suspension or proposed disbarment
- Verify that their project staff have signed University Patent Agreements
Trainees. Postdocs and graduate students must:
- Seek and follow faculty guidance on scientific and other procedures (e.g., use of grant funds)
- Maintain knowledge of and compliance with University procedures and policies related to sponsored research
- Disclose conflicts of interest to the PI
- Obtain training in and practice responsible conduct of research
- Obtain applicable IACUC, IRB, IBC, and EHS approvals/training
Clinical research coordinators (from the Clinical Trials Office "Human Subjects Research Guide"):
- Manage all aspects of conducting clinical trials under the direction of the PI
- Maintain in-depth knowledge of protocol requirements and Good Clinical Practice (GCP) as set forth by federal regulations
- Provide the following:
- Sound conduct of the clinical trial (including recruitment, screening, enrollment, and follow-up of eligible subjects per protocol)
- Maintenance of accurate and complete documentation (e.g., regulatory documents, signed consent forms, IRB approvals, source documents, drug dispensing and subject logs, and study-related communication)
- Organizational management of all aspects of the trial (e.g., timeliness in completing case report forms, data entry, reporting adverse drug experiences [ADEs], and managing caseload and study files)
- Communication of protocol-related problems to the management staff (e.g., questions regarding the conduct of the clinical trial, possible ADEs, or subject compliance)
- Professional conduct in the presence of subjects, research staff, sponsors, monitors, auditors, etc.
Department research administrators (adapted from the Sponsored Programs Web site):
- Support project investigators in the development of proposals and related financial narratives and budgets
- Thoroughly understand unallowable, direct, and facilities and administrative (F&A) costs.
- Obtain a thorough understanding of and properly follow Cost Accounting Standards
- Be consistent in charging sponsored award costs
- Ensure monthly review of project costs and obtain PI approval of same in a timely manner
Ofice of Sponsored Programs (see also UVA Policy VIII.A.2: "Grants and Contracts: Responsibility of Office of Sponsored Programs"). Note: the Assistant Vice President for Finance has delegated authority for the solicitation of School of Medicine grants and contracts to the SOM Office of Grants and Contracts.