Award Management

Pre-Award Accounts

Pre-award accounts may be used for sponsored projects nearing full execution or announcement. This allows an account to be established and charges to begin posting to the account in advance of the full execution agreement or notice of award. This request requires an acknowledgment from the PI/Department/College that they are responsible for any charges incurred in the event the award is not fully executed.

Please note that subawards are not issued on pre-award accounts.

To submit a pre-award account request, please complete the Pre-Award Account Request Form [PDF] and submit it to OSP at osp@utsa.edu.

Award Review/Acceptance

Sponsored Project award notices and all accompanying materials should be directed to OSP for review, negotiation, acceptance, and processing. OSP will match the award notice to the routed application already on file and initiate the award process.

Each sponsored project award comes with a unique set of terms and conditions, which may range from entirely flexible to quite restrictive. OSP is responsible for reviewing the award documents and, if needed, negotiating the terms and conditions attached to an award. The goals in negotiation are to protect the investigator’s publication and intellectual property rights; to protect the institution against harmful or unmanageable stipulations, and to ensure any agreement is in keeping with state and federal regulations as well as university requirements.

Please note that OSP will work with the Office of Contracts & Industry Agreements for the review, negotiation, and acceptance of all contracts.

Award Transfers to UTSA

PIs relocating to The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and wishing to continue their sponsored projects may seek approval to transfer their active awards to UTSA. In such cases, PIs must notify the current institution and sponsoring agency as soon as possible, allowing time to complete institutional and agency-specific requirements concerning the transfer request. UTSA must be promptly notified, as well, and will work with the original institution and sponsoring agency to put approvals and arrangements in place.

Once institutional and sponsor approvals are formally in place, OSP will process the award and establish an account.

Award Transfers From UTSA

PIs leaving UTSA may, in some instances, transfer externally funded projects to the new institution.

PIs are largely responsible for the award-transfer process, and must:

• Secure approval from the college to transfer the award from UTSA
• Complete final reports to close the project at UTSA, including patent/invention reports, technical reports, and any other non-financial final reports required by UTSA or the sponsor
• Initiate the process promptly by working with their research administrator
• If applicable, arrange to subcontract a portion of the funded work to UTSA
• Address the issue of continued support of any UTSA graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supported under the project
• Request transfer of associated equipment purchased under the award or provided by the sponsor
• Arrange for the new institution to assume any cost-sharing obligations
• Initiate Data Transfer/Use Agreements to the new organization, when applicable

Research Administrators will work with the Business Service Centers to conclude transactions and make any necessary adjustments to award accounts for departing PI.

The Grants & Contracts Financial Services Office will review the relinquishing amounts for reasonableness/accuracy, conduct the final accounting/financial reporting, and arrange the return or transfer of remaining funds per specific sponsor guidelines.

The Office of Sponsored Projects will review and endorse the non-financial paperwork involved with each transfer and submit the necessary information to the sponsor.

Prior Approval Requests

Some changes to sponsored projects require prior approval from the sponsoring agency beforehand. College Research Administrators can assist in determining if prior approval is needed from the sponsoring agency. Requests should be in writing, addressed to the sponsor, and signed by an authorized official from OSP. The request should be submitted to OSP at osp@utsa.edu.

Examples of programmatic and financial changes during the life of an award include:

• Changes in the scope of work (SOW)
• Change of Principal Investigator or significant reduction of effort
• Change in Key Personnel
• Re-budgeting

No-Cost Extensions

A no-cost extension is the extension of a project period without additional funding from the sponsor. If a project’s end date is approaching but the principal investigator PI identifies that the research needs to continue, a no-cost extension allows the end date to be extended.

To request a no-cost extension, the No-Cost Extension Request Form [PDF] must be completed and submitted to OSP at osp@utsa.edu by the College Research Administration teams.

Note: Funds remaining in the account are not an acceptable justification for requesting an extension. Extensions may be requested only for programmatic reasons.

Outgoing Subaward Management

As a prime recipient and a pass-through entity of federal awards, UTSA is responsible for monitoring subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of federal funds. To maintain consistency and responsible stewardship of all our funding, UTSA performs the same level of monitoring on all sub-awards regardless of where the prime funding comes from.

Subaward Invoice Review

Invoice review is an important part of the sub-recipient monitoring process. During the invoice review, both technical progress and expenditures are evaluated by the PI to ensure compliance with applicable terms and conditions.

Payroll Confirmation

As a recipient of sponsored projects funding, UTSA is responsible for providing auditable documentation that confirms personnel expenses charged to sponsored projects are allocable, allowable, reasonable, and consistent with the actual effort performed as required by 2 CFR 200.430.

UTSA has implemented the Sponsored Project Payroll Confirmation Report for PIs to verify the direct labor charges to, or cost shared on, sponsored projects are accurate, timely, and reasonable for the work performed. This confirmation is done twice a year to cover periods from (1) September through February and (2) March through August and is coordinated by Research IT.

Please refer to the Payroll Confirmation PI Instructions (PDF) or FAQs (PDF) for assistance in completing the report.

Non-Financial Reporting

Principal investigators are responsible for completing and submitting all programmatic reports on sponsored projects.

Additional administrative reports, such as inventory or invention reports, may be required on some sponsored projects. The College Research Administration teams can assist with completing these administrative reports.

OSP can assist with signing or submitting any non-financial reports if an authorized university official signature or submitter is required per the terms and conditions of the sponsored project.

Financial Reporting

The Grants & Contracts Financial Services Office completes all financial reporting on sponsored projects in compliance with the sponsoring agency’s terms and conditions.

Billing

All invoicing to sponsors is handled by the Grants & Contracts Financial Services Office in compliance with the terms and conditions of the sponsoring agency for each award.