FAQs

A: All tenured/tenure-track faculty and research scientists can be Principal Investigators. Employees or appointees affiliated with the University of Maryland (i.e. adjunct faculty, graduate assistants, and postdoctoral associates) may be PIs with the endorsement of the department chairperson and dean and must have an appointment in Work Day. All PIs and Co-PIs must be listed in, and certify their participation in Kuali Research.

A: Register online at NSF registration form . Log in with your university directory ID and password to access the form, complete all mandatory fields, and electronically submit the form to ORA. A representative from ORA will create your account and send you an e-mail with your account information. Registration requests are completed Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Please allow one business day for your account to be created.

A: Register online at NIH registration form. Log in with your university directory ID and password to access the form, complete all mandatory fields, and electronically submit the form to ORA. A representative from ORA will create your account and send you an e-mail with your account information. Registration requests are completed Monday through Friday, 8:00am-5:00pm. Please allow one business day for your account to be created.

A: Register online at Grants.gov. Guidance on how to register for the Grants.gov is here. Once the account is created and affiliated, a representative from ORA will approve and give an appropriate role.  Please allow one business day for your account to be reviewed and approved.

A: The Sponsored Research Handbook provides an overview of the policies and procedures that apply to research at the University of Maryland.

A: Each department is assigned a Contract Administrator in ORA. To determine your Contract Administrator’s name and contact information, use the ORA Staff Directory.

A: This information, and other information that is commonly requested on proposal documents, can be found in the Quick Reference Guide.

A: All information regarding our current Indirect Costs Agreement, current rates, definitions of rates, etc. can be found here: Indirect Costs Information

A: Information about applying Indirect Costs and the current Indirect Costs memo that outlines the Indirect Costs can be found in Indirect Costs information page.

A: The stipend levels for Graduate Assistants and Fellows is available at: Graduate Stipends page.

A: Calculations for the sponsor's contribution to employee fringe benefits should be computed using UMD’s approved Fringe Benefit Rates, found on page 3 of the current Indirect Costs agreement.

A: The 9.5-Month Appointment runs from Aug 17 - May 31, each academic year. Faculty on such appointments are restricted to earning 2.5 months of additional compensation (up to 26.3% of their 9.5-month salary) from grants and contracts that flow through the University, subject to the limitations of the sponsoring agencies (e.g.: NSF's two-ninths rule).

A: Ordinarily Co-PI's from collaborating institutions should not be listed on the sponsor's cover page, whether there's a subcontracting relationship or not. The rationale is that these individuals are not affiliated with the University. However, there are times when the sponsor might require inclusion of Co-PI's from another institution on the cover page. In those instances, the fact that they are from another institution should be made clear by a notation. For example:
Co-PI: Dr. Roberta Smith (Collaborator, University of xxxxxxx.)
When the sponsor requires an electronic submission that does not allow for such notations on the cover page (e.g. NSF's FastLane), the collaborating/subcontracting institution should then be indicated in the appropriate section (as specified by the agency) of the electronically submitted proposal. If you are uncertain into which section this information should be inserted, please contact your Contract Administrator for clarification.

A: There are a number of procedures to be followed by ORA in the preparation and administration of University-issued sponsored project subcontracts. These subcontracts are issued by ORA when a contract from a prime sponsor incorporates work to be performed by a subcontractor. Access the subcontract manual here.

A: There are a number of policies that can impact your research. Research related policies can be found at: ORA's Research Policies page. If you have questions about specific policies, contact your Contract Administrator.

A: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) must review research involving human subjects. The purpose of the review is to help assure the protection of the rights and welfare of human subjects. More information about the IRB, including the policies and procedures, can be found at: https://research.umd.edu/irb.

A: Cost sharing is the commitment of University of Maryland’s resources to a sponsored project. Cost sharing should be included in the proposal only when required. More information, including the Cost Sharing Policy, can be found at Cost Share page.

A: Generally no. It is the policy of the University of Maryland System that instruction, research, and services will be accomplished openly and without prohibitions on the publication and dissemination of the results of academic and research activities. For more information, you can consult the University System of Maryland Policy on Classified and Proprietary Work available at: http://www.usmd.edu/regents/bylaws/SectionIV/IV220.html(link is external). Under specific circumstances it may be possible to obtain a waiver to parts of this policy.

For information on a waiver or if you have questions about your publication rights, please contact your Contract Administrator in ORA.

A: The fundamentals of policy and procedure are described in the University’s Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policies (http://www.president.umd.edu/policies/ii310a.html) and Procedures (http://www.president.umd.edu/policies/ii310b.html). Your unit head, having the primary administrative responsibility for identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest or commitment, and knowing your specific situation, is the best resource. The University’s Conflict of Interest Committee is also a resource to help faculty and staff in these areas.

A: A proposal must have the endorsement of campus officials and therefore requires creation, review and certification in Kuali Research by the department chairperson, college dean (or their designees). Prior to submission to the sponsor ORA will review the proposals and provide the signature (either electronically as part of proposal submission systems or in hard copy) of the Authorized University Official, which is delegated to the Office of Research Administration.

*Additional information regarding Kuali Research can be found here.

A: Agreements should be routed to ORA, by the department preparing and completing the proposal information in Proposal Development module of KR, if any of the following apply:
 

• Agreement is for, or related to, Sponsored Research;
• Agreement is a research fellowship issued as a grant or contract;
• Agreement is for, or related to, Sponsored Instruction or Other Sponsored Activities and include Federal government terms, or flow-down terms;
• Use of University research facilities is required;
• Sponsor requires a graduate student or faculty member to submit a Statement of Work;
• Sponsor requires a graduate student or faculty member to submit a final report or other deliverable;
• Results of the collaboration may be suitable for publication in a journal;
• There are regulatory compliance requirements, including but not limited to export control;
• The sponsor is a government entity (Federal, state, or other government entity); and/or;
• The agreement includes government flow-through funds or government terms and conditions (particularly important if there are FAR clauses).

Proposal is then electronically routed through the PI, Department Chair and Dean’s office to ORA. Complete and final KR proposals, including S2S (system to system) proposals should be routed completely to ORA no later than 48 hours before the deadline, but earlier is better. If the proposal is being prepared in another online system (ex. FastLane or NSPIRES), provide submit access to proposal at least 24 hours before the deadline in that system. Upon review and approval an ORA Contract Administrator will either sign a hard copy of the proposal or electronically submit the proposal to the sponsor. More information on KR proposal development and routing may be found at https://ora.umd.edu/kualiresearch. More information about Grants.gov and about particular agencies and their electronic submission systems, can be found here.

*Note: Applications being submitted to NIH and NSF via Grants.gov via Kuali Research system-to-system submission require additional time for review. The proposal including the final electronic package should be routed to ORA at least 6 business days before the deadline.

A: OES reviews, negotiates, and signs contract documents related to executive education/training where the sponsor is a private entity or state or local government, and the agreement does not come from any federal government agency or include federal government terms and conditions or flow-down terms through another entity. This includes non funded agreements such as Non-Disclosure Agreements related to executive education and training.

A: Agreements procuring goods or services from a vendor, including zero dollar agreements, are routed to Procurement. This includes, but is not limited to, Software License agreements and Data Use Agreements to procure data.

A: It depends. Agreements to procure data should be processed through Procurement. Unfunded Data Use Agreements for incoming data for research should be routed to ORA.

A: Yes. Written requests for departmental transfers require the PI's, both department's chairpersons and deans signatures on the DRIF/Credit Split Change Form. This requirement ensures acknowledgement by all involved parties.

A: Yes. Awards are granted to the Institution and not the individual PI. In order for an award to be transferred from one institution to another, the agency, Department Chair, and the sponsored projects office of both institutions (ex. ORA) must be notified.

A: An Advance Account Number Authorization (AANA) form must be completed and submitted to ORA. This form must bear the signatures of the PI and the Department Chair/Director.

A: Recommend contacting your Departmental Business Person for assistance. Authorized users can access this information via WorkDay .