Award Management

See the information on Award Transfer page.

The University of Maryland participates in the Federal Demonstration Partnership, a cooperative initiative among federal agencies and institutional recipients of federal funds. The FDP was established to increase research productivity by streamlining the administrative process and minimizing the administrative burden on principal investigators while maintaining the effective stewardship of federal funds.

One way that sponsored projects administration has been streamlined is through the delegation of certain prior approval actions, under expanded authorities granted to the university by federal agencies, under many federal grants. This delegation of prior approval is not applicable to contracts.

Certain changes may be made to the project or budget with the understanding that the general level of effort and scope, and the objectives of the approved project will not be altered, and that the proposed action is reviewed in advance and is consistent with grant conditions. It is the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to determine that funds are available for any allowable changes to the budget. All expenditures on sponsored projects must be allowable, reasonable and allocable in accordance with Federal cost principles and the specific grant conditions. The PI and his/her department are fully responsible for any costs deemed to be unallowable.

Participating Federal Agencies

Browse a listing of participating federal agencies in the Federal Demonstration Partnership.

Consult the Research Terms & Conditions Matrix to identify agency-specific requirements for different prior approval actions.

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Purpose: Establishing accounts in advance of receipt of the official award, the ability to charge expenditures prior to the official start date of an award, and/or lifting the end date on an account to allow spending to continue in anticipation of an official action that will formally extend the period of performance.

There are times when an account is needed in advance of receipt of an award document. If the receipt of an award is imminent and establishing an account is necessary for the management of the project, an advanced account number may be requested. Sometimes an established account is waiting for an amendment that will add time and money or just time. Should the end date of the account expire prior to the receipt of the amendment, a request to lift the end date can be initiated.

OMB Circular A-110 permits the University certain expanded authorities under Federal grants and cooperative agreements. The ability to charge pre-award costs may be requested to charge specific expenditures prior to the start date of the Federal grant or cooperative agreement (must be within 90 days of the official start date). Pre-award costs may be requested in conjunction with an AANA or independent of it.

The department is fully responsible for any charges made to an AANA account should an award or amendment not materialize. The department is also fully responsible for any unallowable costs incurred when the pre-award cost period exceeds sponsor rules.

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Purpose: To request an extension of time beyond the current ending date of an award.

Requests for no-cost extensions, for some sponsors, must be made at least 45 days prior to the expiration date. Most Federal grants and cooperative agreements issued under Research Terms and Conditions allow for a single grantee-approved no-cost extension. In these instances, the University must notify the Federal agency of its intention to extend the end date of the award. For all projects that do not allow grantee-approved no-cost extensions, or when the grantee-approved no-cost extension has already been exercised, a request must be submitted by the University to the Sponsor for approval to extend the period of performance of the project. In cases where a notification or request can be submitted through a Sponsor’s post-award management system (e.g. FastLane, NIH eRA Commons, NOAA Grants Online), this form does not need to be completed.

Sponsors expect that key personnel will continue to expend the same effort on the project during the no-cost extension. Should the effort of any key personnel be anticipated to decrease during the no-cost extension period, it must be fully disclosed at the time the no-cost extension is requested or, in the case of grantee-approved no-cost extensions, at the time the Federal agency is notified of the desire to extend the period of performance.

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Purpose: To establish related/child(ren) account(s), not detailed in the original award budget, under an existing KFS account (or) moving dollars from one KFS account to a related KFS account.

For requests to establish an off-campus account, please be aware that projects partially performed off-site are apportioned between their on-site/off-site components only when project activity is conducted off-site for at least three consecutive months or more.

A detailed budget that shows the split between accounts is needed to complete this action. Note: Failure to provide this information will result in a delay of your request. If the Investigator responsible for a child account is not already associated with the project (i.e. in Coeus with a credit split), a credit split change form must accompany this request.

Re-budgeting may or may not require prior sponsor approval. You will need to review the award terms carefully to determine whether or not prior approval needs to be sought. Grants awarded under the Federal Demonstration Partnership or those with Research Terms & Conditions incorporated have more flexible re-budgeting terms. Consult the Research Terms & Conditions Matrix to identify agency-specific rules regarding re-budgeting.

Some awards have restrictions on the percentage of the budget that may be re-budgeted without sponsor approval. This percentage must be monitored closely since it is a cumulative percentage (e.g. 10%) over which sponsor approval must be sought.

In those instances where re-budgeting requests can be submitted through a Sponsor’s post-award management system (e.g. FastLane), no additional paperwork is necessary. In all other instances, a letter will need to be drafted by the department that explains the re-budget request and the affect it will have on the project. A revised budget will need to accompany the letter. This letter should be signed by the principal investigator and counter-signed by an authorized University signature (ORA), who will forward the request to the Sponsor for action.

If you are unsure whether or not re-budgeting is allowed under a sponsored project, please contact your Contract Administrator for guidance.

Foreign travel may or may not require prior sponsor approval. You will need to review the award terms carefully to determine whether or not prior approval needs to be sought. Grants awarded under the Federal Demonstration Partnership or those with Research Terms & Conditions incorporated have more flexible foreign travel terms. Consult the Research Terms & Conditions Matrix to identify agency-specific rules regarding foreign travel. As a reminder, Federal funds require the use of US Flag Air Carriers. Foreign travel approval tools for departments can be found at Foreign Travel Approval Tools

Export issues: Please be mindful that Federal laws limit the movement of goods and knowledge between countries. Export control questions can be sent to the campus Export Control Administrator (export@umd.edu). Any foreign national should be screened before coming to the University of Maryland for business. Foreign national screenings can be submitted at: http://www.umresearch.umd.edu/Export/foreignvisitrequest.html

If you are unsure whether or not foreign travel is allowed under a sponsored project, please contact your Contract Administrator for guidance.

The absence for more than three months or a twenty-five percent reduction in the time devoted to the project, or a substantial reduction in the level of key personnel effort requires prior written approval from the sponsoring agency. In those instances where the request can be submitted through a Sponsor’s post-award management system (e.g. FastLane), no additional paperwork is necessary.

In all other instances, a letter will need to be drafted by the department that explains the unanticipated absence or reduction in time of key personnel and the affect it will have on the project and how the absence/reduction will be mitigated to minimize the impact to the project. This letter should be signed by the principal investigator and counter-signed by an authorized University signature (ORA), who will forward the request to the Sponsor for action.

The replacement of the principal investigator or other key project personnel whose replacement is restricted in the award requires prior written approval from the sponsoring agency. In those instances where the request can be submitted through a Sponsor’s post-award management system (e.g. FastLane), no additional paperwork is necessary. In all other instances, a letter will need to be drafted by the department that explains why the key personnel is no longer able to continue on the project, the name of the individual who is replacing the key personnel and evidence of the qualifications of replacement personnel, including a c.v. This letter should be signed by all affected key personnel (when practical) and counter-signed by an authorized University signature (ORA), who will forward the request to the Sponsor for action.

Should you have any questions on actions detailed above, or if you have questions about actions that are not mentioned above, please contact your contract administrator. Find out who your contract administrator is.

The Agency Specific Technical Reporting Guide provides information related to the submission of Progress and Final Technical Reports to a federal sponsoring agency. There may be exceptions which are incorporated into the terms of an award; therefore, each award should be reviewed for Reporting Requirements. All questions or concerns related to the information provided here should be directed to Compliance Administrator, Cheryl Jones 
(ckjones@umd.edu), (301-405-6267). 
See the information on Agency Specific Technical Reporting Guide page.