Post-Award Management

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Pre-award Risk

Externally sponsored programs frequently have start dates that precede the finalization or receipt of formal award documents or agreements. When time is of the essence or when a fund number is required to develop position descriptions and job announcements, the PI can request a PRA (formerly called and AOR). The PRA authorizes the establishment of a restricted funds account from which the PI may make expenditures for 1-3 months.

What can PRA be requested for?

• Pre-award expenditures that do not fall under the federal 90-day pre-award expenditures umbrella
• New awards
• The period between the end date of a current budget period and receipt of the next increment of funds. This would not apply to multiyear federally funded awards that have automatic carryover.
• If IRB or IACUC approval is pending, PRAS will only be approved for the portion of proposed awards that does not require IRB/IACUC approval

Administrative Review Procedure

PRA requests must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), the  Office of Contracts and Grants (C&G), and the Vice Chancellor for Research Engagement.

1. The PI completes an PRA Request Form and attaches supporting documentation:
   • The PRA request form is here: UNCG PRA Request Form
   • The first attachment is an itemized budget for the period requested (1-3 months). Direct costs, only.
   • The second attachment is supporting documents or correspondence (email is fine) to show award is imminent.
2. The PI then submits an PRA request to the Office of Sponsored Programs (preferably via email).
3. The Offices of Sponsored Programs and Contract and Grant Accounting review the request and make recommendations.
4. If the PRA request is recommended by both OSP and CGA, it is returned to OSP to be entered into Cayuse.
5. The PRA request is then sent to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement for approval and guarantee.
6. Once ORE has approved the PRA, this is noted in Cayuse and the PRA goes to Contract and Grant Accounting so a fund number can be assigned. The PI will be notified when this is done. Please note that it can take a week for the fund to be established.

If there are questions or issues with the PRA request at any point during the process, the PI will be notified. When the award is officially received by UNCG, the PRA will be cleared as a part of the setup process. No further action by the PI is required.

Subcontracts

A subcontract (also called subaward or subagreement) occurs when the prime recipient organization with a sponsored grant or contract allocates a portion of the scope of work to be performed by another institution or organization (subrecipient/subawardee/subcontractee) to complete.

Cost-reimbursable vs. Fixed Price Subcontracts

Cost-reimbursable agreements constitute the majority of agreements issued by UNCG, and due to regulations around subrecipient monitoring, a PI should plan to utilize this type of agreement. The subriecipient organization has prepared and will follow a detailed budget. A cost-reimbursable agreement involves UNCG reimbursing the subreicipient organization for allowable and actual costs incurred in the course of completing project activities. This is typically done via an invoicing process, and funds are dispersed no more than monthly.

In rare cases, cost-reimbursable funds may be provided in advance. For instance, a portion of the awarded amount may be issued to a subrecipient upon execution of the agreement or on a fixed payment schedule. However, the subrecipient would still be required to report all costs to UNCG, and any unallowable expenses or unspent funds would need to be returned to UNCG.

Fixed Price Agreements are very rare, and should only be considered when the services or goods can be adequately described and measured in clear, unambiguous terms. The subcontractor is awarded a specified number of lump sum payments over the course of the project for a performance of a specified set of tasks or received deliverables. For example, UNCG may issue a fixed-price subagreement to another university to analyze samples at a fixed price per sample.

With both types of agreements, the scope of work, total budget amount, and term of the agreement can only be modified through an agreement modification.

Definitions

• Prime Funding Organization: the sponsor or agency that issues the RFP and issues an award to the Prime Recipient.
• Prime Recipient Organization: The prime organization receives the funding support directly from the sponsor. Once the funding has been obtained, the provisions in the prime award “flows down” via a subagreement.
• Subrecipient: Also known as a subawardee or subcontractor. Receives the funds from the prime organization to carry out the duties (illustrated) in their provided scope of work.

Proposal Stage Process

If a UNCG PI wishes to include another institution in an upcoming proposal as a third party who will perform a substantive portion of the effort, the following documents must be provided to OSP prior to the submission of the proposal:

1. Non FDP UNCG Subrecipient Commitment Monitoring Form (NEW 2025) or If the Institution is part of the FDP Clearing House please use FDP LOI Form (NEW 2025)
2. Detailed subrecipient budget and justification. The budget format and categories should closely follow the proposal guidelines required by the sponsor. If the prime organization (UNCG) is allowed to charge indirect costs on the proposal budget, those terms must also flow down to the subrecipient budget form.
3. Statement of work. This document should be detailed and should outline expectations and commitments to the project expected of and committed by the subrecipient. Sample Scope of Work / Template can be found here.

Please allow sufficient time for your subrecipient to route these documents at their intuition. UNCG OSP will need the final the institutionally approved documents from your subrecipient at the time the proposal is routed for department approvals in Cayuse.

Budgeting

The subrecipient’s budget will be included on UNCG’s budget as a direct cost. To calculate UNCG’s F&A costs, the amount that exceeds the first $25,000 of each subcontract will be excluded from the calculation.

For details on including a subrecipient in the overall project budget, please see: “Subcontracts/Subagreements” on the Budget Development page.

Post-award Process

A subcontract will only be issued after a fully executed award is received and processed by OSP from the prime sponsor.

Upon receipt of your award notice, please complete and send your OSP specialist the Subcontract Request form.

 Also include an up to date:

1. subrecipient budget and budget justification, reflecting any needed changes that occurred during awarding process.
2. statement of work.
3. an updated letter of intent, if project total changed
4. an updated subrecipient commitment form, if there were changes to the eligibility status of the subrecipient organization.

Once these documents are received by your specialist, a subagreement will be prepared, and a draft sent to the subrecipient authorized official as specified in the submitted forms. OSP will negotiate any requested changes in consultation with PIs, UNCG legal, department personnel, and other needed parties. Once finalized, OSP will execute the agreement on behalf of UNCG and will send one fully executed copy to the subcontractor and upload a copy of the subagreement into the appropriate Cayuse proposal/award file

Award Acceptance and Modifications

Award Acceptance

Congratulations on receiving an award! Here is what to do and what to expect:

Award Modifications

During the course of a project, an agreement may need to be modified. OSP will negotiate needed changes on behalf of a PI. Please call or email your OSP Grants Specialist to discuss your situation.

An award may be need to be modified for a variety of reasons.

• Change in scope of work
• Change in period of performance
• Change in contact information
• Change in budget or total amount funded
• Change in reporting requirement
• Change of PI

No Cost Extensions

The Principal Investigator is expected to finalize work under a sponsored agreement within the period of performance specified in the award. If a PI needs added time to complete the authorized scope of work, complete and submit the No-Cost Extension Request Form to your OSP Grants Specialist.

• In no case does a sponsor allow for an extension simply to use up unexpended funds.
• A no-cost extension requested after the end date of a grant will not be honored by the sponsor.

The guidelines for extending the period of an award are normally provided in the awarding Federal agency guidelines. If the award is with the State or a private agency, the terms are normally stated in the award document.

Most sponsors allow no-cost extensions of the final grant period to provide maximum possible continuity in funding research and educational activities. Many federal sponsors now allow grantee institutions to extend the final budget period one time for a duration of up to twelve months. Normally no single extension may exceed twelve months and only in exceptional cases will more than one extension be grant.

In all cases, the Principal Investigator must complete the Request for A No-Cost Extension to OSP and must contain the following information:

• The length of time the extension is being requested.
• Justification for the extension.
• A brief statement as to progress and work remaining to be completed

OSP must notify the sponsor within the sponsor’s deadlines. A letter is sent to the sponsor via the program official, with a copy to the grant official.

Grant Transfers

The process of transferring awards from one institution to another is not a simple task and requires close coordination between three basic entities: the sponsoring agency, the old institution and the new institution. Normally, two Sponsored Programs offices work in consultation with the principal investigator and his/her department at both the old and new institution.  Items involved include the form of transfer, determination of the unobligated balance, differences in facilities and administrative (F&A) rates and the (possible) funding gaps created by the time required to closeout and re-issue the project. The transfer process can take several months depending on the complexity of the project being transferred and the number of parties involved. Since awards are granted to the Institution and not directly to the PI, institutional support is needed to smoothly and successfully transfer the award.

If you have accepted a position at another institution and want to transfer any current awards you may have at UNCG, you must, as early as possible, discuss the transfer with your Department Chair, the agency and Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). Transferring an award from UNCG to another institution is an action which must be approved by the awarding agency, and all such requests must be routed through the OSP. Some agencies, such as National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have standardized this procedure and require submission of forms bearing institutional signatures. Other sponsors prefer that a substitute PI is designated at UNCG and the remaining work subcontracted to the new institution.

At UNCG, most award transfers involve the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.  The steps below typify the transfer process for these federal agencies.

OSP Change of Institution Policy and Form

Reporting

Progress Reports

Proposal and Award Data

Click here to view UNCG Proposal and Award Data – You must be logged in to your UNCG account to access folder.

Public Data Coming Soon