Office of Government Grants & Sponsored Projects


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Research Policies & Procedures

Any proposed project, whether it is for submission to a government, foundation, or corporate funding source, which meets at least one of the criteria below must be reviewed by the Office of Government Grants prior to submission. (This includes projects where Rowan will be a subaward to another lead institution.)

  1. The project binds the University to a specific scope of work as evidenced by required progress, technical or final reports, or other deliverables.
  2. The project has a specified performance period or completion date.
  3. Unexpended funds must be returned to the sponsor at the end of the project period.
  4. The project involves the use of human subjects, laboratory animals, use of radioactive materials, or biohazards.
  5. The agreement governing the project provides for the disposition of tangible property (e.g. inventions, copyrights, or rights in data), which may result from the project.

If you meet one of the above criteria, the Office of Government Grants recommends that you thoroughly review the sponsor guidelines, the University's integrity and compliance policies and procedures, multiple submissions policy, and submit the signed required internal paperwork 5 days prior to the sponsor's deadline. The Office of Government Grants will review the paperwork to ensure the proper calculation of salary and fringe benefits, indirect cost rate where applicable, availability of funds for university cost-sharing, and general compliance with University policy and procedures. We obtain all administrative signatures when required. They are:

  1. Authorized institutional representative to sign proposals and applications-
    Peggy Schoen, Director of Government Grants or
    Gautam Pillay, Associate Provost for Research.
  2. Signature of official authorized to obligate contractually-
    Richard Hale, Vice President of Administration and Finance.
  3. President of the University- Donald J. Farish.

When the sponsor approves an award for support, both the principal investigator/project director and the institutional representative should be notified. For some NJ State sponsors, the award and /or contract are sent directly to the Presidents office. Upon receiving notification of award, the following administrative steps are implemented:

  1. The Associate Provost for Research reviews the awarded budget and signs and dates the internal transmittal form.
  2. The Budget Office (Maria McCall, Accountant) sets up the budget for the principal investigator/project director.

When the sponsor issues contracts, the Office of Government Grants takes them to the VP for Administration and Finance for full review. They then notify the Grants office when the contract is ready for mailing. When these procedures are not followed, i.e., contracts are taken directly to administration and finance; the grant accountant cannot establish an approved account because the grants office has no direct knowledge that a proposal was funded. When the grant office is bypassed notification of a proposal submitted and /or notification for processing post-award paperwork:

  1. Approvals are delayed for the principal investigator/project director.
  2. Start-up date passes.
  3. They may need "revised" paperwork issued from their sponsor, starting all over again.