Administrative Policy

Administrative Memorandum 41 - Grant Procedures

Purpose

To provide the University community coordinated and appropriate grant efforts the following set of procedures govern the Grant Procedures process.

Policy

The Corporate and Foundation Office is to seek direct funding from corporations, independent foundations, corporate foundations and government entities for institutional programs and projects.

Responsibility

The Corporate and Foundation office researches potential grantors and their areas of interest, responds to direct invitations to apply for funds by coordinating faculty and administrator input in the development of proposals, makes appropriate contacts, and submits final proposals in a timely manner.

In addition, the office provides administrative oversight of a campus-wide clearance process for the submission of proposals and offers stewardship of all institutional grants to the University.

Implementation/Guidelines

  1. Notify the development office of any planned grant activity. By using the attached "Grants Checklist" all faculty/staff will be notified of the planned grant activity and the impact it may have in any particular area. This will help to ensure that faculty will not be submitting competing grants to the same funding source at the same time. This is particularly important with multiple campuses.
  2. Commitment of University resources for matching funds, people, facilities, equipment, etc., must be approved by the Provost, Division Head, and the Department Head.

    All grant applications must be signed by either the President or the Provost, a requirement of most funding agencies. Even if an executive signature is not required, a letter of support signed by the President and/or the Provost evidencing the University's support is recommended.

  3. The corporate and foundation office will provide the following support services for granting efforts:
    • research assistance for funding sources
    • provide guidelines and application forms
    • "boilerplate" on Norwich University
    • editing assistance
    • budget preparation assistance
    • liaison with granting agencies
  4. Workshops on proposal preparation can be arranged upon request.

    WHEN A GRANT IS FUNDED a copy of the award letter must be forwarded to the development office and the accounting office. The development office will write a thank you letter over the President's signature acknowledging receipt of the award. Copies of any correspondence between a faculty member and a granting agency relative to the grant must be forwarded to the development office for file.

    Once the funding is received, an account will be set up within the University's Chart of Accounts.

    THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/ADMINISTRATOR for the grant should provide the accounting office with an abstract containing the following information:

    • Project Title
    • Account Number (if it has been established)
    • Name of grantor
    • Grantor's project number, if applicable
    • Which Division, and which Department within the Division
    • Grant Administrator
    • Dates of Grant period
    • Total Budget
    • Budgeted line items (i.e. salaries, equipment, travel, etc.)
    • Indirect cost rate
    • Fringe benefits cost rate
    • Type of agreement (grant or contract)
    • Cost sharing requirements (if applicable)
    • Prior approval requirements for draw down
    • Billing requirements
    • Reporting requirements: both fiscal and scientific/technical
    • Property provisions
    • Other pertinent information

    The grant administrator is responsible for ensuring that the budget is properly set up and adherence to the budget established. The budget contained in the proposal constitutes the projects's initial operating budget. The grant administrator should monitor expenditures for allowability of cost under the terms of the agreement, as well as for adherence to the budget. Responsibility for compliance with terms of the agreement rests with the grant administrator, not the accounting office.

    EXPENDITURES must go through the Norwich University purchasing system. The grant administrator should keep copies of purchase requisitions, purchase orders and invoices for all expenditures of the grant. If salaries and/or wages are included in the budget:

    1. University employees are paid through personnel and a copy of the grant should be forwarded to personnel.
    2. Grant-specific contracted employees are paid through the accounts payable office.

    Budget should be monitored on a monthly basis by the grant administrator. Adjustments among budget categories should be controlled when agencies place restrictions on budget changes. Budget control is important to avoid overruns, or underruns which may indicate performance levels below commitments to agencies on the use of institutional resources beyond cost-sharing requirements. Any cost overruns at the end of the grant will be an expense to the operating budget of the division receiving the grant.

    THE GRANT ADMINISTRATOR MUST SATISFY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS upon completion of a sponsored project. While many reports are submitted at the end of a project, some reports are also submitted on a periodic basis. The grant administrator shall review the terms and conditions of contracts, grants and cooperating agreements,as well as agency policy. In most cases continued funding of projects depends on timely submission of required reports that set forth all expenditures and other financial data for the project. The monthly report from the accounting office should be used by the grant administrator to complete the final report for the grant. In the case of a multi-year grant, a consolidated report will be issued at the end of the granting period by the accounting office. It is the responsibility of the grant administrator to compile all reporting documents.

Contact Office

  • Vice President of Institutional Advancement: Ext. 2300