Receiving the Award

Note:  Before an Award Fund can be set up, the project must be compliant with the Financial Conflict of Interest policy and be green light compliant in RIA - see: RIA BA Reference Guide

The Notice of Award (NOA) is the Official Award received from the sponsor.

The Account Information Sheet (AIS) is the Official Award Action Document issued by the Office of Research Services. It contains information such as:

• Information concerning general ledger account number
• Award amounts
• Performance period dates
• Funding and reporting requirements
• Terms and conditions
• School and department
• Name of Principal Investigator
• Carryover information

·  Please Note: The Office of Research Service can take 4-10 business days to issue an AIS after receiving the NOA (See ORS Turnaround Expectation Matrix). The AIS is now available as a web-based report in BEN Reports. If after checking online you do not see that an AIS has been issued, contact your Contract Administrator in the Office of Research Services. Although the AIS can be viewed on-line, other supporting documents such as sponsors’ notices of award and contracts will continue to be delivered as attachments via e-mail.

·  Go to PennERA Guide to the AIS

·  View a Sample AIS and NOGA

Review the AIS for Accuracy

• The AIS (Account Information Sheet) is now available as a web-based report in BEN Reports, allowing users to view Proposal Award and Account Data, as well as cost share, sponsor, sub contracts, and sub accounts at any time. Read and view further information and details for accessing the AIS Online.
• If you have a question about the status or accuracy of the AIS, as well as data entered into Ben Financials regarding the award, you should send an inquiry to the Research Services Support Portal.
• Administrators should review their AIS upon receipt to make sure they are accurate. Things to look for:
  • Ensure Account End Dates are Accurate (budget end or project end)
  • Ensure Award on AIS matches Award on NOGA
  • Ensure FDP and/or SNAP
  • Ensure subprojects to participating departments have been set up if applicable
  • Ensure separate funds are set up to account for Program Income or Mandatory Cost Sharing when required
  • If the AIS is for a continuation year, always check if the budget period is funded with prior unobligated funds rather than with all new funding. Sometimes NIH makes mistakes funding budget periods with an incorrect amount of prior unobligated funds from prior Financial Status Reports.  If you have concerns or are uncertain as to how to determine whether a mistake was made or not, please contact your ORSS grants specialist.

Basic Grant Fund Rules at Penn

Grants...

• Understanding the above concept helps you understand when:
  • A fund number should expire
  • A fund number should require a closeout
  • An advance account or account continuation request may be needed if the project is continuing.

It is vital to understand this!

• Tip: When it comes to NIH grants, we can often make some generalizations about the terms and conditions based on the Sponsor ID Number (i.e. sponsor code) assigned to the grant when it is received by NIH. (View updated Activity Codes)
• Always check the Notice of Award (NOA) to verify terms and conditions.

FDP

• The Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP):
  • Is a cooperative initiative among federal agencies and institutional recipients of federal funds.
  • Was established to increase research productivity by streamlining the administrative process and minimizing the administrative burden on principal investigators while maintaining effective stewardship of federal funds.
• Many of the recommendations of the FDP have been included in the expanded authorities as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
• Penn is a participating institution in the FDP.

What are FDP Privileges

• FDP (Federal Demonstration Partnership) Privileges - Summary
  Generally, the FDP allows some administrative privileges authorized by Uniform Guidance and now incorporated into Federal Wide General Terms and Conditions:
  • Automatic carryover of unobligated balances across budget periods and competitive segments (except when noted in the Award)
  • Up to one year no cost extension if requested 10 days prior to end of budget period (to complete project only; not to spend the remaining funds)
  • 90 day Pre-award startup costs
  • Waiver of most cost related and administrative “prior approvals” except:
    • Change in scope or objective of the project
    • Change in key personnel
    • Requests for additional funding
    • Other exceptions
• FDP Privileges – In detail by Federal Agency
  View the Federal Wide Research Terms and Conditions matrix. The matrix is a useful guide to understanding the privileges granted to organizations by the participating federal agencies and when prior approvals are necessary.