Comprehensive Guide to Grants, Awards, Contracts, and Research Accounts Administration at RIGS
Explore the detailed process, key personnel, internal and external funding examples, and responsibilities of the Research, Innovation, and Graduate Studies office at RIGS in managing grants, awards, contracts, and research accounts from proposal to account setup. Gain insights into funding programs, research support funds, and the cycle of standard grant applications.
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Grants, Awards, Contracts & Research Accounts - From the proposal to the account set-up & everything in-between! September 25, 2023
RIGS Staff Dr. Anna Redden Jessica Bradley Theresa Starratt Associate VP Research, Innovation & Graduate Studies Research Office Administrator Graduate Studies Officer 2
RIGS Staff Dr. Peter Ludlow Leigh Huestis Katrin Sommerfeld Manager, Research Grants & Programs Director, Office of Industry & Community Engagement Manager, Industry & Community Partnerships 3
Finance Office Staff Megan MacLeod Eleni Mieto Manager, Research Accounting Financial Analyst, Research Accounting 4
Grants & Awards 5
External Funding Examples Tri-Council (Federal) Social Science and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canadian Foundation for Innovation (Federal) John R. Evans Leaders Fund (Equipment & Infrastructure) Other Funding Program Examples Research Nova Scotia Habitat Conservation Fund Canadian Cancer Society 6
Internal Funding Examples Article 25:55 (Fall & Winter) Direct Costs of Research Dissemination Harrison McCain Foundation Grants Emerging Scholar Visitorships Visiting Professorships SSHRC Institutional Grant (SIG) Explore Exchange 7
Office also Responsible for: Canadian Foundation for Innovation CFI Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF) Canada Research Chair Programs Acadia currently has four research chairs (1-SSHRC, 2-NSERC, 1- CIHR) Research Support Fund $659,525 in 2023-24 8
Cycle of Standard Grant A) Contact Needs & Ideas Program Fit RGIS needs to learn about your work B) Application Guidance/advice RGIS submits most applications Internal Deadlines C) Post Award Communication of Results Finance Office is notified of successful Grant and information is entered into TeamDynamix (TD) Amendments & Reporting Campus-Wide Awareness 9
Contract Research 10
Industry & Community Engagement (ICE) Office Innovation! Intellectual Property Resource Commercialization Activities Start-up Support (LaunchBox, RIC, Atlantic innovation ecosystem) Applied Research Activities (~75%) 11
Contract (Sponsored) Research Government/Industry/Non-Profit/Community Partners/Foundations, etc. Projects supported by external funds (60+%!) Generally, applied research Formal, written agreement between Acadia and the external partner(s) (& other collaborators if applicable) Research agreement, services agreement, sub-contract, contribution agreement, collaborative agreement, etc. 12
Contract - Award Lifecycle AWARD! Proposal/SOW & Budget TD Agreement Entered into TD - Over to Finance Identify/Confirm Funding Source Project Management Project Completion Project Concept Next Phase? 13
Other ICE Activities Come chat with us if: You have an idea for a project and/or would like us to contact potential partners You require help identifying sources of research funding You would like assistance negotiating project/budget/agreement You have questions about IP/commercialization You have questions and/or require assistance reviewing or developing project-related documentation (e.g., student agreements, 3rd party software licensing agreements, etc.) 14
Mitacs Projects Accelerate for research projects Business Strategic Internship (BSI) for business process improvement or development For any discipline, working with undergraduate or graduate student, postdocs & recent graduates Application Process & Administrative Considerations Open intake (unless thematic call/special programming) Application gets reviewed by our office and Mitacs Application is also signed by AVP Research, Innovation and Graduate Studies Review timelines for Accelerate (6-8 weeks) and BSI projects (3-4 weeks) Notification by Mitacs of Research Review If successful, Mitacs will invoice the project partner for matching contribution. ONLY once the project partner has paid the invoice, does Mitacs issue the Notice of Award (and the project can start). The project CANNOT start before the partner has paid the invoice! 15
Mitacs Projects Student Payroll Accelerate project with undergrad/grad student stipend possible BSI project Research Associate/Assistant set-up bi- weekly payroll with benefits ($10K salary to student, benefits paid from $5K research funds Recent grads and postdocs always set up on bi-weekly payroll IMPORTANT: Plan ahead! Allow enough time for the project to start when you want it to start! 16
Takeaways We are here to support you! Plan ahead - contact us early Send us the proposal/budget BEFORE it is submitted Agreements are in place to protect YOUR interests (and your students) it may take time to negotiate Agreement is between 3rd party & ACADIA Agreement must be reviewed prior to signatures Once fully executed, Agreement is entered into TD then over Finance 17
Research Accounting The role of Research Finance Office at Acadia is to provide financial services and advice to the University Community about research grants and their management. Our goal is to provide our researchers, students and all partners with efficient, effective and timely administration of all funding to ease the burden of financial management and enhance the success of research at Acadia University. 18
Accountabilities Researcher Accountabilities: As funds are awarded, the Account Holder assumes responsibility for using the funds for the purpose for which they were awarded and for complying with the guidelines and policies of the sponsor and the University. It is also important that you as the PI understand the allowable expenses that can be charged to a research project based on the funding source and program. PI Authorization Account Holders/Principal Investigators are the primary signing authority on research projects and they must approve all expenditures that are applied to their research projects. 20
Delegation of Signing Authority An account holder can delegate this authority. Delegation of Signing Authority is the sharing of authority with others for approving project expenditures. The Account Holder can delegate responsibility for authorizing expenses; however he/she/they cannot delegate accountability for the management of the funds and the project. The Account Holder, therefore, remains fully responsible for the conduct of the research compliance with sponsor guidelines and University policies as well as the financial management of the funds. To delegate signing authority on your gl account to spend, please contact David Ames at david.ames@acadiau.ca in our finance office to complete this delegation of signing authority. It is important to let David know whether you are giving them access to spend on the gl account or access to view the gl account. 21
Project Activation The GL account number that is assigned to the researcher is made up of a series of numbers. ie 58-0-205107-63115 The first two numbers in the gl account series are called the FUND number. The number 58 signifies that this gl account is a contract/agreement. The next number in the series is the CAUBO number. It will always be zero for research. We have these numbers for reporting purposes 58- Fund Desc NSERC - Individual NSERC - Institution (General) NSERC - Institution (Special) NSERC - Undergrad Awards (Students) NSERC/SSHRC-Chairs (CRC) CIHR-Institutional Special Faculty/University (Startup) AUFA (25.55) SSHRC - Individual SSHRC-Institutional (General) SSHRC-Institutional (Small) SSHRC - Joint Projects SSHRC Indirect Costs of Resear Contracts 0- 41.00 42.00 43.00 44.00 45.00 46.00 48.00 49.00 51.00 52.00 53.00 54.00 55.00 58.00 The next in the series is the UNIT Number. This number is specific to the researcher & project ie This specific gl account belongs to M. Dadswell. 205107- The final number in the series is the the object code. This is the number are using when you code an invoice for payment. This object code is for research supplies 63115 22
Eligible Expenses Each research fund establishes what is permitted as eligible expenses for the funds they have provided. The general principle is that award monies must be put towards the direct costs of the funded research project. Multiple Policies In cases where multiple policies can apply to the eligibility of an expense, the sponsor s policy takes first precedence. In all cases for research gl accounts, alcoholic beverages are not eligible. If you have any questions about a specific expense (for research), you can email myself (Megan MacLeod) or my financial analyst Eleni Mieto. 23
Financial Reporting Research Accounting is responsible for managing the post-award aspect of research, including financial monitoring, compliance and reporting. Financial reporting requirements vary depending on the type of grant and funding agency. Research Accounting prepares draft Financial reports prior to submission to external agencies and reviews these drafts with the PI(s). Once the PI has approved the draft, Research Accounting will submit the report. further Further, Research Accounting prepares audit files, working papers and statements. 24
Student payroll In budgeting for student and/or research assistant costs, researchers need to include mandatory employer costs in their calculations. All employees are entitled to vacation pay which is also paid by the researcher. All forms for hiring students are located under https://hr.acadiau.ca/forms.html It s important to check your accounts regularly to ensure that your predicted costs are in line with actuals costs. All payroll forms need to be sent to my attention before payroll as I approve all payroll expenses that onto a research gl account to make sure there is enough monies available. 25
Contact Information RIGS Anna Redden anna.redden@acadiau.ca Jessica Bradley jessica.bradley@acadiau.ca Theresa Starratt theresa.starratt@acadiau.ca Peter Ludlow peter.ludlow@acadiau.ca Leigh Huestis leigh.huestis@acadiau.ca Katrin Sommerfeld katrin.sommerfeld@acadiau.ca Financial Services Megan MacLeod megan.macleod@acadiau.ca Eleni Mieto eleni.mieto@acadiau.ca 26
