Georgetown Research Services
Georgetown Research Services

Award Review, Negotiation, and Setup

Sponsored project awards to Georgetown University include grants, contracts, research agreements, external fellowships, and cooperative agreements. JORA is responsible for the receipt and negotiation of externally sponsored project agreements to Georgetown University, in consultation with other relevant University offices. JORA staff serve as Georgetown University’s Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs) and Signing Officials (SOs). JORA is the only office authorized to bind the University to sponsored project  agreements.

JORA is the primary contact and conduit to University administration and external sponsors for questions or issues related to the establishment of sponsored project spending accounts (worktags), budgets, pre-award “at-risk” accounts (spending prior to receipt of award notice), re-budgeting, no-cost extensions, or any other administrative or contractual issues that require University compliance, review, and approval (or prior approval) from the sponsor. A GU-PASS entry must be completed in order to establish award worktags in GMS.

Overview

A sponsored project is an externally funded grant, contract, or cooperative agreement in support of research, instruction, training, service, or other scholarly activities and often requires programmatic and financial reporting. Federal and state awards are generally   considered sponsored projects, as are many corporate and foundation awards. External Fellowships and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Agreements that involve payment to Georgetown University are also administered by JORA.

JORA’s Pre-Award Grant Administrators (PGAs) receive, review, and negotiate award notices, and establish worktags in GMS that are used to bill sponsor-approved costs against research awards. When an award notice, agreement, or amendment is received, it is imperative that is forwarded to the relevant PGA, who will:

Once awards are set up in GMS, their day-to-day fiscal management and maintenance is handled by Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers while financial oversight, billing, and financial reporting is the responsibility of the Sponsored Projects Financial Operations (SPFO) Department in the Office of Financial Affairs.

Notification of Award

If a proposal is selected for funding, the submitter may be notified by way of an award letter, agreement, contract, or other form of award notification. It is important that these documents are shared with JORA’s PGAs, who will shepherd the award through review, negotiation, and GMS setup.

If there are questions as to whether the incoming funding will be handled as a gift or a grant, JORA will work with the Office of Institutional Partnerships (OIP) on that determination. Grants are administered by JORA while gifts are administered by OIP.

Sometimes, award notifications or agreements come as the result of direct discussions between Georgetown faculty/personnel and the sponsor. Perhaps the PI was even “invited to apply”. In such cases, it is important that the PI contact JORA before any application materials (including budgets) are submitted to the sponsor. Doing so facilitates the award setup process should the proposal be awarded.

Agreement Review, Negotiation, and Execution

Upon receipt of a new agreement, it is matched to its proposal entry in GU-PASS. If a proposal was submitted without JORA involvement, an after-the-fact proposal will need to be routed in GU-PASS. In such cases, all proposal materials should be sent to the relevant PGA and Proposal Development Specialist.

PGAs review the terms and conditions of all new agreements and amendments on behalf of Georgetown University. They are authorized to negotiate with sponsors directly to ensure that agreement terms are clear and do not conflict with University policy. Common terms that are subject to negotiations include – but are not limited to – those related to reporting deadlines, publication restrictions, intellectual property, confidentiality, indemnification, termination rights, dispute resolution, and governing law.

Once Georgetown University and the sponsor are in agreement on the terms and conditions, the PGA will secure authorizing signatures. JORA staff serve as Georgetown University’s Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) and Signing Officials (SO), and JORA is the only office authorized to bind the University to sponsored project agreements. While PIs may have a signature line on the agreement, the agreement will not be considered fully executed until an authorized JORA signatory official has signed. The Office of Research Oversight (ORO) reviews each award for compliance with policies related to conflict of interest and export controls prior to award setup in GMS.

Award Record Setup in GMS

Once an agreement or modification has been fully executed, the PGA will establish or amend the award record in GMS. All new awards are provided AWD # (AWD-777XXXX) and GR # (GRXXXXXX) worktags for spending. Once the award record is established, the PGA will provide these worktags and inform relevant stakeholders of any special or unique conditions/terms in the agreement that may need to be adhered to throughout the grant lifecycle, these conditions are also monitored by SPFO and the Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers. At this time, the award record in GMS is reviewed and approved by SPFO. The PGA then introduces the PI/project team to the Post-Award Grant Administrator/Grant Manager who will assist with the day-to-day financial administration of the award. JORA Post-Award Grant Administrators support Main Campus PIs on the post-award management of sponsored awards. Medical Center PIs will continue to work with Medical Center Grant Managers for post-award management.

Amendments or Modifications

Amendments or modifications to agreements are reviewed and processed by PGAs. Common examples of amendments include those that extend the period of performance, alter the Key Personnel or PI, provide additional funding, or rebudget awarded funds. It is important that changes to the original scope of work and/or budget are flagged by the Post-Award Grant Administrator/Grant Manager or PI and brought to the attention of the Cluster Research Administrator so that they can determine whether or not sponsor approval for the change is required. Sometimes email approval from the sponsor can suffice, while other times official amendments may be required. Some sponsors (usually federal) require that a designated AOR submit a prior approval request in the sponsor system to document the request for changes to the award.

Subawards

It is important – and usually required – that subawards are identified at the proposal stage of the award lifecycle. For more information please review the “Subaward or Consultant?” section of the Pre-Award Proposal Development page.

Upon receipt of an award, PGAs will work with PIs and Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers to establish or modify subaward agreements. GU-PASS entries are used to track the establishment and modification of subaward agreements and amendments. These GU-PASS entries are initiated by Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers.

Required attachments for a subaward request in GU-PASS are:

Usually, the above subawardee documents are collected by JORA Proposal Development Specialists during the proposal process. Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers will assist PIs in confirming and updating the necessary documents from subawardees, if needed, and will route the information to PGAs in GU-PASS. PGAs then incorporate the required documents into subaward agreements or amendments and negotiate their execution with the subawardee institution.

In order to be issued funds under a subaward, subawardees must be established as suppliers in GMS. Post-Award Grant Administrators/Grant Managers work with subawardees to set up their Supplier ID.

Clinical Trials

A clinical trial is a research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions (which may include placebo or other control) to evaluate the effects of those interventions on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes.

If the prime funding source of the clinical trial is from a federal agency, foundation, or university then it will be managed by JORA – please reach out to your Cluster Research Administrator. If the prime funding source of the clinical trial originates from a pharmaceutical or private industry company then it will be managed by the Clinical Research Operations Office (CROO).