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Award/Decline Notification

AWARDED FUNDING

When notification of an award is received, OGSR must be contacted immediately and the original award notice sent to OGSR. The  Office of Grants and Sponsored Research arranges for formal acceptance of the award. The Treasurer’s Office sets up the Award Implementation and Management (AIM) Meeting with the PI and begins processing the appropriate forms to set up the grant account. Even when a proposal has been funded, reviewers’ comments should be requested from the sponsoring agency.  These comments provide valuable information on strengths and weaknesses of the project. Finally, the PI should thank the sponsoring agency and keep the agency informed of progress in implementing the project by completing all required reports in a timely manner.

While responsibility for certain day-to-day management of the project finances may be delegated to administrative or other staff, accountability for compliance with the sponsor requirements and College policy ultimately rests with the PI. Chronic failure to carry out the responsibilities incumbent upon a principal investigator or chronic noncompliance with sponsor regulations, can result in nonpayment of College invoices. Ultimately, this might jeopardize future funding to the PI, as well as to the College as a whole.

DECLINED FUNDING

The PI must notify OGSR and provide a copy of the letter of denial to OGSR so that the file is current and alternative sources of support can be investigated.  The PI should also contact OGSR to discuss the situation. Frequently, a proposal is declined not because of any defect or lack of merit, but because the agency received a large number of excellent proposals requesting an amount of funding greater than the amount available.

The letter of denial should be read carefully to identify possible reasons why the proposal was not funded, and whether the funding agency will allow a re-submission of the proposal? The chances of success increase statistically with each re-submission.

When a proposal is denied funding, reviewer comments and assessments are especially important in improving the proposal and preparing it for re-submission. If they are not provided, the PI can write or call the agency and request them. Reviewers’ comments should be analyzed carefully and the revised proposal should respond to the reviewer comments appropriately.

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