Santa Clara University

SPO is the University's central administrative office responsible for sponsored projects. The office, located on the lower level of the Walsh Administration Building, reports to the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. SPO's primary functions are described below.

1. Identifying Funding Sources

In order to assist faculty in identifying funding sources, SPO publishes the Sponsored Projects Newsletter and communicates directly with deans, department chairs and individual faculty on matters of special interest or to alert them to opportunities with unusually short time constraints. SPO responds to requests from faculty to locate funding for their particular interests using the Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN), a computerized data base of federal and non-federal funding opportunities.

In monitoring external support opportunities, SPO receives numerous publications and maintains an extensive file of general and specific program information. Among the publications received are the following:

• Federal Grants & Contracts Weekly -- A weekly newsletter highlighting federally sponsored project opportunities in research, training and services, as well as news briefs of interest to higher education on granting agencies and changing rules and regulations.
• The Grant Advisor -- This monthly publication also is directed specifically to higher education and provides information on both federal and non-federal funding opportunities. Included is a comprehensive list of program deadlines by general areas of interest (e.g., Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, etc.).
• NIH Guide for Grants & Contracts -- This weekly publication announces scientific initiatives and provides policy and administrative information, as well as announcements of opportunities, requirements and changes in extramural programs administered by the National Institutes of Health.
• NSF Bulletin -- This monthly publication provides news about National Science Foundation programs, deadline dates, publications, meetings and sources for more information.
• Federal Register -- This daily publication of the federal government is the official source for rules and regulations governing the various federally supported grant and contract programs.

Numerous other publications also are received, and SPO maintains information files and application forms for most of the federally supported programs. The faculty are encouraged to make use of these information sources at their convenience.

2. Proposal Development Assistance

After locating a possible funding source, SPO can assist faculty in contacting the appropriate sponsor program or technical representative with whom to discuss a particular project idea. Additionally, SPO will assist in the preparation of proposals at the request of the faculty member, especially the development and preparation of the budget. Depending upon the need and expertise of the individual faculty member, assistance also can include offering advice on strategy and tactics, providing information on how to write a proposal, editing the proposal and critiquing the proposal in terms of its responsiveness to sponsor guidelines. However, writing the proposal is the duty of the project director/principal investigator, who is responsible for implementation of the project if it is funded.

3. Proposal Review & Processing

All proposals for sponsored projects must be reviewed by SPO for conformance to University policy and sponsor regulations prior to submission. SPO also coordinates the submission of proposals as outlined in Section VI of this Manual.

4. Award Negotiation

In consultation with the principal investigator, SPO negotiates with sponsors contract language that is mutually acceptable to the investigator, the University and the sponsor. Areas typically requiring negotiations are publication restrictions, intellectual property rights, indemnity and insurance requirements, payment provisions, levels and frequency of technical and financial reporting, and reduced/revised work scope and corresponding budget.

Occasionally cost or special terms and conditions must be negotiated for grants. However, most grants from Federal agencies are routinely accepted by the University after being reviewed by SPO.

5. Post-Award Administration

When an award has been accepted by the University, SPO sends an Award Notice and copy of the actual award document to the principal investigator (PI). The Award Notice identifies the University fund number assigned to the project, the period of performance and other pertinent reporting information. Although SPO attempts (via the Award Notice) to alert the PI to special requirements of the award, the PI should read the award document and is responsible for operating within the administrative constraints imposed by the award.

After accounts are set up, SPO is responsible for reviewing and approving certain expenditures authorized by the PI to assure that the costs are allowable under the terms of the sponsored agreement and that funds are available. SPO also is responsible for periodic and final financial reporting of expenditures to the sponsors.

Specific procedures and other details regarding post-award administration are outlined in Section VII.

6. Institutional Compliance

SPO coordinates the University's compliance with requirements mandated for institutions participating in federally sponsored projects. In this role, SPO reviews applicable federal regulations and advises the Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs; institutional committees for Human Subjects, Animal Care and Use, Biosafety and Intellectual Property Rights; and other administrative units, as appropriate, regarding proposed changes and new requirements.

SPO coordinates preparation of the University's indirect cost rate proposal, in accordance with OMB Circular A-21, and negotiates it with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, SPO provides the University's response to the compliance audit of federally sponsored agreements mandated by OMB Circular A-133, as well as other audits of individual awards.