Santa Clara University

Most funding agencies designate two different contacts:

• The technical or project monitor
• The contract or grant officer

The principal investigator interacts most directly with the project monitor in proposing, explaining and reporting the results of the project efforts. Conversely, the principal investigator should not interact in any substantive way directly with the grant or contract officer because of the formal contractual considerations involved. Furthermore, the principal investigator should be aware that while changes in the project can be discussed with and even suggested by the project monitor (and technical aspects ultimately may be approved by him or her), only the grant or contract officer has the authority to negotiate and change formally the provisions of a grant or contract.

When there is a need to correspond with the sponsor, the principal investigator should prepare a letter, endorsed by the Director of Sponsored Projects, which:

• Provides the correct address of the sponsor's technical monitor or grant officer who has authority to approve the request. (The award agreement should indicate the appropriate contact.)
• Cites the agreement (grant, contract or purchase order) number assigned by the sponsor.
• Clearly states the request.
  • No-cost Extension
    • Indicate the number of months needed<</P>
    • Reason for the need of additional time
    • Expected month, day, year the work specified in the agreement is expected to be completed (include sufficient time for completion of the final report)
  • Special Purpose Equipment Costing $1,000 or More and All General Purpose Capital Equipment
    • Cost of the item
    • Description including catalog price and relevance to the project
    • Why it is preferable to purchase rather than rent/lease
    • Whether equipment will require additional dollars or will be purchased with existing funds, and from what budget category (if rebudgeting is involved)
  • Foreign Travel Approval
    • Indicate cost of travel (air fare, per diem, registration/conference fees)
    • Destination
    • Reason for travel (e.g., present a paper, collaborate with researchers, attend a conference)
    • Date of travel and number of days