Chapter 7: Award Transfers

Awards are made to institutions, not individual PIs. This applies to both federal and non-federal awards. An award does not automatically transfer when a PI changes institutions. The institution that originally received the award has the discretion to retain, transfer, or terminate the award when the PI leaves.

Even if the institution relinquishes the award to the PI’s new institution, the sponsor must approve the transfer. The sponsor approval process requires paperwork from both the prior and new institutions. The entire process can take anywhere from six to nine months.

The University’s Transfer of Assets to or From Other Organizations Policy establishes the procedures for transferring assets to and from other organizations.

The transfer process may begin before the PI’s official appointment date at CU Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus. A PI transferring an award to the University must complete the following actions:

• Review and approve financial reports before submitting the transfer request
• Determine if cost-share requirements have been met and whether any unmet requirements will be transferred
• Obtain Institution and Sponsor Prior Approval. A letter from the PI informing the sponsor of the planned move of the project to the University, co-signed by the former institution’s business office. This letter needs to be sent to the sponsor officials indicated on the notice of award. The request should include a statement that the balance of the award be transferred to the University for PI use. The PI should obtain prior approval as soon as possible. For NIH awards, a Type 7 Application must be submitted to transfer the award.
• Obtain a Relinquishing Statement. The former institution needs to provide an official relinquishing statement as soon as possible.
• Obtain a Final Inventions Statement from the current institution, if applicable.
• Obtain IRB and IACUC approvals through the University, if applicable.
• Obtain contact information for the University.
• Initiate a Material Transfer Agreement, if applicable.
• Determine the role of the Co-PI or other senior/key personnel that will remain at the previous institution and if a subrecipient agreement will be required.
• If subrecipients are included in the award, each subrecipient institution must provide the following documents to OGC:
• A face page signed by the subrecipient’s business official
• A detailed budget for the initial year reflecting the dollars that have yet to be expended
• A budget page detailing the remaining years of the award
• Biosketch and other support pages
• A checklist page specific to the subrecipient institution
• A letter indicating the subrecipient’s willingness to enter into a subrecipient agreement with CU Denver should the transfer be approved by the sponsor
• A new proposal routing must be submitted to OGC. The budget reflected on the routing form should be the balance of the initial year's direct cost dollars that are to be transferred, plus the University’s indirect cost rate.

When there is a delay in obtaining a transferred award, it may be necessary to establish a subagreement from the PI’s former institution to CU Denver. The subagreement period of performance should be until the sponsor approves the transfer of the award. To execute the subagreement, the former institution will need to name a PI, which generally requires sponsor prior approval.

Additional information about transferring an NIH award to the University is available on the OGC website.

A PI leaving the University must request their department and school’s approval to transfer the award to a new institution. Approval will only be approved under the following conditions:

• The PI is leaving the University to go to an affiliated organization/institution, another institution of higher education, or another nonprofit or government training institution
• The PI’s administrative unit and school does not wish to request that the sponsor approve another faculty member who is qualified to serve as PI on the award
• The request is made in a timely manner prior to the project’s expiration. A late request will be considered but is subject to sponsor restrictions
• The PI completes all documents necessary to facilitate the transfer and submits those documents to OGC along with the “Request for Approval to Transfer Sponsored Project Award” form approved by both the PI’s department and school
• The financial obligations for non-cancelable obligations are covered out of award funds or are resolved at the administrative unit and school level prior to the transfer of any remaining award commitments. Expenses charged to a sponsored project must be allowable under the award terms and conditions
• The new institution accepts the award
• The sponsor grants approval

PIs may request the transfer of equipment and supplies of the award from their administrative unit, which has no obligation to approve the transfer. The administrative unit must notify the Finance Office if approval is granted to transfer equipment. PIs should work with the appropriate intellectual property office (CU Innovations or Venture Partners at CU Boulder) for the transfer of intellectual property.

Upon notification a PI is leaving the University, the administrative unit should:

• Provide the PI with the Request for Approval to Transfer Sponsored Project Award
• Obtain a list of the PI’s projects and determine the future status of each award
• Identify all personnel working on the PI’s projects and determine the future status of each employee
• Work with HR to revise funding distributions
• Stop recurring charges for transferring awards
• Complete a final reconciliation of the financial report for all the transferring projects and submit necessary PETs and JEs as soon as possible
• Obtain prior approval for a PI change for any award not transferred
• Determine the disposition of any pending proposals
• Coordinate effort certification
• Verify the PI has completed all required reports for each award
• Determine the status of data
• Provide for the disposition of any transferring equipment
• Ensure IACUC and IRB protocols are closed
• Complete any department-specific procedures, such as laboratory closing

For NIH transfer awards, the University must indicate if the transfer request is related to concerns about safety and/or work environment, including issues related to sexual harassment or bullying.