OGC News - May 2023
Financial Services Connection
May 17, 2023
CONTRACTS SERVICES
Contract Season Reminders and Tips
As we head into contracting season, a couple reminders for getting your contracting request into the right hands for review are below.
- Not sure which University Office handles your agreement?
Click here for a diagram.
- What should I do with this Option Letter the State of Colorado sent to me?
These are amendments so please submit them via Formstack. We’ll do a quick review to make sure all is in order and send them along to Award Intake for you.
- When is a Formstack required for agreements related to incoming sponsor funding?
A formstack is required for amendments to existing agreements initially routed through InfoEd. Amendments are any document that changes an existing contract by adding new terms and conditions, changing existing terms, changing the scope of work details, adding new money, or changing the duration of the agreement, etc.
- I’ve already routed a proposal through InfoEd for this funding and project, but not a contract. We’ve now been awarded the funding and they have sent us an agreement for review. How do I initiate a review of the contract?
Simply email the agreement to ogc.contracts@ucdenver.edu with the appropriate InfoEd proposal number included in the body of your email. Be sure to include a finalized Statement of Work, Budget, and any other attachments that support the agreement or are referenced within it.
- We received an agreement for an incoming sponsored project, but we haven’t submitted anything in InfoEd related to this project, how do I initiate a review of this agreement?
Please submit an InfoEd request.
Pro-tip #1: In the InfoEd routing form, be sure to select the “Agreement Ready for Review” option to bypass our Preaward team’s review, expedite the review of your agreement, and shorten the form itself.
Pro-tip #2: If there is no incoming funding, but the agreement covers a non-monetary research collaboration or other non-monetary research aim, be sure to select the “non-monetary” option in the routing form to shorten the form and expedite to our team for review.
PREAWARD
Data Management and Sharing Plan vs. Resource Sharing Plan
The following article was provided by NIH to help clarify the distinction between the two plans; please help ensure your PIs have this understanding:
The Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan and Resource Sharing Plan are separate attachments that may be required for your application. One does not necessarily replace the other.
NIH has a number of sharing policies. The Data Management and Sharing and Genomic Data Sharing Policies have been hot topics of late, but there are also Model Organism Sharing, Research Tool, and other policies that may also apply. See Which Policies Apply to My Research?
Data Management and Sharing Plan
- Required for all applications submitted to funding opportunities subject to the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy.
- Use new “Other Plan(s)” attachment field on PHS 398 Research Plan or PHS 398 Career Development Supplemental Form.
- Address data management and sharing.
- Address genomic data sharing (GDS) policy expectations when applicable.
- Respond to any NIH Institute and Center or program-specific expectations related to data sharing outlined in the specific funding opportunity.
Resource Sharing Plan
- Not always required.
- Use Resource Sharing Plan Attachment field on PHS 398 Research Plan, PHS 398 Career Development Supplemental Form, or PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form
- Address other applicable NIH-wide sharing policies (e.g., Model Organism Sharing Policy, Research Tools Policy).
- For example, if you create a new model organism as part of your research, a Resource Sharing Plan must be submitted.
- Respond to any NIH Institute and Center or program-specific expectations related to non-data resources (e.g., software sharing) outlined in the specific funding opportunity.
Please refer to the application instructions on the How to Apply – Application Guide page and the funding opportunity for additional requirements.
More information on NIH sharing policies can be found on the NIH scientific data sharing site or reach out to xenia@ucdenver.edu.
TRAINING & COMPLIANCE
Events with Alcohol – Form & Process Updates
As of May 2023, Compliance has launched a new, electronic Alcohol Authorization Form and routing process. Note that the requirements and policies related to events with alcohol remain unchanged. However, the electronic form is intended to be more user friendly than the former PDF version and includes dynamic fields, easy online or mobile access, and simple submission.
In addition to form improvements, a new routing process has been established to streamline the approval flow and add transparency to the status of an event with alcohol. Moving forward, Compliance will use DocuSign to route requests through appropriate department, alcohol advisory committee, and campus leadership approvals.
For a link to the new e-form and details on the routing process, please review the Financial Services – Events with Alcohol website. Questions? Please reach out to fs-compliance@ucdenver.edu.
POST AWARD
New ePERS Inquiry Page
We are excited to announce a new display-only page to review ePER reports for Grant Administrators. A new display page has been created that you should now have access to in the Finance system.You can access the Finance tile by clicking on the ePERS tile.
Note: If you do not have the ePERS tile please refer to Homepage Personalization for instruction.
Once you are and click on ePERS Inquiry to find an individual report to review. You can search by Empl ID, Name, or HR Dept ID and other options.
Another option to access the ePER Inquiry area is via the menu. This can be used to review or print effort reporting; effort reporting certification process is not impacted by this addition.
Building a Stronger Platform to Better Serve You
We are pleased to announce the next implementation phase of the Start to Finish post award management structure. This model brings the Setup (Continuation/Amendment), Billing and Post award tasks together under one group, a 2-person pod. Each pod will be the central point of contact for their assigned department administrators.
The Start to Finish structure was initially piloted in February 2020. This proved to be successful and laid the foundation for seamless award lifecycle management as we now transition on a larger scale.
New staff hired since fall, 2022 will allow re-distribution with smaller department populations. Over the next few months our Post Award and Billing teams will cross-train, expanding sponsored project knowledge while maintaining current service levels. In fall, 2023 our pods will begin Modification/Amendment setups; new Award/Contracts setups will remain with the Setups Team.
The Office of Grants and Contracts would like to express our gratitude to the departments who participated in the pilot program. Your insight and patience helped us form best practices. We would also like to thank all departments now for your patience and feedback as we adjust to the Start to Finish pod structure.
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Team Update
Melissa Sullivan
Melissa is excited to join the OGC team and brings nearly 20 years in higher education management experience. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado State University and is a Colorado native who hates to ski! In Melissa’s free time, she loves to watch movies and stand-up comedy, garden, and spend time with her partner, Adam, and their three children.
Matt Sauerwein
Matt joined the PreAward team in April. He brings over 20 years of experience and has been a great addition to the team. Matt received a bachelor's degree from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University. He's been a great addition to the team!
Paul Ho
Paul received his accounting degree from Metro State University. He brings many years of accounts receivable, billing, and accounting experience to his Post Award Specialist position. Welcome Paul!
Team Talks
Office of Grants and Contracts Physical Location Notification
Our 1st floor, west wing location in the Fitzsimons Building is currently under construction. The Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) is temporarily located in the same building on the 5th floor, west wing in Suite W5130 during construction. While OGC continues to perform most services in a remote capacity, when we are on campus, we are working in this temporary space. We are still available via a variety of methods - refer to the OGC website (about halfway down the page).
No changes are needed to our mailing address as mail is not impacted, and we have posted notices for any FedEx drop off items to come to our temporary space. Thank you for your patience during this time.
There are no changes for physical checks. Those should be taken to the Bursar’s Office with a completed cash receipt and not left in OGC's physical location. The Bursar's Office is located in Ed2 North, 3rd floor.
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