Writing Letters of Inquiry

Tips for Maintaining Compliance with Federal Agencies

• Meet all Reporting Deadlines
  Grant reports should be filed by due dates - no later! Mark all due dates ahead of time on a yearly calendar. Research Administration will send reminders and will work with PIs to submit the reports or to formally request an extension.
  
• Communications/Correspondence
  Paper (and email) trails protect the grant, the university, and grant administrators from misunderstood communications. Copy your supervisor and Research Administration Institutional on email. Maintain hard copies of all important correspondence. The office of Research Administration maintains all official grant-related documentation.
• Don't Lobby, Don't Politic, Don't Entertain, and Don't Support Religious Activities
  All of these activities are strictly prohibited with grant funds. That includes using staff time for any of these activities. Support letters for legislation cannot come from project staff. If in doubt, contact the Grants Office.
  
• Cultivate a "Sixth Sense" about Improprieties
  If a planned action causes hesitation or even a second thought, check with the office of Research Administration, who will decide whether to contact the program officer. With grants, permission is the best route as forgiveness can be extremely expensive - personally, professionally, and financially.
• Ask Questions
  As a new project director the sheer volume of information can be daunting. The grant project is important and its running smoothly is important. The people and places that form the grant network are here to help.
• Credit the Funding Agency
  On any piece of printed material, whether a news release, brochure, or major product, a credit line should appear listing the agency by its full name. If verbal presentations are being given to community groups, the agency should be credited there as well. Oftentimes, the funding agency has specific guidelines about this.
  
• Provide Lead Time
  The grant project is one of many impacting University services. People work best when the impossible request is a rarity. Grants frequently deviate from routine University activities; therefore, more lead time is often needed to make special arrangements for grant activities. So be considerate - plan ahead.
  
• Monitor the Budget
  Grant funds represent the end result of a stiff competition with other universities and colleges. They are an investment by a public or private entity in the University's future. The University will be held accountable for its stewardship in using those funds.
  
• Plan Carefully for Grant-Related Meetings
  Make a written agenda available to participants prior to the meeting. Use effective group management techniques to keep the meeting on track and to use time well. Follow up with meeting summaries and action on necessary items.
  
• Integrate into the College
  The Project Director and the grant program belong to the University and are a part of the community of needs, people, and events. Avoiding isolation builds support for the project goals and interest in the outcomes. An advisory committee made up of representatives from diverse areas of the campus can sometimes help in this process.
  
• Address Problems Before They Become a Crisis
  Any large project has the potential for going awry. Contact your supervisor and/or Research Administration when things begin to go off track to find early solutions.
  
• Keep Research Administration Staff Informed
  Copy Business Services and Research Administration on memos involving fiscal or budget issues and major program changes. Work as a team.
  
• Follow all University Purchasing Procedures. 
  Be sure to identify potential conflicts of interest, but in general do not purchase from relatives, friends, or sole-source.
  
• Keep the Larger Goals in Mind
  But stay current on details.

Effort Reporting: Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know

by National Council of University Research Administrators on Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 8:00am

Effort Reporting

Effort Reporting is our means of providing assurance to sponsors that:

1. Salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable in relation to the work performed, and
2. Faculty and staff have met their commitments to sponsored projects.

Success in the effort realm depends on careful attention to important issues throughout the sponsored projects lifecycle and communication with the P.I. Below are the Top 10 things a P.I. should know about effort:

Top 10 Things a P.I. Should Know about Effort

1. Effort is your work on a project, whether the sponsor pays your salary or not
2. When you write yourself into a grant proposal, you are committing your effort to the sponsor.
3. If you reduce your effort, paid or unpaid, on a federal grant by 25%, you must have agency approval. If you reduce your paid effort, you may choose to document cost-sharing so that the total effort does not decrease.
4. Many activities cannot be charged to a federally sponsored project. For example, the time you spend on these activities cannot be charged:
   • Writing a proposal
   • Serving on an IRB, IACUC or other research committee
   • Serving on a departmental or university service committee
5. If you work on a sponsored project, you must certify your effort.
6. Certifying effort is not the same as certifying payroll.
7. Certification must reasonably reflect all the effort for all the activities that are covered by your University compensation.
8. Effort is not based on a 40-hour work week. It's not based on hours at all.
9. Effort must be certified by someone with suitable means of verifying that the work was performed.
10. In identifying audit findings, auditors look for indications that certification was based on factors other than actual, justifiable effort.

Robert C. Andresen, Assistant Director Research And Sponsored Programs, University of Wisconsin — Madison