Receive the award and start up the project

The appropriate central office will perform the following functions when an award notice is received*:

• Review the terms and conditions
• Review the budget
• Accept on behalf of Duke and return the fully executed documents to the sponsor, when applicable
• Distribute the sponsor's award notice, including any attachments to the department and Treasury Billing Services (TBS)
• Enter the award information and set the status of the project to "Awarded" in SPS

* Please note: If the PI receives an award notice directly from a sponsor, the department administrator should contact the appropriate central office to verify that they have also received the award notice.

1. All Key Personnel named in the sponsor notice of award are required to complete the award attestation in myRESEARCHhome. Key Personnel will receive an email directing them to the attestation, or it can be accessed in the “myApprovals” widget in myRESEARCHhome. Lead PIs can also see the completion status for other attestees on the project card in the “Projects” tab of the “myPortfolio” widget.
2. The PI should review the notice of award and make note of any concerns to discuss with the grant manager. The notice of award can be found on the “Projects” tab of the “myPortfolio” widget in myRESEARCHhome. It is helpful to compare the notice of award to the proposal application to determine if any budget or timeline adjustments are needed.
3. Grant managers should compare SAP to master data to ensure the award has been set up correctly. Items needing particular attention include:
   • Special terms and conditions (reporting, spending restrictions, rebudgeting restrictions)
   • Cost sharing and F&A
   • Project start and end dates
4. The PI and grant manager should meet to discuss any adjustments needed. During this meeting, it may also be helpful to discuss:
   • Adjustments needed to the budget
   • Important dates and deadlines for sponsor reporting (and put these on calendars!)
   • Delegation of roles and responsibilities for financial, programmatic, and administrative deliverables
   • Communication and frequency preferences for administrative and financial reports

Incoming agreements

Departments should work with the appropriate central office to initiate a subaward agreement when Duke is a subrecipient under a grant or contract awarded to another institution or entity.

• Guidance on incoming subaward agreements for School of Medicine and School of Nursing
• Contact your departmental ORS representative to initiate incoming subaward agreements for Campus Schools and Provost Area

Outgoing agreements

When a portion of the scope of work on a sponsored grant or contract is allocated to another organization (the subrecipient) to complete, a subaward agreement needs to be established and managed throughout the award period.

• Access the Establish and maintain outgoing subaward agreements page for more information

• CAS/rebudgets
  • Guidance on rebudgeting funds on sponsored projects
• WBS Elements (WBSE)
  • Guidance for establishing WBSEs for School of Medicine and School of Nursing projects 
  • Guidance for establishing WBSEs for Campus Schools and Provost Area projects

• Personnel allocations
  • Ensure that all personnel have been allocated properly to the award code. Guidance around Duke Appointments, institutional base salary (IBS), nine month appointments and summer supplements, stipends and non-comp, G90, and minimum and maximum effort can be found in the subpages of the Manage effort and payroll page.
  • Work with the administrators in the corresponding department, center, or institute for internal collaborators that are outside of the PI’s department.
• Hiring new personnel
  • The Hire and engage personnel, students, and volunteers page provides guidance on allowable activities and the hiring process if new research staff will be hired for the project, or if the investigator intends to include trainees, visiting scholars, or volunteers on the research team.
  • Once new personnel are in place, their effort will need to be appropriately allocated to the corresponding award codes.

• The process for initiating service or consultation agreements can take some time. Grant managers are encouraged to begin this process as soon as possible to help avoid delays. 
  • Access the Procure goods and services page for more information about RSSAs and Core Research agreements.
• If requesting Duke-supported technical services or goods, please work directly with the entity providing the resource or service.

• Financial, ethics, and other activity-based trainings may be required prior to receiving award funds or beginning any project activities.
• Access the Train new research personnel page for more information about training requirements based on role and research activities.

• Based on the sponsors or other external collaborations, additional agreements may need to be in place.
• Access the Navigate contracts and agreements page to determine if additional agreements are needed and which central office to contact.
• Only designated institutional officials can sign agreements on behalf of Duke.

• If the project calls for additional research staff members, or if the investigator plans to include trainees, volunteers, or visiting scholars on the study team, the departmental hiring manager should be coordinated with to recruit and bring in new personnel.
• Access the Hire and engage personnel, students, and volunteers page for information about allowable activities by role and information about the hiring process for different categories of research personnel.

• Based on the proposed research activities and inclusions, various institutional reviews, clearances, and approvals may be needed prior to beginning any project activities.
• The Prepare for institutional approvals page should be used to determine what approvals are likely needed for the project based on planned activities.

• If new lab space is needed for the project, coordination with the department business manager or space and facilities personnel is necessary.
• Access the Find equipment, resources, and Service Centers page for internal resources for purchasing equipment or accessing shared resources. Investigators should work with grant managers or business managers prior to purchasing any new equipment to ensure all purchases are compliant with the sponsor and institutional regulations.

If the project involves any international activities or collaborations, access guidance and support for initiating these activities.