Information provided in this section covers common definitions, the role and responsibilities of the Principal Investigator (PI), research personnel, and gifts versus grants.
Funding grant terminology is extensive and can be reviewed at Grants.Gov. Additionally, many funding agencies have information for researchers (e.g. NIH, NSF) and even provide lists of acronym with definitions (e.g. NIH Acronym List). PIs should utilize these resources to learn more about the funding agencies they are applying to. PIs are expected to familiarize themselves with common definitions that are relevant to both the research process and the PI Handbook.
A PI/PD is the individual(s) designated by UNT to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct a research project or program supported by funding. This lead researcher for a defined research and scholarly project takes direct and primary responsibility for the completion of the project, direction of the research, and reporting to the sponsored agency. A Collaborating Principal Investigator (Co-PI) or Co-Investigator (Co-I) is a researcher that takes a secondary role in the project direction, completion, and reporting to the sponsored agency.
Sponsor agencies are institutions that are either part of the federal, state, or local government, or a non-profit, corporation, or other institute that provides funding for a research project.
All research activities, both basic and applied, and all development activities that are performed by non-Federal entities. Research also includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities and where such activities are not included in the instruction function. Research is defined as a systematic study directed toward fuller scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied. Development is defined as the systematic use of knowledge and understanding gained from research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including design and development of prototypes and processes.
F&A costs (also known as indirect costs) are defined as necessary costs incurred by a recipient for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefited, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved. To facilitate equitable distribution of indirect expenses to the cost objectives served, it may be necessary to establish a number of pools of F&A (indirect) costs. F&A (indirect) cost pools must be distributed to benefited cost objectives on bases that will produce an equitable result in consideration of relative benefits derived.
Indirect Costs(i.e.: F&A, Overhead) are funds the University receives for the reimbursement of services rendered in support of grants and contracts. F&A funds are paid to the University by the granting agencies as reimbursement for indirect support provided to the grants and contracts (such as maintenance, utilities, library, administration, and support, etc.) Since colleges and units incur costs in supporting sponsored research, a portion of these charges are distributed back to them in order to support their continued involvement in sponsored activities.
The University of North Texas (UNT) will recover indirect costs (i.e.: F&A, Overhead) for all sponsored projects unless specifically prohibited or limited by the funding agency in published guidance.
The Standard Distribution is as follows:
|
Standard IDC Distribution |
|
PI/Dept/College/Institute |
VPRI |
VP Finance |
Total Distribution |
|
32.5% |
37.5% |
30% |
100% |
The distribution of the funds within each college will be based on the College’s policy for distribution. Below are the College’s current Distributions. In the case of proposals/awards with more than one PI/Co-PI/Co-I, the indirect cost distribution will be based on the PI Recognition Credit listed in the electronic Funding Proposal.
|
Standard College/Dept/PI Distributions(32.5%) |
|
College |
College Distribution |
Department Distribution |
PI Distribution |
|
CENG |
12.5% |
10% |
10% |
|
CLASS |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
CMHT |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
COB |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
COE |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
COI |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
COS |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
CVAD |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
CHPS |
11.25% |
11.25% |
10% |
|
Music |
10% |
12.5% |
10% |
|
UNT Libraries |
22.5% |
0% |
10% |
*In the case of joint appointments, the IDC distribution will be split proportionally between the two appointments as appropriate.
1. When ProjID Accounts are established the Indirect Cost Distribution is set up for that project and is based on the PI Recognition Credit that was established in the internal GRAMS Funding Proposal record.
2. Indirect cost return funds will be allocated to separate accounts based on indirect cost revenue recovered in the previous month from sponsored program accounts.
3. These funds may be used at the discretion of the principal investigator, chair or dean for research or scholarly activities. Expenditures will be governed by current University policies and procedures. Indirect cost return funds may not be used for faculty salaries or for recurring obligations exceeding the funds available at the time the commitment is made.
4. The balance remaining in indirect cost return accounts can be carried forward from one year to the next.
5. In the event the principal investigator leaves the University, his or her indirect cost return funds will be transferred to the department indirect cost return account.
A funding opportunity announcement is a publicly available document by which a Sponsored Agency makes known its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. Funding opportunity announcements may be known as program announcements, requests for applications, notices of funding availability, solicitations, or other names depending on the Agency and type of program. Federal funding opportunity announcements can be found at Grants.gov/FIND.
A Request for Proposal is an announcement from funding agencies on the intent to make awards to meet a specific need of the funding agencies. RFPs typically have specific content that guides the applicant on the requirements within the proposal, and while the majority have due dates, many have open or continuous deadlines.
In a contract proposal, a statement of work is the detailed description of the work that will be performed under the contract.
A subaward is an award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the pass-through entity considers a contract. The term includes consortium agreements.
From this section, PIs will see information regarding:
Several employment titles automatically confer PI/CoPI status due to the roles and responsibilities that come with that title. Titles of Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor and to library faculty holding the titles of Librarian, Associate Librarian, and Assistant Librarian. Other job titles whose workload includes research responsibility Other non-tenured research titles, whose workload includes research responsibility, also qualify for automatic PI status; these titles include Research Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Assistant Professor, Clinical Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Assistant Professor, and Research Scientists levels II-IV . Other administrative titles are also eligible for automatic PI status provided the individual is a full-time employee: Vice President, Associate Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Dean, Associate Dean, and Assistant Dean. Emeritus faculty and Faculty on modified service must request PI status.
The PI must have an active appointment with UNT and is responsible for executing and financially managing the grant or project. The PI and Co-PI are most often full-time, permanent employees whose official job roles and responsibilities include serving as a PI or Co-PI on extramural grants or sponsored projects. Since a proposal and subsequent award are a commitment for UNT in many ways, it is important to establish the qualifications and ability of PI’s and Co-PI’s to carry out the work on externally funded grants and sponsored projects.
For individuals not in an employment position outlined above, or whose role and responsibility does not include serving as PI/Co-PI, PI eligibility will need to be requested to serve as a PI/Co-PI/Co-I. Individuals must complete the online application and upload the required documentation to be considered. The online application will then be routed to the replacement faculty member and appropriate approver before routing to the Vice President of Research and Innovation or Associate Vice President of Research and Innovation for review and approval.
Step 1) Complete the Requestor and Sponsor Information, upload a curriculum vitae, and provide a brief summary of the requestor’s justification for the request and a summary of their qualifications.
Step 2) Include a Backup PI or Co-PI. A replacement faculty member (who is a qualified PI or Co-PI, as defined above) who will commit to assuming the PI or Co-PI responsibilities should the original requestor leave UNT or otherwise be unable to remain as PI or Co-PI on the project.
Step 3) Include the requestor’s unit head for approval (for example, within an academic department, the Department Chair). The unit head must confirm via their approval that the person requesting PI or Co-PI eligibility status will, pending award, have assignable workload available for the specified scope of project activities (e.g., lecturer teaching load will be modified for assignable sponsored project workload).
Step 4) Once the online form is complete, provide the Requestor Certification online and then proceed to submit for internal routing and approval by the individuals listed above.
Such a request must be made for each proposal submission and will be approved or denied by the Vice President for Research and Innovation, the Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, or their designee. Approval must be obtained before submitting the proposal package to Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA). The rationale for this request is to 1) inform the individuals supervisor and/or departmental chair of the research grant application; 2) communicate the individual’s qualifications to conduct research; and 3) ensure that the employees workload will be adjusted accordingly in the event of an award.
The backup PI or Co-PI should be someone both capable and committed to carrying on the work of the grant or sponsored project should the PI or Co-PI leave UNT. Persons qualified to certify this request include (a) (if the requestor is in an academic unit) a regular faculty member in the requestor’s unit who is otherwise qualified (as defined here) to be a PI or Co-PI and is qualified to manage the project and continue its work, and (b) (if the requestor is in an administrative / non-academic unit) a UNT administrator at the level of Assistant Vice President or above who is qualified to manage the project.
This process is electronic, and the individual requesting PI eligibility should work directly with a grants and contracts staff specialist to process the request.
UNT’s principal investigators (PIs) bear the primary responsibility for success of their sponsored research and student training projects. In addition to their academic and scholarly duties, principal investigators must exercise a substantial degree of administrative acumen to enable the research enterprise, of which they are crucial for successful function. For the purpose of applying for extramural grants and sponsored projects, a PI at UNT is the person who, in the event of an award from an external funding entity, has the full and final responsibility for the conduct of the project as proposed and as set forth in the contract or grant. It is the responsibility of the PI/CoPI to be aware of the necessary materials required by the funding agency to provide updates on the project, adhere to proposed budget or modify the budget as allowable by the funding agency, and understand the material within this PI handbook.
PIs should be familiar with all that personnel with could be involved with the research.
Individuals that contribute to the development and execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way. Typically, these individuals have doctoral or other professional degrees. These individuals must devote a measurable effort to the project.
The research enterprise at UNT greatly depends on the research staff within research units, core facilities, and departmental units. These research staff are not automatically eligible for PI eligibility but can request PI/CoPI eligibility through the process outlined above. Many sponsored projects can support research positions to conduct the research outlined in the project proposal. Refer to the agencies' guidelines to understand research personnel allowances.
A postdoctoral scholar is an individual who has received a doctoral degree (or equivalent) and is engaged in a temporary and defined period of mentored advanced training to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path. (See the NIH-NSF Definition of a Postdoctoral Scholar. (PDF - 85 KB)) Funding opportunities exist specifically for early career researchers (e.g. postdoctoral fellows). The AVPRI serves as advisor to the UNT Postdoctoral Association to facilitate research opportunities and development for these early career researchers.
|
Job Title |
UNT Job Code |
|
Postdoctoral Research Associate |
1339 |
|
Research Scientist I |
1311 |
|
Research Scientist II |
1312 |
|
Research Scientist III |
1313 |
|
Research Scientist IV |
1314 |
Defined as an individual who is affiliated with an organization/institute outside of UNT who is invited/sponsored by a faculty member to collaborate on a research or scholarly project. The activity should benefit the researchers and further UNT’s research mission. Anyone working on campus with a researcher to collaborate for 2 weeks or longer is considered a visiting researcher.
UNT procedures for hosting a visiting scholar/researcher are managed through the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Research personnel must submit a form to request a visiting scholar.
Traditionally, graduate students have played a significant role in the conduct of sponsored research. Undergraduate students are also increasingly involved in research activities. For all students participating in sponsored research projects, it is important to assure that the terms of sponsored research agreements will not conflict with a student’s academic progress and that students have the right to refuse to participate in a particular project if they so choose.
Administrative staff at the department, school, college, institute or other unit level are a critical component of successful sponsored project administration and therefore are strongly encouraged to provide administrative support to their faculty and staff for all research and sponsored project activity within that unit. Included in this staff category are department administrators, research analysts, administrative coordinators, and budget officers, et al. It is essential that administrative staff maintain current knowledge of sponsor regulations and UNT policies and procedures related to sponsored projects management and research compliance.
Administrative staff may assist PIs by:
Any extramural project that meets any of the following criteria is considered to be a “sponsored project” and will be administered accordingly:
All research and teaching activities, whether or not considered sponsored projects, that involve human subjects, laboratory animals, export controls, use of radioactive materials, or biohazard activities must be reviewed by the appropriate University committees for compliance with University policies and governmental regulations.
Gifts to UNT of a restricted or unrestricted nature that do not include any conditions that would classify it as a grant are not viewed as sponsored projects and are not processed through GCA, but through the gift transmittal procedures with Corporate and Foundation Relations within UNT Advancement and with the VPRI’s Research Commercial Agreements (RCA) if the gift requires a research contract. Gift solicitation and acceptance should be coordinated with the appropriate development officer in each college, and with Corporate and Foundation Relations in the Division of Advancement.
Once a PI identifies a funding opportunity, the researcher needs to submit this GCA web form to request for a Grants and Contracts Specialist. The Grants and Contracts Specialist will discuss the RFP or opportunity, provide access to resources and portals, and develop a timeline for submitting the proposal documents to the Grants and Contracts Administration (GCA) for the administrative review process.
Many private companies are interested in finding ways to interact with University faculty researchers. In order to facilitate such arrangements, while avoiding the many pitfalls inherent in these relationships, the following guidance is offered:
UNT receives funds from numerous foundations and other not-for-profit sponsors. The terms and conditions of these awards are widely variable. Principal investigators should review the terms and conditions of awards, including the entity’s policies on intellectual property, prior to submitting applications to these sponsors.