Post-Award Policies and Procedures

The following is a list of commonly utilized Policies and Procedures for DOM ORS and is not exhaustive for all situations you might encounter. Please contact your Research Administrator for further information or with any research administration questions.

Carryover Requests 

In research, “carryover” occurs when funds awarded for a particular funding period are not fully expended by the end of that funding period. In the Notice of Award (NOA) issued by the sponsor, the Terms & Conditions section of the award should indicate how carryover funds may be used.

It is important to note that not every award has automatic carryover. Some awards require prior approval, while others do not allow carryover at all.

There are 3 primary categories for carryover funding:

  • Carryover Not Allowed: The unobligated balance cannot be carried over to the next budget segment.
  • Carryover Automatic: The unobligated balance may be carried over to the next budget segment without prior sponsor approval. This applies when sponsors indicate funds can be carried over from one budget period to the next without needing prior sponsor approval.
  • Carryover Needs Prior Approval: In order to carry over an unobligated balance, the PI must obtain prior approval from the sponsor. This is applicable when the sponsor indicates prior approval must be obtained for carryover. The PI should prepare a letter requesting the carryover. RSP must sign the request before it is submitted to the sponsor. Once the sponsor has approved the carryover request, the PI must ensure that RSP receives a copy of the approval.

During award setup, it is important to understand which of the categories above apply to your award.

Contact your research finance administrator to confirm your options and verify the use of carryover funds.

Change of PI 

Contact your ORS research administrator to transfer any awards into or out of UW. They can assist with coordinating all activities and paperwork associated with transfers.

The transfer of a principal investigator (PI), and subsequently an award, from one institution to another is a complex and time-consuming action, and a number of potential issues should be addressed prior to the transfer. An award transfer to a new institution is not simply the change of a name on the award documents.

  • Transfers: All grants and contracts, both federal and non-federal, are awarded to UW-Madison, not directly to principal investigators. If a PI wants to change institutions, the UW will determine whether it will retain, transfer, or terminate the award. As the grantee institution, the UW must approve the relinquishment of an award to formally transfer an award to the PI’s new institution. The awarding agency or sponsor must also approve all grant/contract transfers.
  • Contracts: Please note that while federal grants are often transferred between institutions based on the relocation of a PI, contracts are generally not transferable, but instead may be terminated completely and re-issued to a new institution. Likewise, sponsors may require that UW retain the original contract and issue a new subcontract to the Principal Investigator’s new institution.

For more information, visit RSP’s PI & Award Transfers page. 

Questions? Email ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu. 

Clinical Trial Residual Funding

2024 Clinical Research Residual Policy

Questions? Email ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu. 

Cost Share

All types of cost share, whether mandatory or voluntary, need to be tracked. Some forms of cost share must be reported back to the sponsor. While the DOM administration team will assist PIs in appropriate tracking and reporting, it is the PI’s responsibility to ensure that committed cost share is being accrued, committed appropriately to the project, and meeting the requirements of the award. 

For questions on cost share, or for required updates to cost share items, please email your research administrator or reach out to researchservices@medicine.wisc.edu.

Effort/Payroll Certification

Every six months, PIs must certify salary support for all individuals on federally sponsored projects, or for individuals whose salary is provided as cost share on federally sponsored projects. 

Failure to complete certification has administrative and fiscal consequences.  

For details, visit Effort/Payroll Certifications on our compliance page.

Expense Reimbursement

If you are not sure of the purchasing or payment options for your expense type, or whether the purchase is allowable, contact your research finance administrator BEFORE purchasing. Unallowable expenses purchased with personal funds will not be reimbursed.

Expense reimbursement requirements differ depending on your funding source. Please contact your research finance administrator or visit Expense Reimbursement: UW and UW Health for more information.

Project Reconciliation and Review

PIs with sponsored funding should meet regularly with their research and finance administrators to ensure that funds are spent in accordance with award agreements. The frequency of these meetings—monthly, quarterly, or annually—should be based on the PI’s needs and the size of their funding portfolio.

These meetings will review past project expenditures and discuss upcoming planned costs. They will also ensure proper payroll setup for staff on the PI’s projects and provide time to confirm that everyone is informed about updates, changes, and upcoming reporting requirements.

A key function of these meetings is to verify that costs are charged to the correct project and that outstanding or encumbered expenses are processed and paid in a timely manner.

As part of regular financial oversight, PIs should work with their administrators to review reconciliations and confirm that:

  • Costs are allowable, reasonable and allocable
  • Expenditures are coded correctly
  • Expenditures do not exceed budget categories 
No-Cost Extensions (NCEs)

A sponsor may grant a no-cost extension (NCE) to allow a PI additional time to complete their research objectives. However, extensions cannot be requested solely to spend down remaining project funds.

NCE requests must be submitted at least 90 days before the award’s end date. Some sponsors may have different notification timelines, so it's important to review the award guidelines well in advance to ensure compliance.

If you plan to request an NCE, please contact your ORS research administrator. They can assist with drafting the necessary documentation and coordinating with RSP to submit the request.

When working with your research administrator, please be prepared to provide the following information:  

  • Justification for the extension (e.g., additional work to be completed)
  • Proposed end date for the scientific effort (e.g., completion of experimental work or data analysis)
  • Intended duration of the NCE (e.g., 6 months, 12 months, 24 months)
  • Planned budget expenditures during the extension period (if a balance remains)
  • Whether any subawards will be extended as part of the NCE
Participant Payments

Payments to research participants must be processed using approved university procedures and policies outlined in the links below. The use of purchasing cards (P-Cards), university personal liability credit cards, personal credit cards, or personal funds is not permitted for this purpose. 

Employees will not be reimbursed for participant payments made using any unapproved method.

Relevant Policies and Procedures:

Contact your research finance administrator for assistance with determining payment mechanisms and processing research participant payments.

Subrecipient Monitoring

Subaward monitoring is part of overall award monitoring and management. It ensures that funds are being used for authorized purposes and in compliance with regulations, terms, and conditions.

Subaward monitoring is a shared responsibility. PIs are responsible for assuring the appropriateness, reasonableness, and allowability of expenditures. They also have the technical expertise to determine if the expenditures are in keeping with the goals and objectives of the project. PIs also monitor project progress through review of subrecipient technical reporting.

PIs and project managers involved in directing or managing subawards on sponsored projects are responsible for: 

  • Providing subawards with a comprehensive and detailed scope of work (including any deadlines), a budget including allowable F&A rates, and any other necessary project-related information
  • Overseeing subaward project activities to ensure fulfillment of project objectives
  • Monitoring subaward expenditures and providing assurance of their appropriateness, reasonableness, and allowability by approving payment of subaward invoices
  • Ensuring receipt of technical information, deliverables, or other required reports from the subrecipient

PIs and project managers SHOULD NOT approve payment of subaward invoices if any challenges are experienced in communicating with the subaward PI or designated research personnel, if expectations related to the scope of work are delayed or not being met, or if they have any concerns related to the expenses being charged.

The research finance administrator will review subaward invoices to ensure they align with budgeted amounts and categories, before confirming with the PI that all activities related to the invoice have been met. If PIs or project managers have any concerns regarding subaward activities, they should make their research finance administrator aware immediately so they can assist in resolving any issues.

For more information, visit RSP’s Subrecipient Monitoring page.

Questions? Email ResearchServices@medicine.wisc.edu.

Travel

Sponsored project travel is an area routinely focused on by auditors. Therefore, charges must be adequately documented to ensure they are allocable and allowable. Adding information within the expense report as to how the travel benefits the award can expedite the approval process.

Travel considerations:

  • Travel must occur within the award period.
  • Travel must not conflict with the traveler’s personnel appointment. A conflict between payroll and travel indicates that one of the charges is not allocated correctly. Appointments to non-sponsored funds (E&G or SRAD/PI Support) are not considered in conflict with travel charges to a sponsored project. However, an employee should not be 100% appointed to one sponsored project and charging travel to another sponsored project.
  • Sponsored project travel must abide by all University travel policies.

For more information, visit Travel Planning and Policies: UW and UW Health.