Processing Grants and Contracts

Most grants and all contracts and subcontracts issued to the University require signatures for both the sponsor and the University. In some cases, the University signature will have been provided when the proposal was submitted. The proposal then becomes a part of the grant document either directly or by reference.

Contracts generally are prepared by the sponsor as a result of a successful proposal, forwarded to the University for review, negotiation, and signature, and then returned to the sponsor for signature. Only the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer or specifically designated alternate(s) can sign a contract in the name of the Regents. Faculty members may neither sign contracts nor accept grants in the name of the University.

After proposals have been accepted by the sponsor and an award is made to the University, the ORSP Project Representative compares the contract or grant documents with the proposal and with statements of University policies.

Some of the more important University policies that must be considered are identified in the Policies section. Any discrepancies between the contract or grant and the proposal or policies are called to the attention of the Principal Investigator and others in the project administration process.

Critical Items

Certain activities may require further registration/inspection/approvals by appropriate institutional committees for the certification of compliance with federal and state regulations. The establishment of a project/grant may be delayed until approvals are granted for the following activities:

Use of human subjects/patients: For research involving human subjects, an application must be submitted to the appropriate Institutional Review Board. The IRB must approve the proposal before it is sent to the sponsor or before the research is started. See IRB information to identify the appropriate IRB, learn more about obligations for protecting human subjects, and procedures for approval. Approvals are created, routed, approved, and managed through eResearch Regulatory Management.

Use of vertebrate animals: Approval must be secured from the University Committee on the Use and Care of Animals (UCUCA) for any proposed activity involving vertebrate animals during the proposed project period. See: UCUCA website for more information
Use of recombinant DNA: Specify any recombinant DNA that will be used in this project. more information from the Institutional Biosafety Committee
Classified research: A Supplementary Proposal Approval Form R is required for classified research restrictions. UM Policy information
Restrictions on openness of research: If a sponsor intends to impose a restriction, contact your ORSP representative. Restrictions fall into standard, nonstandard, and classified categories. See Regent's Policy for more information and details.

Conflict of interest: Certain financial or management interests held by key investigators or their families in sponsors of research or entities directly related to the sponsored project requires disclosure and review. See: Conflict of Interest information, inlcuding procedures for disclosing and managing conflict.

The Principal Investigator is responsible for ensuring that every key investigator of the proposed research has either (a) certified that he or she does not have a significant financial interest or (b) has disclosed such interest(s).

Project Award Notice

The PAN is prepared by ORSP and sent to the Principal Investigator and serves to establish the account number for the sponsored project and any cost-sharing accounts required by the agreement.

Subaccounts and subcontracts:

Processing subcontracts.
Establishing subaccounts.

Look at special considerations for equipment fabrication.

Find what you were looking for? Let us know at: UMresadmin-web@umich.edu

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