Important Notice 05-2 has just been released which announces revised requirements for the routing of sponsored projects documents. This notice applies to all campuses and replaces Important Notices 03-5 and 03-6. The notice in its entirety can be viewed at http://www.fms.indiana.edu/cg/imp_notice/05-3.asp.

In an effort to assist departments in using the new guidelines, we have written brief FAQs to assist both faculty and departmental administrators with the process.

Q. Why make a change to the routing process? It seemed to be working fine.

A. Based on feedback from many schools and Principal Investigators (PI), Sponsored Research Services (SRS) determined that the many items requiring routing were becoming an administrative burden for those involved. One of our primary goals is to make the system more efficient for everyone and to create a uniform set of routing requirements for the entire university to reduce confusion on collaborative proposals.

Q. I have a budget revision or time request (without additional funds) that does not require a PI signature. Do I still need to bring copies to the SRS office?

A. No, for a budget revision or time request with the above criteria, neither a route sheet nor paper copies are required. The documentation can be e-mailed to rspinfo@iupui.edu for administrative review. Please include identifying information such as PI name, proposal number, due date (if applicable), and/or account number, so the action can be matched to the correct file. Once received, a Grant Specialist will contact you with information on any action that is taken.

Q. My budget revision or time request requires both an original PI and institutional office signature. How should I handle this?

A. Since an original PI signature is required, we request that you bring us the paper copies as you would have in the past. A route sheet, however, is not required. It will be extremely helpful to our office if identifying information is included (no post it notes, please, as they have a habit of becoming attached to other things) and that you please use some mechanism (e.g. binder clips, folders, etc) to differentiate between actions. As in the past, our office requests that you provide us with the number of copies required by the agency along with two copies for our files (three copies if you are in the School of Medicine).

Q. I have a NIH non-competing continuation application – how do I deliver this to your office?

A. Since NIH requires an original signature on non-competing applications; this would be handled in the same manner as the above question concerning a budget revision or time request that required both an original PI and institutional office signature.

Q. I am sending in a non-competing progress report that does not require an institutional signature. What does your office need from me?

A. Our office does not require you to submit any copies of non-competing progress reports to us that do not require an institutional signature.

We understand, however, that these proposals often need underwritten prior to the award being received by the University. Since we will not have any paperwork to drive the proposal number creation process, certain steps will need to be taken in order to secure an underwrite.

If an underwrite is needed on a non-competing progress report that does not require institutional signature, the departmental administrator can send an e-mail to rspinfo@iupui.edu including PI, award number (if applicable), agency, time period of the next funding year, and dollar amount. Once received, the Grant Specialist will compare the information to our files to ensure accuracy and a new proposal number will be assigned. This number will be e-mailed back to those listed on the initial e-mail request. Once complete, the department can move forward with the existing underwrite procedure (for more information see: http://www.fms.indiana.edu/cg/imp_notice/95-8.asp).

If no underwrite is needed, proposal numbers will be assigned when the award for the next year of funding is received.

Q. I am used to getting signed copies of items returned to me – will this still occur with the new system?

A. If an item is received for administrative review, signature pages will not be returned to the PI or the department. Shipping information will continue to be sent to the PI, so they can track the progress of their information. In addition, SRS will soon offer a web-based interface where PIs and departmental contacts can view the status of both proposals and awards.