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UF Health University of Florida
Office of Research College of Medicine

Post-Award

Post-Award encompasses all activities involved in managing a research project after the official award is received. The following pages contain resources, tools and guidance that is available to assist our Research Administrators with their day-to-day activities.

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Table of contents

Grant Financial oversight

Pre-Award and Post-Award responsibilities are equally critical, with Pre-Award concentrating on securing funding and laying the groundwork for a successful project, while Post-Award ensures ongoing oversight, compliance, and effective management throughout the project lifecycle.

Postaward Tasks Include:

Award Setup and Initial Award Meeting:

Establishing the award in the institutional system, reviewing the award terms and conditions, ensuring budgets, accounts, and reporting structures are correctly configured. Some key topics to include in the initial award meeting and review as part of the award setup may include:

  • Award Terms and Conditions
  • Effort
  • Spending/Re-budgeting
  • Publication Restrictions
  • Reporting Requirements
  • Deadlines
  • Initiate Payroll Distributions and new hires
  • Any major equipment purchases
  • CAS exemptions
  • Create a new subaward
  • Export Control
  • IRB
  • IACUC
  • COI
    • NOTE: Remember, in regard to terms & conditions from the sponsor or university, the most restrictive policy applies.
Monthly Grant Monitoring:

Preparing and reviewing grant reports (often called Account Summaries, Project Summaries, Monthly PI Reports, etc.) to track project financial health. Key areas to monitor include:

  • Salary and Effort – are the right people and their time being charged to the grant?
  • Spending and Burn Rate: Ensure all costs align with the project schedule and fall within the specified period of performance.
  • Identify and correct any errors in the budget, encumbrances, or expenditures. Best practice for corrections is within 90 days from when the cost was originally posted.
  • Travel is allowable when a clearly defined relationship between the travel and the project exists.
  • Subaward Monitoring
PI Portfolio Meetings:

Holding monthly meetings with Principal Investigators (PIs) to review their entire portfolio of active grants. Key topics to discuss may include:

  • Effort
  • Spending/Re-budgeting
  • Payroll
  • Any major equipment purchases
  • CAS exemptions
  • Subaward Monitoring
  • Cost-Sharing
Expense Reconciliation

Performing detailed monthly reconciliations of grant expenses is essential to promptly identify and address discrepancies. This process ensures that transactions are accurately posted, expenditures are allowable and allocable, and spending aligns with the project’s budget and objectives. Every expense should have appropriate support documentation to confirm its compliance and benefit to the award, helping maintain accountability and prevent errors.
Every Expense should have appropriate support documentation:

  • Clear description of what is being purchased
  • Information on how the expense provides a direct benefit to the award
  • Additional justification may be required for unusual expenditures
  • Charges split between more than one project must be allocated on the
    basis of proportional benefit or other reasonable method. The
    methodology for the split should also be documented.
Tips for Monthly Grant Reconciliation
Personnel Management:
  • Payroll Distributions: Monitoring and updating payroll allocations to ensure personnel costs are accurately charged to grants.
  • Effort Certification: Ensuring compliance with effort reporting requirements by certifying that effort commitments match sponsor expectations.
Cost Share and Balance Monitoring
  • Cost Share Monitoring: Tracking and verifying committed cost-sharing contributions to maintain compliance with award terms.
  • Negative Balance Reviews: Identifying and correcting negative balances in grant accounts to prevent financial noncompliance.
Award Closeout Preparation

Begin reviewing awards six months, three months, then 30 days prior to their end date to ensure all outstanding items are identified and addressed, including:

  • Finalizing reconciliations.
  • Verifying effort certifications have been met and all payroll distributions are correct.
  • Addressing negative balances or cost-sharing obligations.
  • Closing Open Encumbrances
  • Preparing for submission of final financial and technical reports.

Managing Personnel Funded by Award Funds

Proper management of personnel funded by grant awards involves ensuring that salary allocations reflect actual effort and that any changes in effort are promptly updated. This practice not only maintains compliance with sponsor requirements but also ensures that personnel costs are accurately reflected in the project’s financial records. Regular reviews and updates to payroll allocations are necessary to align with the project’s progress and any adjustments in staffing.

Best Practices

  • Monthly Reviews: Conduct monthly reviews of all grant transactions to ensure accuracy and compliance. This includes verifying that expenses are allowable, reasonable, consistently treated, and properly allocated.
  • Timely Corrections: Address any discrepancies or errors promptly, preferably within the same effort period, to prevent compounding issues.
  • Communication: Foster regular communication with your principal investigators to review expenditures, payroll, and project progress, ensuring alignment with financial and programmatic goals.

Records Retention

The University must adhere to the State of Florida General Schedule of Records Retention GS1-SL, Item #422, which mandates that all grant-related files be retained for five years following the completion of the grant cycle or project, as applicable.
Additionally, individual sponsors may impose retention periods that differ from these standards, varying by sponsor, program, award, or record type. In such cases, the most stringent retention policy applies.

Transferring Grants Between Institutions

Overview of the transfer process and resources available to help work through a transfer in or out of UF.

Award Financials

  • myInvestiGator (GATORLINK REQUIRED)- “Online banking” for grants. Find your current budget, balance, line by line transactions and effort/pay data for all your sponsored projects.
  • Enterprise Analytics (GATORLINK REQUIRED) – Financial, effort, proposal, award, and project reports customizable for transactional reconciliations and local grants management. Additional information on Sponsored Projects Reporting can be found here.
  • Deposit Log – Listing of all fund payments received an in process deposits by and the project to which they were deposited and status.

Resources