URA Award Lifecycle
Across the lifecycle of an award, URA provides support in the areas of sponsored programs, research compliance, and eRA, Training, and Analytics.
Finding Funding. Numerous federal, non-federal, and corporate agencies and organizations contribute significantly to our research and academic mission. The majority of the funding is for research, however support is also received for fellowships, training, conferences, equipment, and various other educational purposes. The search tools and sites on this page are useful for linking research ideas to appropriate sources of funding.
Proposal Development: URA formally submits proposals on behalf of the University of Chicago for investigators, research projects, and units within the University. The proposal process varies and depends on your particular location within a division, school or department within the University. Generally, local administrators work with faculty to prepare proposals and route them for appropriate sign-offs. This page offers resources to help.
Pre-Award Sponsored Development Services: URA Sponsored Development Services is a team of dedicated Sponsored Development Managers and Specialists who provide pre-award support for opt-in partners across campus at The University of Chicago. These services include support for proposal development, pre-proposals, or Letters of Intent (LOIs), Just-In-Time (JIT) requests and assistance navigating sponsor policies and interpreting guidelines.
Proposal Submission and Acceptance: A summary review of the University’s policy on the submission of applications and acceptance of awards that result in a grant or contract for research, instruction, or other sponsored activity.
Receiving an Award: Congratulations on your award! URA is here to guide you through the next steps and ensure the smooth management of your funded project. From acceptance to oversight, we provide the tools and resources needed to comply with sponsor guidelines and university policies, allowing you to focus on impactful research and successful outcomes.
See also: Just In Time and Award Setup
Award Setup: A summary of next-steps depending on your award type.
See Also: Subawards
Subawards: A subaward normally involves collaboration with another educational or research institution but may be entered into with any organization outside the University. The research is generally performed by the Subrecipient’s personnel using their resources, usually at their site. The Subrecipient takes full responsibility, including intellectual leadership, for the portion of the work statement that they will undertake. Learn more at this page.
Award Management: Guidelines, procedure and policy information for the life of your award.
See also: Post-Award actions, Approvals, Modifications, Financial Reports, Progress Reports, Scientific Reports, Other Compliance Activity
Post-Award actions: Throughout the project period of a sponsored award, changes may be needed to successfully manage the award. Many changes require the approval of the sponsor agency and thus requests to the agency should be routed to URA for review and institutional endorsement prior to submission to the agency. URA is the official liaison with the funding agencies and official communications to agencies should be coordinated through URA. Learn more here.
Modifications:
Financial Reports: Financial reporting is a key element in the life of an award, especially the closeout of sponsored program accounts. This policy page establishes authority, responsibilities and timelines.
Progress Reports:
Scientific Reports:
Other Compliance Activity:
Award Closeout: Closeout is the final reconciliation and reporting of the expenses and activities of the project. This is a combined effort between the PI, local departmental/unit administration and University Research Administration. Throughout the life of the award, award management steps should be taken to ensure timely, accurate closeouts. This includes the allocation of expenditures, the monthly monitoring and reconciliation of the account, and reviewing the account activities and plans with the PI, making adjustments as necessary.
Final Reporting:
Relinquishing an award: If the Program Director/Principal Investigator leaves the University there are situations when it is appropriate for the sponsored awards to transfer to the new institution. In these cases, the local unit should contact URA to discuss the specific situation and plan for the transfer of the awards. This page contains more details.
Closeout Procedures: