Manage Award

Summary

The award management process begins once you have met your funding source's compliance requirements, the program provisions are complete, and once the award is available and set up in PeopleSoft.

Throughout the project term, some of the following changes may occur:

Changes in key personnel
Award end dates
Budgeted amounts
International travel
Specialized equipment

The UTSW financial system must reflect accurate award limitations and restrictions. This critical stage receives regular audits throughout the project life cycle.

How to Manage Your Award

Get Started with Accuracy

Confirm Award Details

Review your Grant Notification Report (GNR) to confirm that your award details are correct and let SPA know of any issues you might need to be addressed.
Ensure an Accurate Budget

Verify funding to ensure an accurate project budget, analyze funding to ensure an accurate project budget, confirm award start and end dates, and review your award budget monthly. Pay close attention to and verify terms and conditions and special terms and conditions listed in the Notice of Award (NOA). Contact SPA through ServiceNow for corrections to inaccurate information.
Confirm Compliance Requirements

Confirm compliance requirements such as spending, reporting, and disclosures throughout each project stage. Failure to obtain an approved IACUC or IRB protocol may result in restricted funding categories and delay in proceeding with projects as anticipated.
Monitor Subrecipients

Make sure your agreement is executed and a purchase order has been created. Check with your subrecipient to ensure they are invoicing on a regular basis. Monitor your purchase order, encumbrance balance, and accounts payable on the SCi005 - Invoices Vouchered by Accounts Payable report in Orbit.
Source Your Employees

Source your employees working on this project and review regularly for updates.

Ongoing Review for Your Success

Review Encumbrances

Regularly review your monthly encumbrances to ensure SPA can accurately help you manage your award. Work with Accounts Payable, Purchasing, or SPA’s Contracts Team to clear obstacles for your award.
Review Budget Errors

Review your COA (Chart of Accounts) to ensure you are using the correct information that pertains to your specific award. If the COA is inaccurate, contact SPA’s Maintenance Team for assistance with your budget error.
Review Expenditures

Review expenditures and disallowed expenses, ensuring allowability, allocability, and reasonableness. Making necessary corrections in a proactive manner allows for addressing issues earlier in the financial management stage, rather than at the end of the award. We recommend monthly financial reviews.
Control Deficit Spending

Control deficit/over-the-limit (OLT) spending of the project's total funded amount.
Monitor Award End Dates

Monitor upcoming PeopleSoft end dates and review notice of award (NOA) and no-cost extension (NCE). Notify SPA if plans are to request an NCE.

Incorporate Best Practices

Communicate Early Terminations and Relinquishments

Communicate early terminations and relinquishments to SPA by initiating the modification in eGrants.
Submit Award Amendments

Enter all award amendments to SPA through eGrants by providing the correct award modification type under the Awarded tab. The UTSW financial system must reflect accurate award limitations and restrictions. (See Expert Tips for additional guidance.)
Use Accurate Identifiers for Cash Management

If the invoice is generated by a department, use mail code 9020. If you receive a check directly, please do not send it through interoffice mail. Send the check to the Cash Management window and include the award and invoice number.
Invoice for Industry Clinical Trial

These invoices should contain a SPA award number, project ID, PI name, and full study title (not abbreviated).
Create a Financial Management Process

Form a system for managing your project's financial, human resource, and operational aspects.
Examine Scientific Progress

Observe scientific progress throughout the project and report necessary modifications with the sponsor for approval when pertinent.

How to Manage Financial Reporting

Review Agreement Documents
Periodically review your agreement documents to ensure that you know upcoming due dates and check your project ahead of the grant year-end dates for any reconciliation or cleanup your award might need.
Review Expenses Incurred During Performance Period
Review all expenses incurred within the period of performance for allowability. Your department needs to ensure all expense invoicing has been received. If there is a subcontract, the department should ensure all invoices have been received for financial reporting during the period.
Transfer Disallowed Personnel Expenses
Transfer any disallowed personnel expenses by the direct retro process for Maintenance Award group approval. If disallowed other expenses, transfer off using the non-salary cost transfer (NSCT) tool.
Review Encumbrances
Review encumbrances and, if necessary, work with Purchasing to clear them.
Use the Financial Reporting Template
Ensure that your team uses an accurate sponsor financial report template for reporting. If your department receives the template from the sponsor, please send it to the SPA Reporting team.
Request a No-cost Extension, if Needed
If you are going to request a no-cost extension, please notify SPA through ServiceNow.
Review and Approval
Once the SPA Reporting team has completed the financial report, using the eGrants process, the financial report will be sent to the PI/Department for review and approval signature.
Certify and Submit to Sponsor
After the PI has uploaded the report and performed the certification in eGrants, the report will route to the Financial Officer for approval and submission to the sponsor.

Terms and Definitions

Award Amendments: Necessary when a change of scope or finances of an approved grant application occurs.
Budget Period: The period during which authorized funds may be spent, per the Notice of Award (NOA).
Encumbrances: Restricted funds in an account reserved for a specific future debt or liability.
Direct Retro (Salary Cost Transfer): The transfer of a payroll expense between accounts.
Non-Salary Cost Transfers (NSCTs): An expense transferred between accounts after the expense was recorded in the UT Southwestern financial accounting system.

View All Terms & Definitions

Expert Tips

How to Be a Good Steward of Your Award

Award Amendments & Modifications in eGrants

Before reflecting in PeopleSoft, award modifications are recorded in eGrants by initiating the correct award modification type under the Awarded tab. Accurate award limitations and restrictions should reflect in the UTSW financial system.
No-Cost Extension

A no-cost extension (NCE) extends the project period beyond the original project end date without additional funding. Once the NCE has been approved by the sponsor, SPA will update the end dates in PeopleSoft.
Re-budgeting or Budget Revisions
After a grant or contract has been awarded, you may determine that the approved budget allocations are not consistent with actual project needs. You may request the formal reallocation of funds from one spending category to a category that better reflects the project requirements, including:
- Effort changes (Process per the sponsor’s guidelines)
- International travel (Process per the sponsor’s guidelines)
- Specialized equipment (Process per the sponsor’s guidelines)
Revised Notice of Award

If you receive a revised notice of award (NOA), you should provide the NOA modification to reflect the sponsor’s requested changes, including an increase or decrease in funding or project.
Carryover of Funds

Sponsor approval to carry funds forward to apply existing funds to the next year’s segment. eGrants will notify department staff when a carryover modification has been submitted to the sponsor. Once sponsor approval has been received, SPA will update PeopleSoft.
Award & Personnel Changes

When significant changes occur, such as PI changes or award terms and conditions, a modification should be initiated in eGrants to update the historical and financial record.