Award Receipt & Negotiation

Award Notification

OSRAA typically receives notification of an award once the sponsor has approved the proposal. A contract may already be prepared or is in the process of being prepared. The project can’t begin being administered until OSRAA has received a formal notification of acceptance from the sponsor and in most cases, a bilateral agreement is required. If the Principal Investigator receives a notice, please notify the OSRAA to ensure that a notification has been received by the office as well.

Once all documents are received through the appropriate channels the OSRAA will then be to able to process and distribute the award to the PI and any Co-PI’s.

It is important to remember that Principal Investigators are not authorized to sign on behalf of OSU

Check Award Status

Important Details in a Notice of Award

Most notice of award documents address these points:

  1. Period of Performance. These dates may not coincide with the dates of the total project period.
  2. Name of the Principal Investigator. This individual is responsible for conducting the project in accordance with OSU policies and sponsor requirements.
  3. Dollars Committed and/or Obligated. Not all project funds may be released at the beginning of the project, but may be obligated incrementally. The sponsor is under no legal obligation to pay dollars not yet obligated.
  4. Future Year Commitments. These funds are contingent on their availability and on satisfactory progress on the project. Use these amounts for planning purposes.
  5. Cost Sharing. If the sponsor requires the OSU to contribute its own resources to the project, it may specify those requirements in the award notice. Documenting and reporting on these costs, as proposed, is a formal requirement for the OSU whether or not the sponsor specifies the cost share commitment in the award documents.
  6. Accounting and Reporting Obligations. Virtually all awards require technical and financial reports. Many awards require patent and property reports.
  7. Deliverables. Under some contracts, the OSU must deliver specified work products to the sponsor.
  8. Payment to University. Awards specify how the OSU will be funded or reimbursed by the sponsor.
  9. Special Terms and Conditions. The award may have additional terms and conditions that specify such things as key personnel, limitations on availability or use of funds, need for prior approvals and similar additional oversight by the awarding agency. It is critical to understand these restrictions before incurring costs. Both the PI and the responsible DGA must take note of these requirements in addition to reading all referenced documents within the award notice.
  10. General Terms and Conditions. Many awarding agencies, especially federal, publish general policy guidance for the administration of sponsored awards. It is understood that submission of a proposal to an agency constitutes an acknowledgement that the award will be administered in accordance with all agency terms and conditions. It is important to refer to agency policies during the administration of an award.

Subaward Establishment

Any subawards designated within the proposal must be approved by the agency at the time of the award and must be initiated at the time of the awards establishment through OSRAA. A New Subaward Request Form must be used in order for subawards to be created. Any additional changes made to the Subaward must be processed through OSRAA.