Awards are made to Oregon State University as the official grantee, or in special circumstances (for some private funds only) to the OSU Foundation on behalf of the University. The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the technical work but does not receive the award directly.

Scope of OSRAA

OSRAA manages grants and contracts for the University as follows:

  1. Receipt, review, and institutional acceptance of the official award document.
  2. Establishment of a new fund account and assignment of an Index number in the financial system Banner in which the PI can charge expenditures and view details and balances for the project.
  3. Works with the PI, department grant administrators, and funding agency staff to manage the award fiscally and administratively throughout the project period.
  4. Preparation and filing of financial reports and submission of periodic billings according to award requirements.
  5. Monitoring of regulatory mandates and advisement to PIs regarding changes in agency and federal regulations and OSU policies on grant administration.
  6. Liaison between PI and agency for administrative actions, including but not limited to: no-cost extensions, budget revisions, grant transfers, and changes in key personnel.
  7. Reconciliation of account for final close-out and submission of final financial report and other final documents such as equipment disposition and invention reports to sponsor.

Award Acceptance

Once a sponsor has approved a proposal for support, OSRAA will receive notice that an award has been made or a contract is being prepared. If the PI receives such a notice, s/he must contact OSRAA immediately to ensure that OSRAA has also received the notice. OSU cannot administratively initiate the project without formal sponsor notification. Many award instruments require both sponsor and OSU signatures (bilateral agreement) before they become effective. PIs are not authorized to sign award documents on behalf of the OSU.

Project Reporting

The main product of research conducted at Oregon State University is various reports completed by the PI. In most cases sponsors will require a written report or a series of reports over the lifetime of the project. It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure that all reports are timely and complete.

Project Changes

When a project is funded, the sponsor expects the work to be carried out as described within the proposal. However, due to the nature of research there are always unforeseen circumstances that warrant alterations. The conditions in which a project alterations can occur varies between each sponsor. Some sponsors may be permissive while others may have strict policies regarding changes.