Frequently Asked Questions
Contact your ORSP Grant Specialist for any and all assistance with a specific project or funding opportunity. We’re here to help you!
- What is a “sponsored program”?
- When do I need to contact ORSP to notify them of my intention to submit a grant proposal?
- Who can assist me with budget preparation?
- What is the time frame for a proposal submission?
- My Institute/Center is about to receive an award and my funding agency would like to give us an agreement. Can that agreement be between the agency and my institute/center and can I sign the agreement as Director
- What do the terms F&A, Indirect Costs and Overhead mean and why do I need to include these costs in my budget?
- I would like to hire a graduate student for my project but still keep the budget low. Do I have to include tuition for the student in my budget?
- I will be spending the summer doing research in the field. Does my project qualify for the off-campus rate of 26%?
- My grant has been funded. Now what?
1. What is a “sponsored program”?
Sponsored programs are scholarly, professional and creative activities that University faculty, staff and students participate in with the support of external grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements or internal grant funding. Funded activities can include research, training and instruction, public events and community outreach.
2. When do I need to contact ORSP to notify them of my intention to submit a grant proposal?
As soon as you have decided to submit a proposal or letter of intent for a planned project. ORSP can help guide you to additional resources if needed and share important information about the sponsor and University policies that you need to be cognizant of as well. We can also work with you and your departmental administrator to help complete and compile the proposal materials.
3. Who can assist me with budget preparation?
Your Department Administrator/Business Manager will help you draft the budget for your proposal. Your ORSP grant specialist will review and approve your budget.
4. What is the time frame for a proposal submission?
ORSP requires all administrative items in their final version (with placeholders for the final science/project narrative, if needed) by noon (12pm) at least five (5) business days before the sponsor deadline. The full proposal in its final form for submission to the sponsor, including the administrative items and final science/project narrative, is due to ORSP by noon (12pm) at least two (2) business days before the sponsor deadline. These timeframes are especially important for electronic submissions which can encounter unforeseeable obstacles that might prevent the application from being transmitted and result in your proposal not being submitted.
Use of RAPSS (Research Administration and Proposal Submission System) is mandatory for all submissions of research proposals, corporate contracts, and associated items.
NOTE: Your department or School may require more advanced notice than the timeframes required for ORSP, as stated above. Please check with the appropriate people within your local administrative unit and/or Dean’s Office.
5. My Institute/Center is about to receive an award and my funding agency would like to give us an agreement. Can that agreement be between the agency and my institute/center and can I sign the agreement as Director?
No. All agreements are between the funding agency and Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The University signs on behalf of institutes, centers, or individual. By accepting the award, the University assumes responsibility for financial reporting and project completion. Only Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs) are permitted to accept and sign on behalf of the University.
6. What do the terms F&A, indirect costs, and overhead mean and why do I need to include these costs in my budget?
These terms are often used interchangeably and can mean similar things: F&A (Facilities and Administrative) is the federal terminology for ‘indirect costs’ or ‘overhead’, which are the expenses essential to the performance of sponsored activities but cannot be readily attributed to a single project or charged as direct costs. The result is that these expenses are pooled and a percentage or “rate” is derived based on the federal government formula.
These costs provide necessary support for sponsored projects and include things such as laboratory space, office space, libraries, equipment/machinery (and maintenence), utilities (e.g., lights and heat in a building used for research) and administrative personnel costs. The University negotiates its applicable rates each year with the federal government. Negotiated rates (http://costanalysis.rutgers.edu/federal-rate-agreements) should be applied to all projects. Exceptions are: those federal agencies that establish an indirect costs percentage cap for their programs; foundations that indicate as part of their published policy that indirect costs are unallowable or limit the percentage to be applied; and state agencies that do not allow or limit the percentage of indirect costs. Any exceptions will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
In some circumstances the Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Collaborations may approve a waiver or reduction of F&A for particular RU-N proposals. The waiver must first be approved the Dean(s) of the school(s) where the faculty Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PIs reside.
7. I would like to hire a graduate student for my project but still keep the budget low. Do I have to include tuition for the student in my budget?
It depends. If the student has a full time appointment, then the costs of tuition must be included. Please see the RU-N Tuition Remission initiative here. Tuition expenses are not required if the student is hired on an hourly basis.
8. I will be spending the summer doing research in the field. Does my project qualify for the off-campus rate of 26%?
It depends. Each budget line item is evaluated as to whether it qualifies as on-campus or off-campus. If the off-campus costs are more than 50% of your relevant total budget then your project is considered to be off-campus.
9. My grant has been funded. Now what?
Contact your Grant Specialist immediately. If you received a notice of award, forward it to your Grant Specialist and upload it in RAPSS as a update to your project.