Award Timeline and Tips for Managing Your Grant

Notify us about the outcome!

  • If the sponsor has sent an awarding notice/letter directly to you, please immediately forward to chsresearch@vcu.edu and OSPGOLD@vcu.edu for processing.
  • If the proposal was not funded, we request that you forward any reviewer feedback that was received to chsresearch@vcu.edu so our office can assist with your resubmission application.
  • Review and complete compliance data in RAMS-SPOT. A RAMS-SPOT email request will be sent to you.
  • Complete the mandatory sponsored project and effort reporting training in Blackboard. New awards will not be processed until the required training is completed, which means no spending! Please reach out to Cathy Short, OSP training manager (cfshort@vcu.edu), to be registered in Blackboard for this course. Note this training only has to be completed once every three years!
  • Other required trainings if working with humans or animals (as applicable):
    • Human subjects basic/refresher courses: CITI training. All research personnel must officially be affiliated with VCU and have their CITI training from VCU. VCU will only accept CITI course credit that is linked to a VCU CITI.  Research involving human subjects cannot be conducted without current certification.
    • Complete required animal care and use program (ACUP) education and training.
    • Good Clinical Practices: CITI training. Personnel involved in the conduct of clinical trials may also be required to complete this training. 
    • Ensure that any postdocs, graduate students and volunteers also take the above human/animal/clinical trainings if they are working on your project.
  • Access and complete forms for research subjects’ protections protocols with the VCU Institutional Review Board (IRB), if applicable.
  • Access and complete forms for animal protections protocols and research approvals with the VCU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), if applicable.
  • Schedule a meeting with your fiscal administrator (FA) to:
    • Review the award agreement for any special reporting requirements.
    • Update and/or confirm the budget.
    • Confirm the effort allocation of all faculty/staff assigned to the project.
    • Work with your FA to ensure collaborating departments/units are set up (budget allocated and effort commitments confirmed for faculty/staff outside the home department).
    • Work with your FA to initiate any external sub-awards in RAMS-SPOT.
  • Request a demonstration on how to use the PI dashboard. Work closely with your FA to verify budget availability prior to initiating a transaction.
  • Access and complete forms for research subjects’ protections protocols with the VCU Institutional Review Board, as applicable, if this has not already been completed.
  • Access and complete forms for animal protections protocols and research approvals with the VCU Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, as applicable, if this has not already been completed.
  • Register any NIH-funded clinical trials with ClinicalTrials.gov. Clinical trials must be registered no later than 21 days after the first subject has been enrolled.
  • Submit requests for any external data use agreements (DUAs) or materials transfer (MTAs) needed for your project to MTADUA@vcu.edu.
  • Review and certify expenses every month (via the monthly expense reports, MERs in dashboard). Faculty who become delinquent with certification of their monthly expense reports may be prohibited from submitting new proposals until all reports are certified.
    • Notify your FA or CHS-SPO immediately if you think any information is incorrect. Monitor your dashboard for instances when a deficit is reported.
    • If a budget revision will be needed, notify your FA as soon as possible. Prior approval and/or sponsor notification may be required.
  • Certify effort for all project personnel when requested.
  • Review and sign 90-day notices on an annual basis (or as requested).
  • Work with your FA or CHS-SPO to complete any administrative actions, including:
    • Submission of annual, semi-annual or quarterly progress/technical reports, including deliverables required from sub-awardees/sub-contractors.
    • Any changes (additions/withdrawals) to senior project personnel, if required by sponsor.
    • Addition of new sub-awardees or changes in the current sub-award agreement (i.e. re-budgeting, no-cost extensions).
    • Significant changes in activities, or permissions that require prior approval from the sponsor.
    • Budget related changes or requests including re-budgeting/internal reallocations.
    • Requests for a no cost extension beyond the current project period.
  • Monitor the sub-awardee/sub-contractor performance on a regular basis over the life of the project. Verify that invoices received accurately reflect the work conducted and the costs are consistent with the approved scope of work and budget prior to providing approval. Contact your FA or CHS-SPO if invoicing or technical progress is questioned.
  • Update NIH-funded clinical trial records at least annually in ClinicalTrials.gov.
  • Complete financial conflict of interest reporting through activity and interests reporting system (AIRS). This is required for all first time grant applicants and must be updated annually thereafter.
  • Review and adhere to record retention requirements as dictated by the sponsor.
  • Submit final/technical report(s) or deliverables as required by the sponsor. Faculty with outstanding final/technical reports may be prohibited from submitting new proposals until all reports are submitted.
    • Additional final reporting can include patent invention disclosures and property/equipment declarations and any forms requesting institutional signature. Please work with CHS-SPO if your project includes any of these.
  • Verify that all sub-awardees/sub-contractors have completed their scope of work and met all deliverables and reporting requirements before approving the final invoice; verify that all invoices have been paid prior to the closeout end date period.
  • Complete and submit the process closeout administrative action in RAMS-SPOT. A RAMS-SPOT email request will be sent to you.
  • Work with your FA to conduct a final review of expenses, check for any outstanding expenses and have any project personnel moved off the index.
  • Review and sign: a) the final 90-day notice, and b) final expense report (FER) from grants & contracts accounting.
  • Shut-down any completed human subjects or animal activities by submitting completion requests to the IRB/IACUC for open protocols. Contact the Division of Animal Resources regarding animal removal procedures.
  • Report summary results for NIH-funded clinical trials no later than one year after the completion date.
  • Review and adhere to record retention requirements as dictated by the sponsor.