Research Administration: Frequently Asked Questions

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THIS SITE IS NO LONGER BEING MAINTAINED (MARCH 2011).

Please visit our new website at researchoffice.si.umich.edu.

Contents

[edit] How much does it cost to pay students?

This section is meant to give SI Faculty, Staff and Students a sense of what things cost at the University of Michigan. However, PLEASE communicate with the Research Office Staff [1] before talking to anyone about budgets outside the School of Information. It ensures that we are consistent with what we say and how we present our budgets and also keeps the chances of “surprises” from occurring when negotiating budgets with your colleagues both within the University of Michigan and other potential outside partners.

The University of Michigan’s current indirect cost rate (IDC) for federal and corporate sponsors is 54.5%. Beginning July 1, 2011 the IDC rate will incresed to 55.5%. The IDC rate for Foundation or other sponsors varies. Please do not forget this charge. It is charged on all items except tuition, equipment (one item costing over $5,000) and is charged only on the first $25,000 of a subcontract. NSF also does not allow IDC to be charged against expenses related to workshops and meetings (known as “Participant Support Costs” – note – this does NOT refer to subject payments). On average it is prudent to budget an increase of 4% for stipends and salary and 6-8% for tuition in the out years of your budgets.

SI Graduate Student Research Assistant (FY 2011)

  • SI Stipend (during the academic year a 50% appointment is usually FULL TIME)
    • One Term - 50% appointment = $8,635
    • Full 12 months stipend for 50% appointment = $25,905
    • Fall and Winter Terms at 50%, Summer at 100% = $34,540
  • SI Fringe Benefits = 25% of stipend (this includes GradCare and, if employed for over one year, Dental)
  • SI Tuition (FY 2011)
    • Federal Sponsor = $9,390 per term (FY10 # was $9,090)
    • Non-Federal Sponsor = $8,892 for in-state student and $17,972 for out-state per term
    • Candidate = $4,727 per term (FY10 # was $5,607 per term)

An important note about College of Engineering Students – the cost of a College of Engineering graduate student is more than a SI student. We pay them at the SI salary rate but their tuition will automatically get charged the larger tuition amount. Their tuition numbers are:

  • CoE Tuition
    • Federal Sponsor = $9,845 (NOT confirmed yet) per term
    • Non-Federal Sponsor = $10,407 for in-state student and $19,373 for out-state per term
    • Candidate = $7,008 per term

Temporary Employees (the rates given are standard but exceptions can be made)

  • Graduate Students
    • Salary - $14-$20 per hour
    • Fringe – 7.65% unless they are a full time student and then fringes are $0
  • Undergraduate Students
    • Salary - $10-$12 per hour
    • Fringe - 7.65% unless they are a full time student and then fringes are $0

[edit] Other Average Salary Costs

[edit] SI Post Doctoral Fellow

  • Salary - Average is approximately $51,000 per year
  • Fringe - It is safest to calculate this at 25% or 30% of the salary

[edit] Academic Year Funding on Federal and Non-Federal Grants

Federal Grants: (All 20000 Funds)

When a Faculty member is paid Academic Year Salary (AY) on a Federal Grant, their salary will hit as follows:

  • 1/9 of the salary listed on the submittal form will hit the Federal Grant between September and May of the AY.
  • Example: Professor Y is listed on a Federal Grant, AY 2008 for 15% effort, total amount $12,000
    • $12,000/9 = $1,333.33 will hit the Federal grant between September through May
    • $1,000 will be the amount that is paid to Professor Y over the 12 month period, September through August
    • $333.33 is the amount that is placed in a Payroll holding account and will be used to pay the Professor over June, July and August.

Non - Federal Grants: (All 25000 and 10000 Cost Share Funds)

When a Faculty member is paid Academic Year Salary (AY) on a Non-Federal Grant or Cost Share Grant, their salary will hit as follows:

  • 1/12 of the salary listed on the submittal form will hit the non-Federal Grant between September and August of the AY.
  • Example: Professor Y is listed on a Federal Grant, AY 2008 for 15% effort, total amount $12,000
    • $12,000/12 = $1,000.00 will hit the Federal grant between September through August
    • $1,000 will be the amount that is paid to Professor Y over the 12 month period, September through August
    • It does not matter if the Professor is on Schedule I or Schedule II – The AY period is considered to run from September through August of the AY they are appointed.

Some things to know:

  • If you have a non-federal grant which ends 6/30/07, but you have a Professor appointed on the Grant for AY 2007. The July and August 2007 AY payments are considered legitimate late charges and should be included on the final financial report of the grant.
  • You need to be sure to encumber the June, July and August payments for an AY salary on a Non-Federal and Cost Share grant even if the appointment end date is 5/30.

[edit] Restrictions for Paying UM Employees on Grants

  • Paying UM Employees outside of their regular salary on grants
    • We can NEVER pay UM employees from Participant Support Funds.
    • We can pay UM faculty on the consultant line, but only if it is stated in the budget justification of the proposal. They do not need names in the budget justification, just a hint at the possibility of UM faculty being paid (but named is better). They must be from a different unit & the activity must fall outside of their normal duties.
    • UM staff can be paid as consultants as long as it follows the current SPG on staff consultant pay.
    • In almost all cases we cannot pay SI faculty on an SI grant outside of regular salary. There could be an instance of a faculty member being a plenary speaker at a workshop that we are hosting "off-site" where we could make an argument to pay them as a consultant. We would just want to get final ok from the sponsor to be sure we have clear approval first.
  • Stipends
    • Stipends should ALWAYS be in Participant Support.
    • We can NEVER pay a UM employee a stipend.
  • Travel for UM Employees on grants
    • We can NEVER pay for travel or subsistence for UM employees from Participant Support Funds, with the exception of hosting when the event includes people from outside of UM as well.
    • All travel for UM employees must be budgeted under Travel in the parent grant.

[edit] Indirect Cost Rate Agreement for Federal Sponsored Programs

Current Indirect Cost Rate (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2011)

  • Research
    • On -Campus 54.5%
    • Off-Campus 26%
  • Instruction 54%
  • Other Sponsored Activity 30%
  • Off-campus All Programs 26%

The full facilities and administrative cost rate agreement, dated June 30, 2008, is available on the Financial Operations website (http://www.umich.edu/~finops/index_js.htm ) as a pdf file.

IDC Agreement July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2014

On-campus:

  • Research - 55.5%
  • Instruction - 54%
  • Other Sponsored Activity - 30%

Off Campus:

  • All programs - 26%

Our new Facilities and Administrative Cost Rate Agreement, dated March 1, 2010, is available as a pdf file on the Financial Operations website at: http://www.finops.umich.edu/programs/indirectcosts.

[edit] Registering as a PI for NSF & NIH

[edit] NSF Registering as an Investigator on Fastlane

To register as an Investigator in Fastlane, send the following information to DRDA (email fastlane-admin@umich.edu or call Jolette Munoz 647-4853 or Jocelyn Jacobs 764-7237):

  • full name
  • umich email address
  • phone & fax numbers
  • Department/School affiliation
  • year your received your Ph.D. & area of study
[edit] NIH eRA Commons Registration

To register as a PI/PD in the eRA Commons follow the link below to send a request to DRDA

Link to eRA Commons Registration Request Page

You will need to login with your uniqname and kerberos password.

[edit] UM Definition of a Principal Investigator & Eligibility

Link to more information on UM Website

Definition of a Principal Investigator

The UM Principal Investigator is a University of Michigan employee having the background and training in scientific and administrative oversight necessary to conduct and manage a sponsored project. The individual must be treated by the appointing unit as an independent investigator and by the University as a non-temporary employee. The expectation is that eligible UM PIs will submit proposals through their primary appointing unit unless other arrangements have been explicitly approved, by the units involved.

The UM Principal Investigator is considered independent if s/he is a tenure-track faculty (Instructor through Professor), a research faculty (Research Investigator through Research Professor), or holds a Clinical professorial appointment. With unit approval, Emeritus faculty may also be appointed as UM Principal Investigators.

In addition, Archivists, Curators, and Librarians in units that typically use these titles, are eligible to serve as UM Principal Investigators, if approved by the head of the unit.

Regardless of experience and education, Research Associates, Research Assistants, and other staff are not considered to be independent investigators. In general, only on rare occasions will personnel who are not tenure-track or research faculty be permitted to serve as UM Principal Investigators on research projects.

If a UM Principal Investigator leaves the University prior to the end of a sponsored project, leadership arrangements for the duration of the project should be discussed with the unit, DRDA, and the sponsor, in advance of departure.

Policy

  1. The University recognizes the applicant to the sponsor as the Sponsor Principal Investigator. The institution will allow anyone employed by Michigan who meets the sponsor's guidelines for eligibility to serve in this capacity.
  2. The University will recognize the same individual as the UM Principal Investigator as long as the employment criteria and level of independence associated with the current job title as defined below is met.
  3. If the Sponsor Principal Investigator does not meet the University's criteria for UM Principal Investigator, another individual meeting the requirements is to be named in order to provide internal guidance and leadership for the scientific, technical, administrative, and financial aspects of a sponsored project.
  4. In most cases, the Sponsor-eligible Principal Investigator and UM-eligible Principal Investigator will be the same individual and is to be named in the Principal Investigator field of the Proposal Approval Form (PAF). In cases when an individual does not qualify as both the Sponsor and UM Principal Investigator, both must be named on the PAF.
  5. Additionally, the University will recognize multiple individuals serving as Sponsor or UM Principal Investigators when the sponsor explicitly allows it.
  6. For the purposes of this policy statement, the term Principal Investigator shall encompass other sponsor-specific titles such as Project Director and Program Director that are typically used for non-research sponsored projects.

Exceptions

Each of the following is an exception to the generally applicable PI eligibility limitations described above. DRDA Project Representatives will review each PI exception request (process described below) and grant approval of the exception on a case-by-case basis. In some situations DRDA will consider the exception only if certain conditions are met:

  1. Since Lecturers and Visiting and Adjunct appointments are not permanent, Visiting and Adjunct Faculty (instructional and research) will only be permitted to be Principal Investigators if the unit supports the appointment and the individual draws his or her salary through the University (i.e., they must be paid employees). Any request for exception requires a written document from the Dean supporting the PI assignment and explaining why the exception is necessary. The document must accompany each PAF to which the exception applies.
  2. Heads of non-research and non-teaching units are occasionally permitted to be Principal Investigators on projects considered to be within the scope of their duties.
  3. Proposals have been processed from individuals who are not permanent or independent but for whom the promotion to an eligible position, prior to award, is assured by the department and the school. This must be noted on the PAF.
  4. Proposals are routinely processed for individuals who have accepted PI-eligible positions at the University, but who are not yet employees. The expectation is that their University appointment will be effective on or after the proposed effective date of the sponsored project.

Unit Heads are reminded that fiscal and program responsibility for the project may revert to their office if, for any reason, the Principal Investigator is unable to complete the assignment.

[edit] Proposal Processing Deadlines

Any proposal that requires a budget or official signature must be submitted to ORSP for university approval. ORSP requires 4 business days for thorough review and PR signatures.

For electronic applications that ORSP submits/launches

[Examples-Grants.gov, FastLane (NSF), and NSPIRES (NASA)]

  • The completed PAF with all FINAL documents is due at ORSP no fewer than four (4) business days in advance of 5 p.m. on the deadline date.

Please note

  • For purposes of electronic submissions, ORSP closes at 5 p.m. The complete electronic submission must be received by ORSP in time to launch the proposal by 5 p.m. of the due date even when the sponsor deadline is later than 5 p.m.
  • When proposals are delivered to ORSP with four full working days, it is possible to correct items that the system marks as warnings, even though the items are not errors that will prevent the proposal from being validated by the system. ORSP will offer you the option to review and correct these items to optimize your proposal. ORSP will then resubmit the proposal. This service is only available for proposals that arrive at ORSP with the full, four-day lead time.

Electronic applications when the PI will submit/launch

[Examples-IIPS (DOE), Proposal Central (used by many non-profit health organizations such as American Cancer Society), and American Chemical Society]

The completed PAF with all FINAL documents is due at ORSP no fewer than four (4) business days in advance of 5 p.m. on the deadline date.

Regarding all Proposals

  • Be available
It is critically important that once your proposal has been submitted to ORSP, you or your staff is readily available to respond to questions from ORSP or to help fix proposal errors. The more lead time for proposal review, the more time available to make any necessary proposal fixes necessary for ORSP to submit the proposal
  • Priorities for large volume of submissions
Be aware that when the number of proposals being submitted to meet a deadline is large, all proposals received on time will be fully processed, including necessary re-submissions, before those proposals that arrive at ORSP late. This is in fairness to those investigators who meet the published deadline. ORSP will, of course, do all it can to submit your proposal on time, but we wanted to make you aware of the way that proposals are prioritized and the associated risk of not meeting ORSP’s deadlines.
  • Circumstances beyond our control
ORSP staff will do everything possible to get the proposal to the sponsor on time. However, as the amount of time for processing is reduced, the chance for insurmountable obstacles increases. Certain parts of the review process lay outside of ORSP and, therefore, are subject to the schedules of other offices. When there is sufficient lead time, ORSP staff can compensate for these problems. Therefore, faculty should make every effort to provide the maximum time possible for ORSP to process and adequately review their proposals.

Deadlines Summary Items must arrive at ORSP before 5 p.m. , the requisite number of working days before the deadline

Electronic Submissions

ORSP submits

  • 7 days-PAF & Admin Shell
  • 4 days-final, complete electronic file

PI submits

  • 4 days-PAF & Admin Shell

Paper Submissions

ORSP sends total proposal

  • 4 days-final version, complete PAF, Shell, & proposal

Two pieces, ORSP approves but PI mails

  • 4 days-PAF & Admin Shell

Two pieces, ORSP approves and mails

  • 7 days-PAF & Admin Shell
  • 4 days-final, complete application

(Last reviewed November 2013)

[edit] Formatting Requirements for Proposals

[edit] NSF Proposals

The proposal must be clear, readily legible, and conform to the following requirements:

  • Use one of the following typefaces identified below:
    • Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger
    • Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger
    • Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger
    • A font size of less than 10 points may be used for mathematical formulas or equations, figure, table or diagram captions and when using a Symbol font to insert Greek letters or special characters. PIs are cautioned, however, that the text must still be readable;
    • No more than 6 lines of text within a vertical space of 1 inch
    • Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.

These requirements apply to all uploaded sections of a proposal, including supplementary documentation.

  • Page Formatting
    • Since many reviewers will be reviewing proposals electronically, proposers are strongly encouraged to use only a standard, single-column format for the text. Avoid using a two-column format since it can cause difficulties when reviewing the document electronically.
    • While line spacing (single-spaced, double-spaced, etc.) is at the discretion of the proposer, established page limits must be followed. (Individual program solicitations, however, may eliminate this proposer option by requiring other type size, margin or line spacing requirements.)

The guidelines specified above establish the minimum type size requirements; however, PIs are advised that readability is of paramount importance and should take precedence in selection of an appropriate font for use in the proposal. Small type size makes it difficult for reviewers to read the proposal; consequently, the use of small type not in compliance with the above guidelines may be grounds for NSF to return the proposal without review. Adherence to type size and line spacing requirements also is necessary to ensure that no proposer will have an unfair advantage, by using smaller type or line spacing to provide more text in the proposal.

For more information on preparing an NSF proposal, please see the [2]

[edit] NSF Grant General Conditions (Effective 1/14/2013)

[3]

[edit] NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, October 2012 (Effective 1/14/2013)

[edit] NIH Proposals

Font

  • Use an Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype, or Georgia typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 11 points or larger. (A Symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; the font size requirement still applies.)
  • Type density, including characters and spaces, must be no more than 15 characters per inch.
  • Type may be no more than six lines per inch.

Page Margins

  • Use standard paper size (8 1⁄2" x 11).
  • Use at least one-half inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right) for all pages. No information should appear in the margins, including the PI’s name and page numbers.

Page Formatting

  • use only a standard, single-column format for the text. Avoid using a two-column format since it can cause difficulties when reviewing the document electronically.
  • Do not include any information in a header or footer of the attachments. A header will be system-generated that references the name of the PD/PI. Page numbers for the footer will be system-generated in the complete application, with all pages sequentially numbered.

Figures, Graphs, Diagrams, Charts, Tables, Figure Legends, and Footnotes

  • You may use a smaller type size but it must be in a black font color, readily legible, and follow the font typeface requirement.
  • Color can be used in figures; however, all text must be in a black font color, clear and legible.

Grantsmanship

  • Use English and avoid jargon.
  • If terms are not universally known, spell out the term the first time it is used and note the appropriate abbreviation in parentheses. The abbreviation may be used thereafter.
[edit] Salary Limitation

Effective January 1, 2011, the Executive Level I salary is capped at $199,700 annual rate.

For the purposes of the salary limitation, the terms "direct salary," "salary," and "institutional base salary" have the same meaning and are exclusive of fringe benefits and facilities and administrative (F&A) expenses, also referred to as indirect costs. An individual's institutional base salary is the annual compensation that the applicant organization pays for an individual's appointment, whether that individual's time is spent on research, teaching, patient care, or other activities. Base salary excludes any income that an individual may be permitted to earn outside of the duties to the applicant organization.

NIH grant/contract awards for applications/proposals that request direct salaries of individuals in excess of the applicable RATE per year will be adjusted in accordance with the legislative salary limitation and will include a notification such as the following: None of the funds in this award shall be used to pay the salary of an individual at a rate in excess of the current salary cap.

[edit] NSF Biographical Sketch(es)

A biographical sketch (limited to two pages) is required for each individual identified as senior project personnel. (See GPG Exhibit II-7 for the definitions of Senior Personnel.) The following information must be provided in the order and format specified below.

Do not submit personal information such as home address; home telephone, fax, or cell phone numbers; home e-mail address; date of birth; citizenship; drivers’ license numbers; marital status; personal hobbies; and the like. Such personal information is irrelevant to the merits of the proposal. If such information is included, NSF will make every effort to prevent unauthorized access to such material, but the Foundation is not responsible or in any way liable for the release of such material.

A. Professional Preparation

A list of the individual's undergraduate and graduate education and postdoctoral training as indicated below:

Undergraduate Institution(s) Major Degree & Year
Graduate Institution(s) Major Degree & Year
Postdoctoral Institution(s) Area Inclusive Dates (years)

B. Appointments

A list, in reverse chronological order, of all the individual's academic/professional appointments beginning with the current appointment.

C. Publications

A list of:

(i) up to 5 publications most closely related to the proposed project; and

(ii) up to 5 other significant publications, whether or not related to the proposed project. Each publication identified must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. If the document is available electronically, the website address also should be identified.

For unpublished manuscripts, list only those submitted or accepted for publication (along with most likely date of publication). Patents, copyrights and software systems developed may be substituted for publications. Additional lists of publications, invited lectures, etc., must not be included. Only the list of 10 will be used in the review of the proposal.

D. Synergistic Activities

A list of up to five examples that demonstrate the broader impact of the individual’s professional and scholarly activities that focuses on the integration and transfer of knowledge as well as its creation. Examples could include, among others: innovations in teaching and training (e.g., development of curricular materials and pedagogical methods); contributions to the science of learning; development and/or refinement of research tools; computation methodologies, and algorithms for problem-solving; development of databases to support research and education; broadening the participation of groups underrepresented in science, mathematics, engineering and technology; and service to the scientific and engineering community outside of the individual’s immediate organization.

E. Collaborators & Other Affiliations

Collaborators and Co-Editors. A list of all persons in alphabetical order (including their current organizational affiliations) who are currently, or who have been collaborators or co-authors with the individual on a project, book, article, report, abstract or paper during the 48 months preceding the submission of the proposal. Also include those individuals who are currently or have been co-editors of a journal, compendium, or conference proceedings during the 24 months preceding the submission of the proposal. If there are no collaborators or co-editors to report, this should be so indicated.

Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors. A list of the names of the individual’s own graduate advisor(s) and principal postdoctoral sponsor(s), and their current organizational affiliations.

Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholar Sponsor. A list of all persons (including their organizational affiliations), with whom the individual has had an association as thesis advisor, or with whom the individual has had an association within the last five years as a postgraduate-scholar sponsor. The total number of graduate students advised and postdoctoral scholars sponsored also must be identified. The information in section (e) above of the biographical sketch is used to help identify potential conflicts or bias in the selection of reviewers. See GPG Exhibit II-2 for additional information on potential reviewer conflicts.

(ii) Other Personnel

For the personnel categories listed below, the proposal also may include information on exceptional qualifications that merit consideration in the evaluation of the proposal.

(a) Postdoctoral associates

(b) Other professionals

(c) Students (research assistants)

For more information on preparing an NSF Proposal, please see the NSF Grant Proposal Guide

[edit] NSF Broader Impacts - guidelines, examples, resources

[edit] Guidelines

There are 5 general areas in which broader impacts fall:

  • Advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning with innovative connections of research and education. Activities that go beyond the norm in conjunction with training of graduate students, mentoring postdoctoral researchers and junior faculty are highly encouraged.
  • Broadening participation of underrepresented groups by involving members of underrepresented groups (women, African Americans, American Indians including Native Alaskans, Hispanics, Native Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities) in research and education activities at all levels. DMR is very interested in increasing the pool of future talented educators and promising researchers. Efforts are needed to broaden participation at all levels from students through faculty members.
  • Enhance infrastructure for research and education by linking with scientists and programs to bring added value and enhance impacts of research activities. The forms this may take are numerous, such as establishing research collaborations with industry, national laboratories, and international institutions; developing new instrumentation, software, computation or data analysis methodologies that have wide range of applicability and use; providing samples of novel materials to other groups; sharing advanced laboratory or computational methods, instrumentation and software; building national and international research and education networks.
  • Broaden dissemination to enhance scientific and technological understanding by organizing materials research and education workshops and symposia; forging links to other scientific disciplines; writing scholarly articles that go beyond routine publication of research results for specialists or that are addressed specifically to non-specialist audiences; sharing of data that might not otherwise be easily accessible; working with science centers on new materials research and education exhibits; assisting journalists with their stories on technical topics; and developing new art forms for communicating materials research to wider audiences; creating materials research related websites enhanced by engaging animations and movies to educate non-scientists and the public at large.
  • Provide benefits to society by communicating to the public the excitement, benefits, and long term impacts of materials research and enhance public appreciation of the relevance of advanced materials research to the future and society.

[edit] Effective Strategies

Panelists at the Broader Impacts Workshop had these recommendations:

  • Be clear and explicit.
  • Don't assume anything is implicit - for example dissemination (conferences, meetings, publications). The what, how, and who participates could be part of your broader impacts.
  • Access to data, tools, metadata could also be a broader impact (broaden dissemination to enhance citizen or scientists in other disciplines understanding)
  • Look for training opportunities - not just local (University/Ann Arbor), but look to Detroit & other areas as well. This could broaden/generalize results as well.
  • UROP & Summer Programs - broaden the pool of your student assistants.
  • Think about broader dissemination possibilities - museum associations, technical publications, other outlets with populations who might be interested in your results outside of your specific discipline.
  • 1st step is to treat the broader impacts section as a question (What are the impacts of my proposed work?) & not just an add on.

[edit] Examples

Examples of Broader Impact statements on the NSF website here

[edit] Local Groups Available for Collaboration

[edit] University of Michigan Groups:
  • Arts on Earth [4]
  • Center for Educational Outreach [5]
  • Exhibit Museum of Natural History [6]
    • Amy Harris, Director
    • Timeline – normally takes 2 months from initial request to letter of commitment
    • They can assist you with cost estimates too.
  • Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute [7]
  • MEPO (Multicultural Engineering Programs Office) [8]
  • NCID (National Center for Institutional Diversity) [9]
  • Oakland Writing Project (through School of Ed) [10]
  • UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program) [11]
  • WISE (Women In Science and Engineering) [12]
[edit] Ann Arbor Groups:
  • Ann Arbor Hands On Museum [13]
  • Ann Arbor Public Schools
    • Norma McCuiston, Community Partnerships Coordinator (email: mccuisto@aaps.k12.mi.us / telephone: 994-8139)
    • Timeline - review of description/consent forms by district takes at least 4 weeks & then you talk to individual schools about their participation (get started early – can take 2 months!)
    • Keep needs/mission of schools in mind
[edit] Metro Area Groups:
  • Detroit Public Schools
    • Irene Norde, Mathematics Supervisor, (313)-494-1608
  • Focus: Hope [14]
    • Patrick Lindsey, Director Government Affairs and External Communications

[edit] NSF Travel Reimbursements

  1. Fastlane-Panelist Functions
  2. Log-in using your Panel ID and Password
  3. Link to Travel and Reimbursements

[edit] Access Sponsored Research Financial Reports

M-Reports, a new Web reporting tool, now provides your sponsored research financial reports online. These reports give you a complete view of your sponsored project's financial status. Access M-Reports at Wolverine Access-University Business-Reporting

Click the Research tab to:
  • Obtain official and projected balances from the Summary of Projects Report.
  • View a project's balance broken out by budget category (research salaries, equipment, etc.) on the Project Grant Budget Status Report (PBSR).
  • Link to the underlying transaction detail, such as vouchers and estimated future salary expenditures.

Benefits-- Volunteer faculty researchers piloted M-Reports and found the financial detail and system features very easy to use and beneficial. The reports include budget, expenditures, and projections for future project commitments (e.g., salary, benefits, financial aid). We encourage you to use these “at-a-glance” reports as they enable you to quickly:

  • Identify high-level balances for your project/grant(s)
  • Compare expected budget and expenditures to actual activity
  • Minimize risks in over/under-spending your project/grant

M-Reports Access and Details-- Your uniqname, UMICH Kerberos password, and MToken are required to log into M-Reports. If you are a faculty member without an MToken, check the “I don't have an MToken” checkbox on the Weblogin screen.

To learn more about M-Reports, view a Demo and visit the U-M Business Intelligence Web M-Reports will expand in the future to include non-sponsored project/grant reporting,“what-if” modeling, and links to other areas of University business (e.g., Faculty Business).

[edit] Preparing NSF Reports

Getting into the system

  1. Go to http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/
  2. Select Proposals, Awards, and Status from the left menu.
  3. Enter the appropriate information that displays on the log-in screen. Contact your sponsored research office if you forgot your password. After you log-in, you'll see the Principal Investigator(PI)/Co-Principal Investigator(Co-PI) Management screen.
  4. Select the Award and Reporting Functions option.
  5. Select the Project Reports System.
  6. You will then see a list of the NSF awards that you have. Highlight the I/UCRC award that you want to apply for continued funding. Then click the View button.
  7. Click on the continue button after reading the Publicity, Patent Rights, and Privacy message.
  8. Enter the Project System Control Information to prepare the report.

Preparing the Report Note: Not all fields are required to be completed.

  • Project Participants (What people have worked on your project?)
This section requests information on individuals—according to various categories—who have participated in the project. Categories include senior personnel, post-doc, graduate student, undergraduate student, technician/programmer, and other. In addition, the following information is solicited:
  • Name
  • Worked for more than 160 hours?
  • Contribution to project
(There is also a space to provide information on Research Experience for Undergraduates.)
  • Organizational Partners (What other organizations have been involved as partners?)
  • Other Collaborators or Contacts (Have you had other collaborators or contacts?)
  • Activities and Findings
  • Research and Education Activities (Describe the major research and education activities of the project.)
  • Findings (Describe the major findings resulting from these activities)
  • Training and Development (Describe the opportunities for training and development provided by the project.)
  • Outreach Activities (Describe outreach activities your project has undertaken)
  • Publications and Products (What have you published as a result of this work?)
  • Journal Publications
  • Books or Other One-time Publication
  • Web/Internet Site
  • Other Specific Products (What other specific products (databases, physical collections, educational aids, software, instruments, or the like) have you developed?)
  • Contributions
  • Contributions within Discipline (The principal discipline(s) of the project?)
  • Contributions to Other Disciplines (Other disciplines of science or engineering?)
  • Contributions to Human Resource Development (The development of human resources?)
  • Contributions to Resources for Research and Education (The physical, institutional, or information resources that form the infrastructure for research and education?)
  • Contributions Beyond Science and Engineering (Other aspects of public welfare beyond science and engineering such as commercial technology, the economy, cost-efficient environmental protection or solutions to social problems.)
  • Special Requirements
  • Special reporting requirements
  • Change in Objectives or Scope (A brief summary of the work to be performed during the next year of support if changed from the original proposal.)
  • Animal, Human Subjects, Biohazards

Check and Submit Report

Return to the Project System Control Information screen to check and submit the report.
  1. Attach File - This is the section where you attach relevant files.
  2. Check completeness - a list appears showing items that have been missed. Enter the missing information or click the Nothing (Yet) to Report button.
  3. Review and or Submit - Check your report and see how it would look when NSF reviews it. Then select either the Submit or Return button.

[edit] No Cost Time Extensions (NCTX)

[edit] NSF

The NSF process is a two step process. One part is filling out the required UM paperwork and the same information needs to be inserted on Fastlane. The research office will take care of the paperwork and the Fastlane submissions with information supplied by the PI.

NSF requires 45 day prior notification for no cost time extensions. SI & DRDA need at least an additional 10 business days to process any request. Please let us know as soon as possible if you are planning to request a nctx.

  • PI please send the following information to the research office (si-ori@umich.edu).
  1. Send a paragraph describing what the PI (and team) will do with the extension. The reasons usually range from completing data analysis, writing final report, finishing data gathering, etc. The reason CAN NOT be “to spend the remaining funds”. No more than 5 sentences are necessary.
  2. Length of extension requested (can be up to 12 months)
    1. 12 months is highly recommended even if you don't think you will need that long.
    2. The 1st nctx approved by UM, the 2nd nctx needs more information/justification and needs to be approved by NSF.
  • The research office will fill out the rest of the form
  • PI needs to sign a hardcopy of the form

[edit] DOD AFOSR

DOD AFOSR contracting office is now enforcing the 30 day prior notification for no cost time extensions. SI & DRDA need at least an additional 10 business days to process any request.

All requests MUST include the following:

  1. Length of time (AFOSR is recommending no more than 6 months)
  2. Rational for the extension along with rational for not being able to complete your project on time.
  3. DRDA will obtain the required financial documentation from financial operations (SF425).

[edit] Most other Federal Sponsors

  • PI please send the following information to us at si-ori@umich.edu.
  1. Send a paragraph describing what the PI (and team) will do with the extension. The reasons usually range from completing data analysis, writing final report, finishing data gathering, etc. The reason CAN NOT be “to spend the remaining funds”. No more than 5 sentences are necessary.
  2. Length of extension requested (can be up to 12 months)
    1. 12 months is highly recommended even if you don't think you will need that long.
    2. The 1st nctx approved by UM, the 2nd nctx needs more information/justification and needs to be approved by Sponsor.
  • The research office will fill out the rest of the form
  • PI needs to sign a hardcopy of the form

[edit] Non-Federal Sponsors

Each Sponsor varies on process, prior notification requirements, and material required. Please contact the research office as soon as possible if you are considering a nctx with a non-federal sponsor (si-ori@umich.edu).

[edit] eResarch Links

Log In to eResearch

eResearch FAQs

[edit] Signing or Reviewing a PAF on eResearch

  • You should have received an email from the eResearch system regarding PAF # 09-PAFxxxxx. Please click hyperlink on the PAF number in that email. It will take you directly to the CDI PAF. Then you will log in using your Kerberos login and password.
  • To Review the PAF:
    • Click on “Display PAF Summary” on the left.
  • To Review Documents:
    • Click on the “Attachments” tab on the top. The “PAF Documents” are internal documents for the Unit reviewers who will sign off. "Proposal Documents" are what will be sent to the sponsor. (Most of the time this will be empty at the PAF signing phase. We only put items here when everything is ready to be submitted).
  • To Sign the PAF:
    • On the left bottom of the screen you will see “Activities”. Under activities click on “Sign PAF”. This will open a new screen. You need to click on the box indicating there is no conflict of interest, then click on the box toward the bottom which indicates your are electronically signing the PAF. Then click “OK” on the bottom right of the screen. That is it!

Quick Reference on How to Sign

[edit] Responsible Conduct of Research

The RCRS website provides links to materials about important issues in the responsible and professional conduct of research and scholarship. It includes links to other comprehensive websites that provide teaching materials, modules, and case studies organized around key topics. It also has links to policies, articles, and other material that can be downloaded, and titles of particularly useful books available in the University Library.

This is intended to give faculty access to useful materials for teaching undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. Faculty may use these links to find additional materials about practices and issues specific to individual disciplines and fields, as well as material about Federal regulations and government, institutional, and professional oversight and review mechanisms.

[edit] Human Subjects

UM Human Research Protections Operations Manual

[edit] Subject Incentives

  • Beinning July 1st, all human subjects will be paid as non-employees of the University of Michigan. This means that the last payments made to employees in the payroll system will be in the June monthly payroll and the first biweekly payroll in July (paydate 7/2/09).
  • The Subject Fee Payment Form for Employees will not be accepted for processing in the payroll system after 6/25/09. Forms received in the Payroll Office prior to 8/1/09 will be forwarded to Accounts Payable for processing. Forms received in the Payroll Office after 8/1/09 will be returned to the department.
[edit] New Human Subject Incentives Program
  • What is the purpose of HSIP?
    • Human Subject Incentives Program (HSIP) has developed a new process and a Web-based support system to accommodate the electronic routing, approval, and submission of subject fee payment requests. It is being developed by U-M to:
    • Help eliminate redundant forms and information gathering.
    • Facilitate internal routing and electronic approval, simplifying the process of moving the HSIP request from the PI, through the relevant campus units, and on to the Research Incentive Business Office (RIBO).
    • Create a secure holding area for retention of subject information. Personal information will be kept in a secure central repository with highly restricted access. This greatly reduces the responsibility on the part of PI’s and unit staff for protecting confidential subject information.
    • Give clear guidance for compliance with IRS and other regulatory guidelines.
    • Offer several payment options that give flexibility to the researcher without putting them in a non-compliance situation.
    • Reduce the need for SLA’s by connecting to eResearch for IRB waiver information.
    • Have one central office for processing incentive requests, resolving incentive-related issues and answering questions that may involve a number of Finance areas. Many offices are involved in the incentive payment process, and it can be difficult to know where to go to get questions answered.
    • Enhance subject payment coupons with tracking numbers for stronger security and reduction in theft of research funds.
  • What changes will I notice as I start to use the HSIP system?
    • Completion of the HSIP request will be accomplished through an online worksheet.
      • HSIP questions give options for incentive type, date needed, and delivery method.
    • Electronic Routing
      • Requests are quickly routed from PI to Approver to Central Administration for processing and request fulfillment.
      • Turnaround time from request to fulfillment is dramatically reduced; can be as quick as same day to no more than 2 business days depending on incentive type.
    • HSIP Request Tracking
      • View the progress of your request at any time by checking your home page.
    • Communications
      • Receive email notifications from the system when the status changes on your HSIP request or action is required, e.g., make changes to a request, or submit evidence of distribution.
      • Receive email notification when payment is due to be released to you. xs
      • Receive notification when the request has been closed and expensed to the Project/Grant.
  • How long should consent forms be kept on file?
    • All federal grant-related administrative/financial records must be maintained at least 3 years following the end of the grant (or in the case of a repeating 5-year grant, 3 years following the end of the relevant segment). Private sponsors may require longer periods and this can be determined only by reviewing the sponsorship agreements on a case-by-case basis. For other research, records should be retained for at least 3 years. These are minimum standards.
  • SI FinOps
    • When processing cash receipt ticket for unused funds to be returned use account code 111576
    • The rest of the chartfields should be the chartfields from the initial withdrawal request.

More FAQs about the new HSIP

New HSIP Subject Fee Form (Tier 1)

Step-by-step How to Submit Request

[edit] HSIP News
  • Unused Gift Cards
    • Only sealed (upopen) gift cards can be returned to the HSIP office.
      • The card information is confidential and that is why the envelopes are sealed. If you open the cards and do not use them, you will have to refund HSIP for the cost of those cards.
    • Do NOT write on the card packages either. This makes them unusable for new subjects and therefore can not be returned to HSIP.
    • To return (unopened & clean) Gift Cards, please make an appointment with the HSIP office.
      • Email 'subject-incentives@umich.edu' to schedule an appointment
      • You will be turned away if you do not have an appointment

[edit] IRB Info

[edit] PEERS Certification

PEERRS consists of educational modules and short tests covering basic rules, procedures and professional norms for the responsible conduct of research by anyone involved in research and scholarship at the University of Michigan. PEERRS Overview and FAQs and start PEERRS here

[edit] Starting an IRB Application
  • Use this Pre-application Checklist before you start.
  • Start application in the eResearch Regulatory Management system here (select Login from the bar across the top of the web page)
[edit] IRB Umbrella Application

Purpose

The purpose of the Umbrella application is when you need IRB approval for a pending proposal or if you have a project where the human subjects part of the project is later in the grant. This application is to approve the basic concept of the research and then give you more time to develop the detailed documents (such as informed consent forms) when you are closer to actually implementing the human subjects piece(s) of the project. Please note this umbrella is just preliminary approval. You must go back to the IRB with the detailed documentation for full approval before you can do any research involving human subjects.

Instructions

  1. Go to eResearch and log in to the Regulatory Management System
  2. Create a new study (tab is on the left navigation bar)
  3. Fill out the first part of the application as normal
  4. When you get to question 1-1.2 which asks about the application type, select "not for immediate use of human subjects"
  5. Proceed from there

Items Needed

  1. PAF (Proposal Approval Form)
    1. You can find this in the eResearch Proposal Management System or contact the research office for an electronic copy.
  2. Submitted Proposal
  3. DRDA number
    1. This number will be on the PAF, but you can always contact the research office for this number.

[edit] Qualtrics

[edit] What is Qualtrics?

Qualtrics is a generalized survey service permitting the creation of survey instruments, distribution of the surveys, data storage and analysis.

[edit] SI Qualtrics Policies

SI Policy Document

These accounts are for School of Information business only. If you leave SI, your SI account will be terminated. If you join another unit at UM, you may be able to create an account under that unit’s brand. To find out who you should contact at your new unit, go to the UM Qualtrics webpage.

[edit] Human Subjects Research

How to know if you are conducting human subjects research (which requires IRB approval)?

  • Check out this Student Guide.
  • If you do need IRB approval, start your application here.

[edit] Types of accounts

Trial Account

  • Self-created
  • Ability to access all of the features to create surveys, but NOT to activate (and thus distribute) any survey. The trial account would need to be upgraded to one of the account types below by brand administrator (Becky O’Brien/Todd Raeker) in order to activate.

Masters Student Account (for Class Project Use Only)

  • Upgraded from Trial Account
  • Instructor for class needs to email list of students in class to be upgraded to this account to the brand administrator (Becky O'Brien/Todd Raeker).
  • Account automatically expires at the end of the academic year (May 1st)

Doctoral Student Account

  • Upgraded from Trial Account
  • Email brand administrator (Becky O’Brien/Todd Raeker) to request upgrade
  • Account will be terminated once the student graduates (or otherwise leaves SI).

Faculty Account

  • Upgraded from Trial Account
  • Email brand administrator (Becky O’Brien/Todd Raeker) to request upgrade
  • Account will be terminated if/when the faculty member is no longer with the School of Information

Staff Account

  • Upgraded from Trial Account
  • Email brand administrator (Becky O’Brien/Todd Raeker) to request upgrade
  • Account will be terminated if/when the staff member is no longer with the School of Information

[edit] Creating a Qualtrics Account

  1. Go to SI Qualtrics Brand Site
  2. Click on “Please click here to create an account”
  3. Create a user name and password (Use your Umich email address as your user name)
  4. Follow the instructions on getting started

Note: This will create a “Trail Account” for you. To upgrade, please look above under types of accounts. Then follow the directions on how to request an upgrade to the appropriate type.

[edit] Creating/Editing a Survey

Qualtrics Quick Start Guide

The Quick Start Guide includes:

[edit] Additional Survey Resources

[edit] Qualtrics Training

SAND winter workshop series (part 1)

  • Qualtrics: Survey Creation
  • Qualtrics: Survey Output Options and Formats

Find and register for a workshop

Additional workshops will be scheduled for the post-break part of the term

SAND (Spatial and Numeric Data Services) is a libray unit housed in the Graduate Library

[edit] Training Opportunities

Check Schedule for Upcoming Class Offerings

[edit] Finding Funding Workshop

This hands-on workshop presents an overview of funding opportunity databases. Areas covered will include differences databases currently available, searching techniques, establishing E-mail alerts, and creating and using individual expertise profiles. Participants will have the opportunity to practice funding searches.

Intended Audience: Faculty and research administrators who are interested in learning what resources are available for sponsored project funding and learning how to access and search funding databases

[edit] Research Proposal Writing Workshop

Geared toward writing proposals for research grants, this workshop will be an intensive overview of the narrative portion of a proposal from the perspective of the reviewer. Areas covered will include: approaching a sponsor, components of a proposal (including budget), matching the narrative to the sponsor's guidelines, writing style and common errors to avoid. DRDA Project Representatives will join in the discussion of budget-related items. Sample proposals will be reviewed, and there will be plenty of opportunity for questions and answers.
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