Monitoring/Oversight of Grant/Contract Awards

Page Updated: January 23, 2020

Grant and Contract Accounts at the UW-Madison are monitored by a combination of the Principal Investigator, the departmental or lab administrator, the Dean's office (often both pre-award and post-award), and Research and Sponsored Programs. The PRIMARY responsibility for various functions is extrapolated from the Roles and Responsibilities document. In summary:

RSP has primary responsibility for:

• Accepting the award on behalf of the Regents.
• Negotiating terms and conditions relating to University policies.
• Developing and administering subagreements.
• Preparing small business/minority subcontracting reports as required.
• Reviewing expenditures in certain restricted budget categories.
• Managing effort reports.
• Reviewing and monitoring cost transfers.
• Reviewing and processing non-monetary modifications.
• Drawing funds on letters of credit and reconciling accounts as required.
• Works with the Dean or Department Chair on clearing misplaced expenditures.
• Prepares and submits sponsor financial reports and invoices as required.
• Files appropriate close-out documents.
• Maintains award database.

The Dean's Office has primary responsibility for:

• Approving requests for assignment of Project ID number in advance of receipt and acceptance of the official award document (Form 88-1).
• Providing oversight of sponsored project administration, including cost transfers and effort reporting.
• Approving substantive modifications and rebudgeting.
• Assures timely resolution of misplaced expenditures.
• Provides final accounting of cost-sharing/matching to RSP.
• Participates in negotiations when technical reports are incomplete and deliverables are lacking or unacceptable to the sponsor.

The Principal Investigator has primary responsibility for:

• Agreeing to all terms and conditions, with emphasis on performance clauses, including the frequency of technical reports, special professional staff hourly reports, deliverables, termination conditions, etc.
• Assures appropriateness, reasonableness, and allowability of expenditures.
• Manages expenditures to not exceed available award balance.
• Reviews and signs effort reports as required.
• Initiates requests for rebudgeting and cost transfers.
• Approves payment of subcontractor invoices.
• Prepares technical reports and provides other deliverables as required.
• Reviews interim financial reports provided by RSP as required.
• Documents cost-sharing/matching funds as required.