PrintClick the links below to go directly to a topic or announcement:
Announcements & Updates: New RAS Friday attendees, RAS Where to Go for Help page, Education Update, Fall Internships, Changes to GMAS, Changes to CREW, UPAS Streamlining Process Update
Research-related Contracts & Agreements
Hot Topic of the Month: Tracking Cost Sharing
Announcements & Updates:
1. FAS Personnel Updates: Please welcome our new RAS Friday attendees and new (or soon-to-be-new) FAS employees:
- Mark Gehret (Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology) - Laboratory Manager for Professor Sunney Xie
- Min Xiao (Office for Sponsored Programs) - Sponsored Programs Officer and Manager, Life Sciences and Education
- Charlotte Mallio (Research Administration Services) - ARRA Project Specialist
- Jon Murley (Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School) - Financial Manager
- Gearoid Griffin (Research Administration Services) - Research Integrity Officer
- Pamela Baker-Webber (Research Administration Services) - Sponsored Research Administrator for the Social Sciences
2. RAS Where to Go for Help page has been updated to include email links (when you click on someone's name) and job aids (new column). Check it out at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~research/administration/help.html
3. Education Update --
- Online training -- Cost Principles, Direct Costs, Introduction to Cost Transfers, Travel Policy
- Spending Sponsored Funds I: Basics -- Tuesday, 9/28/2010. Lamont Library Forum Room, 9:30-11:30am (online courses as pre-work)
- RAS Systems Workshops -- Tuesdays, 10/5/2010 - 12/7/2010, 10-11:30am
- Overview of Sponsored Projects Administration -- Thursday, 10/14/2010 (Longwood Medical Area) and Wednesday, 12/1/2010 (University Area)
- REACH Foundations of Research Administration class -- tentative start February 2011
- See http://www.fas.harvard.edu/research/training/classes.html#workshops for more sponsored research education information
4. Fall Internships -- Please email Karen Woodward Massey if you are interested in requesting an intern for Fall 2010. In your email, please include how long you anticipate needing the intern, and what the intern will be doing.
5. Changes to GMAS and CREW
GMAS -- GMAS will be unavailable from Friday, 9/24/2010 at 10pm, until Monday, 9/27/2010 at 6am, for a scheduled release. After this change, users will be able to see up to the last 20 projects viewed, the project link will go directly to the segment page, and there will be an expanded news section and a link to release notes. Please click here for a .pdf which details the changes to the GMAS homepage.
CREW -- The Invalid Code Combinations report has been updated, and the bug that was preventing the "current period" selection from working properly has now been fixed.
6.UPAS Streamlining Process Update
UPAS will soon become an electronic process. The committee will look next at making requests for at-risk accounts and reporting of cost sharing paperless processes.
7. SCRB position posted
Paula Cornelio mentioned that SCRB (Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology) is actively looking for a Grade 56 position (Sponsored Research Administrator) to be filled. The position is now posted in ASPIRE.
8. Milton Fund
Susan Gomes mentioned that a Funding Opportunity Announcement for the internal Milton Fund grant program was sent out to departments and centers. The announcement came out on September 15, announcing grants for up to $40k for one year, with the emphasis on faculty with $200k or less in sponsored funding (i.e., relatively new faculty). OSP does not review the Miltons, and it is not a limited submission. Contact Susan Gomes or Kathryn Coughlin for more information.
Research-related Contracts and Agreements: Who Should Sign and Where to Go for Help
Diane Lopez, University Attorney, Office of the General Counsel
A group including people fromthe Office of General Counsel, the Office for Sponsored Programs, and the Office of Technology Development came up with a chart for use in helping to determine whom to contact in various situations regarding legal agreements. We hope to post the chart here in the near future.
OSP Policies Update, including Progress on New Five-day Proposal Review Policy
Mark Barnes, Chief Research Compliance Officer and Senior Advisor to the Provost
1. Criteria and Procedures for Provost's Review of New Projects or Grants -- There used to be two sets of criteria for Provostial review; now they have been combined into one unified set of criteria and procedures that apply to both grants and non-sponsored projects.
2. Five-day Review Guidelines -- The idea is that five business days before the grant is due to the sponsor, the grant proposal should be submitted to OSP, HMS SPA, or HSPH SPA. SEAS and HSPH already have a seven-day internal rule. SALC (Sponsored Administration Leadership Committee) will be discussing the effective date, but Mark is aiming for February 1, 2011.
3. Publications Policy - currently in draft format
Hot Topic of the Month: Tracking Cost Sharing
Alan Long, Assistant Dean for Research Finances and Systems, FAS RAS
Alan's "hot topic" for September is Tracking Cost Sharing. The Cost Analysis Group has been working on a new Cost Sharing policy, including the coding for and tracking of cost sharing. One change is that we have abandoned the use of the term "matching" and are now using the term "sponsored cost sharing". Alan also discussed cost sharing with University funds, with funds from another grant, and with indirect costs. Please see his handout here.
