Sponsored Programs Pre-award Frequently Asked Questions

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Pre-award FAQ

Below are some common questions that may arise when seeking out external funding.

Overview of Sponsored Programs

A sponsored program is an externally funded project or activity, often involving research, training, or service, where a sponsor provides financial support and expects specific deliverables or outcomes. These programs are typically governed by a formal agreement with the sponsor and include defined scope of work, budget, and reporting requirements.

Examples of Sponsored Programs:

Research Grants: Funding for faculty to conduct research projects.
Training Programs: Support for educational or training activities.
Public Service Projects: Funding for community outreach or service initiatives.
Clinical Trials: Testing of new drugs or treatments.

At Mercer, sponsored programs are coordinated through the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). Although most sponsored programs are initiated by faculty or staff serving as a principal investigator (PI), the ORSP provides the administrative connection between the sponsor and the PI. The ORSP ensures that all sponsored programs comply with Mercer policy and the sponsor’s requirements, as well as all state and federal laws and regulations.

A Principal Investigator (PI) is the lead researcher responsible for the overall design, conduct, and reporting of a research project, including ensuring ethical conduct and regulatory compliance. PIs are accountable for managing the research team, adhering to the study protocol, and safeguarding the welfare of research participants.

Pre-Award

The PI is responsible for developing their project and identifying external-funding opportunities to support that project. The PI will then prepare a project proposal, based on the sponsor’s guidelines and on regulatory requirements from Mercer, that will ultimately be submitted to the sponsor for consideration for funding. Before the proposal can be submitted to the sponsor, it must be reviewed and cleared by department chairs, deans, and the Pre-Award office of the ORSP.

Proposal Awarding

Although sponsored program proposals are developed and written by the PI, only a designated university official can accept the award on behalf of Mercer. This is typically the Senior Vice Provost for Research.

Post-Award

Once the award has been officially accepted and an account has been created, the PI ensures that the awarded funds are spent in accordance with the terms and conditions of the award and that all reports back to the sponsor are completed as described in the award agreement. It very important to read the terms and conditions of the award document received from the sponsor.

Over the life cycle of a sponsored program, Mercer has several majors roles. These are primarily caried out by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

Ensure that only authorized proposals are submitted by University personnel.
Makes sure that every proposal contains accurate information about the project, the qualifications of the people involved in the project, and the project costs.
Approves all contributions of University resources described in the project proposal.
Negotiate and receive awards from the sponsor on behalf of the University.
Ensure deliverables (such as progress reports or financial accounting) are provided to the sponsor as agreed.
Provide logistical and technical support to PIs throughout the grant life cycle.

Sponsored programs primarily develop in one of two way:

Funding is sought for projects that have already been conceived
Projects are developed in response to a grant opportunity.

In either case, it is responsibility of the Principal Investigator to develop the ideas and framework that will provide the basis of the application for external funding.

While each project is unique, a sponsored program will follow a standard lifecycle. Mercer separates these parts into the broad categories of Pre-Award and Post-Award.

Pre-Award
- Proposal preparation
- Internal approval and submission to sponsor
Post-Award
- Award negotiation and acceptance
- Award management
- Award closeout

Grant
Contract/Agreement
Sub-contract/sub-agreement
Preproposal
Supplement
Fellowship

An important distinction to make when considering external funding is the difference between a sponsored program and a gift. A gift is the voluntary, non-reciprocal transfer of money or property from a donor to the institution. With a gift, the donor does not expect anything of value in return other than recognition. Gifts are overseen by University Advancement. Determining whether external funding is a gift or a grant can sometimes be complex and requires consideration of multiple factors. Reach out to ORSP and University Advancement if help is needed to make an accurate distinction.

Research
- Basic research: Research undertaken primarily to acquire new knowledge without any particular application or use in mind
- Applied research: Research conducted to gain the knowledge or understanding to meet a specific, recognized need
- Developmental research: The systematic use of the knowledge or understanding gained from research directed toward the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods, including the design and development of prototypes and processes
Non-research
- Training/Instructional: Awarded to an institution to fund a specific training program, typically for students, postdoctoral researchers, staff, or faculty.
- Public Service: Awarded to organizations or individuals to support projects or activities that benefit the public.

Federal funding is typically awarded as a grant, cooperative agreement, contract, or fellowship.
State and other governmental funding is typically funded as grants or contracts.
Industry funding is typically awarded as a contract, although companies may award grants, gifts, and fellowships. If industry funding applications are to be received as a gift, PIs must coordinate with University Advancement.
Foundations and non-profit organizations typically award grants, gifts, or fellowships. Any funding applications to a private, family, community, or corporate foundation must be approved by University Advancement.
Individuals typically provide funding as gifts. Funding received as individual gifts must be coordinated with University Advancement.

Accurate classification and processing of external funds (grants, gifts, and contracts) are important parts of Mercer’s responsibility to manage these funds. Grants, gifts, and contracts may be labeled in a variety of ways by the sponsor which may not reflect how the University will be required to manage the funding. Below are some general guidelines that should help you determine the most likely classification. If questions arise, a Pre-award specialist, ORSP, and University Advancement can help appropriately classify the opportunity.

Questions about salary/benefits and Sponsored Programs.

For grant purposes, base rate of pay is determined using an individual’s base salary and contract length that provides that salary. The base salary is defined by annual contracts and does not include any additional income such as stipends, extra pay for additional assignments, etc.

To determine the base rate of pay for Faculty, the annual base salary is divided by the number of months in the contract. So base rate of pay would be calculated as follows in the examples below:

12-month Faculty with a base annual salary of $60,000:
$60,000 / 12 months = $5000.00 per month

9-month Faculty with a base annual salary of $45,000:
$45,000 / 9 months = $5000.00 per month

9-month Faculty may earn up to 3 months of summer salary (subject to limitations by the sponsor and Mercer’s Supplemental Pay Policy). This is calculated as 3 times the monthly rate of the 9-month contract

9-month faculty with a base annual salary of $45,000:
$45,000 / 9 months = $5000.00 per month X 3 summer months = $15,000 salary for 3 months

In order for a Pre-award specialist to assist with the exact salary and fringe benefit rates for personnel other than the PI, those personnel will need to agree to the release of that information by contacting a Pre-award specialist directly.

If a specific person has not been identified for a proposal (e.g. summer student or graduate student), human resources can provide expected salaries and benefit rates for proposal submission.

For sponsored programs, “percent effort” refers to the proportion of an individual’s total work time dedicated to a specific project, expressed as a percentage. Effort is not based on a specific number of hours, but rather the total time spent on all institutional activities. Effort always equals 100% regardless of the number of hours worked.

When you write personnel into a grant proposal (including yourself), you are committing effort to the sponsor.

Payroll distributions and effort reports are not the same thing. Payroll distributions are the distribution of an individual’s salary, while effort reports describe the allocation of an individual’s actual time and effort spent for sponsored programs, whether or not reimbursed by the sponsor. Thus effort reporting is separate from and can be independent of salary charges. Time and Effort reporting is required whether or not wages/benefits are expensed to a grant. It is a report that certifies how your efforts were spent.