Manage an Award

Once a new award has been received, your OSP liaison will schedule a New Award Kick-off Meeting including:

• the PI, co-PIs, other project staff
• project budget manager
• Grant Management Specialist
• Grant Accountant from Controller's Office
• If privately funded: representative from the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations

to orient all personnel supporting this project with the award's specific terms and conditions, budget, prior approval requirements, SU-related policies and procedures, and reporting deadlines.

A New Award Overview, updated with the project's specific information, will be reviewed and provided to all attendees.

The New Award Kick-off meeting, remaining sections of this webpage, and the Sponsored Projects Expenditure Guide, are provided to support the PI and project budget manager throughout the life of the project.

Following this meeting, your primary post-award contact within OSP will be Aika Foz, our Grant Management Specialist.

Once an award is received, the project staff needs to carefully review the award agreement or contract, including award attachments and adhere to all terms and conditions. OSP will assist in communicating with SU legal and the sponsor, should any provisions need interpretation.  The PI/PD is responsible for carrying out the project in compliance with all sponsor terms and conditions, federal, state and local laws, and Seattle University policy.

Please note: All new awards, contracts, or subcontracts must be signed by our Authorized Organizational Representative (Provost or designee).

It is the responsibility of the PI or Program Director to reconcile your financial transactions to ensure accuracy. The Controller's Office provides several tools to assist:

• Power BI: SU financial reporting system based on fiscal year
• Projects Accounting: Grant specific financial reporting system based on project period and includes a budget to spending comparison
• Quarterly Financial Reports: these reports will be sent for your review and approval from the Grant Accountant

Please review Grant Accounting Roles and Responsibilities to understand your role in sponsored projects financial accounting.

More Budget Management is available below. 

All costs proposed or incurred on a sponsored project must comply with the approved scope of work and budget, general sponsor terms and conditions and University policies and procedures.

The Principal Investigator of a sponsored project is required to report major deviations from budget, staffing, project timeline and project scope. 

When a change is necessary, please complete the Institutional Prior Approval Form (IPAF) within OneAegis. The OSP will review and determine if sponsor prior approval is required based on sponsor policies and the award agreement. Should sponsor approval be necessary, OSP will submit the request and justification as detailed in your IPAF with the sponsor. 

Once the change is approved, the Grant Management Specialist will issue an updated Budget Input Form if the budget or timeline of the project was revised.

The PI is responsible for submitting accurate and timely reports to the sponsor. OSP offers notification and review support while the Grant Accountant will provide the financial report. After the post-award meeting, OSP will send report reminders to your Outlook calendar. These notifications will remind you of upcoming reports 6 weeks before the sponsor due date. 

• Programmatic Reporting. The PI is responsible for completing any technical/programmatic reports required by the sponsor. 
• Financial Reporting. The Grant Accountant in the Controller's Office will provide the financial report as required by the sponsor.

If the report requires an institutional signature, OSP will facilitate this through the Provost’s Office. 

Please begin preparing for award closeout at least 90 days prior to the project end date. At this time, you should consider if any remaining changes are needed (no cost extension, rebudgeting, etc.), wind down spending, and ensure the end date for all personnel is not beyond the project end date. Major purchases should not take place within the final 30 days of the project. Please contact OSP for help in preparing for closeout. 

At the grant’s end date, the Grant Management Specialist will initiate the close-out process by sending the closeout checklist to the PI and Activity Manager. Closing the grant includes:

• Ensuring all personnel appointments are removed
• Purchases have cleared the budget
• Cost share requirements are met
• Unallowable costs are removed
• Subcontract invoices are received
• Effort reports (if required) are certified
• All sponsor funding is received

This process should take place within 120 days of the grant’s end date.