Prior Approval of Proposals and Post Award Activity
The Huron Research Suite (HRS), branded as the Purdue Excellence in Research Administration (PERA), is not configured in a way that allows routing of proposals and post award prior approvals to unit leads before submission to the sponsor without invoking manual workflow steps. To help address this issue, and to align with the strategic objective of reducing administrative signatures to a minimum, procedures have been established to ensure funding commitments and special review items are elevated to department heads and deans before submission to a sponsor. In situations that do not include cost share commitments or special review items, department heads and deans will receive a monthly report via email for all activity for their unit(s). The report will include detailed information for all proposals submitted and post award prior approval activity from the prior month.
In determining this path forward, department heads and deans were surveyed to provide input and seek buy-in. Although this solution may not address all feedback and requested functionality, the monthly report option allows for improved information flow as well as complete and consistent documentation.
For proposal submissions:
- Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators will receive proposals for review and certification pre-submission via the PERA system
- Department Heads and Deans will be provided cost sharing documentation before submission to validate and approve in advance via the PERA system
- Approval for special circumstances such as space needs, construction/renovation and large equipment will be handled via separate processes pre-submission
For post award prior approvals:
- Principal investigators should work with their business offices to initiate requests for changes in PI, budget revisions, no-cost extensions and establishment of a notice to proceed via the PERA system
- Business officers will work with unit leads when appropriate to ensure academic awareness and approvals are received in advance of submission to Sponsored Program Services.
- These reviews and approvals will be documented and retained in the Sponsored Program Services or departmental grant file.
The most significant concerns that were raised by the Heads and Deans included ensuring that the proposed budgets meet departmental standards for academic year effort, graduate student and/or other salary support; activities involving renovations, constructions and unique space needs were addressed in advance; no new funds were committed without their approval; and changes to PI roles were addressed at the appropriate leadership level. These examples reflect situations where business office discussions for awareness and approvals would be considered appropriate.
Pre-Award and Post Award specialists, and Departmental Business Officers are expected to utilize departmental guidelines to inform budget development (AY effort, graduate salaries, etc.), and will address cost share commitments and special review items via ancillary review or email approval. Additionally, it is an expectation that monthly reporting would be a discussion topic between the business office and departmental leadership to ensure understanding of departmental impacts. If additional questions arise during the review process, they will be elevated to unit leads and/or business offices prior to submission.