Research Administration Practices (RAP)

The RAS Liaisons for NSF offer important information on recent or planned changes to the Foundation’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), including proposal submission methods, forms, and required disclosures. Resources from NSF and RAS are provided as well as best practices and tips. View course on Atlas or view slides

Postdoctoral Scholars play critical roles in the MIT research enterprise. Understanding the differences between Postdoctoral Associate and Postdoctoral Fellow appointments including compensation, employee status, benefits including health and time off provisions, and F&A, is essential for effective pre- and post-award planning and management.
 
Please join us to learn more about Postdoctoral Associate and Postdoctoral Fellow appointments, and the implications for sponsored programs, including:

• MIT definitions of Postdoctoral Associate and Postdoctoral Fellow and associated policies
• MIT's minimum salary requirements and mechanisms for meeting shortfalls
• Sponsor Policies, examples, and important considerations.

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RAS Lead Liaison for NIH presents updated guidance and resources on NIH grant programs and policies.

Discussion includes the following:

• Notice Of Funding Opportunity
• eRA requirements for Key Personnel
• Biographical Sketch / Other Support Forms (updated info)
• Budget Issues
• Salary Cap
• Graduate Student compensation
• Data Management and Sharing costs
• Reporting and Closeout

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MIT's Technology Licensing Office (TLO) moves innovations and discoveries from the lab to the marketplace for the benefit of the public and to amplify MIT's global impact. Lesley Millar-Nicholson, Director of MIT's Technology Licensing Office (TLO), provides an overview of the role of the TLO throughout the life cycle of a sponsored award.
 
Learn more about the many ways the TLO touches the work of Research Administration, including researching background IP, working with VPR RAS and OSATT on Intellectual Property Terms, and evaluating, protecting, and licensing new inventions.

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Travel expense on a sponsored program must conform to MIT policy, federal regulations, and the sponsored award travel terms and restrictions. Once submitted in Concur, travel expense reports are reviewed for required documentation, receipts, cost object, trip purpose, and that all MIT policy and sponsor requirements are met. During the review process, Expense Reports may be sent back for correction or further information.

Topics include:

• Federal regulations and MIT policy for travel
• Travel Terms in KC Award and NOA
• Concur Travel Expense Report Workflow
• How to avoid common reasons for expense report returns

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Learn about the Department of Energy (DOE) requirement that proposals now include a PIER plan (PIER = Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research). This information session is tailored to inform and equip local administrators, particularly research administrators, human resources officers, DEI officers, and directors of administration and finance, with the resources and perspective to confidently support PIs in developing effective proposals.

Background: Starting last fiscal year, the DOE is requiring certain proposal submissions to include a specific description of the activities and strategies applicants will incorporate into the sponsored project to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The requirement applies to both new proposals and renewals, and, importantly, the PIER plan must be tailored to the specific proposed project.

Speakers at this information session  included:

• Michael Corcoran, Lead Federal Liaison and Associate Director, Grant and Contract Administration, Research Administration Services
• Susan Gomes, Director of Research Development, Office of the Vice President for Research
• Katrina McCarty, Lead DOE Liaison and Team Manager, Grant and Contract Administration, Research Administration Services
• Lloyd Munjanja, Senior Community Engagement Officer, Office of the Vice President for Research
• Noelle Wakefield, Assistant Dean of Diversity Initiatives and Director of the MIT Summer Research Program, Office Of Graduate Education

View DOE PIER Plan Information Video on Atlas (requires login)

View Slides [PDF]

The RAS Subawards Team manages the negotiation and processing of subawards to other research organizations under MIT’s sponsored research agreements. During this session, the Subawards Team provides essential guidance for the post-award stage including:

• DLCI requisition for a new subaward, process and requirements
• Subrecipient evaluation and performance monitoring
• Subaward Closeout, timetable, final reports and invoice
  ... and more!

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Fiscal management and monitoring can present many challenges. Please join us as MIT’s Internal Audit Division presents five keys to assist in research administration management and oversight: 

• Oversight and Monitoring
• Segregation of Duties
• Systems/Applications
• Training and Education
• Written Procedures

The discussion continues with sharing of best practices and detecting irregularities that help minimize risks and support compliance.

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RAS Lead Liaison for International Agreements as explores key considerations for planning projects with international engagement or sponsors. 

Topics include: 

• MIT resources for international engagement
• Types of international agreements
• Reviews related to MIT policy and federal regulations
• Legal, financial, and administrative considerations
• International subrecipients
• … and more!

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Effective stewardship of capital or fabricated equipment for a sponsored project is essential to meeting sponsor, federal and Institute policies, agreement terms and compliance requirements. Please join us for this virtual learning session via Zoom and learn more about agreement terms for title, Institute policies for major and fabricated equipment, the VPF Property Office, and options for disposition at closeout.

Topics include: 

• Equipment Definitions
• Agreement Terms and Title
• Property Audits and Inventory Cycle
• Fabricated Equipment
• Closeout

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SciENcv is a free web-based tool that produces approved formats for the NIH and NSF Biographical Sketch documents and the NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support. For NSF proposals submitted or due on or after October 23, 2023, SciENcv is mandatory for all Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support. Research.gov will generate a compliance error if a proposer or grantee attempts to upload a prior version of either document.

In preparation of this change, it is encouraged to begin using SciENcv prior to the implementation deadline. Please join your colleagues to review the following and see a demonstration of SciENcv and ORCID: 

• Log into SciENcv using ERA Commons, NSF Account, or MIT Kerberos. Users who link their eRA, NSF, or ORCID accounts can populate SciENcv with information stored in their profiles.
• NSF and NIH encourage use of ORCID—Open Researcher and Contributor iD—a Digital Persistent Identifier (PID) that meets NSPM-33 criteria. Researchers can import data from ORCID into SciENcv.
• Senior personnel may assign a Delegate (MIT Research Administrator) to create/modify a SciENcv document or download a certified version. 
• SciENcv NSF documents Include a certification requirement from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2021, Section 223 regarding information being accurate, current, and complete. Certification must be completed by the PI/Co-I or Key Person. 

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Cost sharing is the portion of the total project costs not reimbursed by the sponsor but rather funded by MIT and/or third parties. During the post-award phase of a project with cost sharing commitments, DLCI Research Administrators are responsible for monitoring cost sharing activity, ensuring the charges are allowable per the agreement terms, and tracking that the cost sharing commitment is met.

This course presents an overview of the various types of cost sharing, cost share account set up, the cost sharing template, tracking commitments, reporting, etc.    View course on Atlas or view slides

The RAS Subawards Team manages the negotiation and processing of subawards to other research organizations under MIT’s sponsored research agreements. During this session, the Subawards Team provides essential guidance for the pre-awad stage including:

• determining if the planned subaward is a subawardee, vendor or independent contractor
• flow down of applicable terms and conditions from prime award
• requesting new subaward organizations for KC
• subaward organization risk level and risk management
• subaward budget costs and F&A
• PI responsibility, certification, and more!

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The Export Control Compliance Team is an integral part of MIT's Research Compliance, providing informative resources, tools, and expertise in protecting MIT’s Open Research policy and the free exchange of information among scholars while complying with U.S. export control law. To ensure that we are in compliance with Federal regulations, it is essential for Research Administrators to be familiar with best practices for research activities and how the Export Control Compliance Team can assist with activities or transactions that may be impacted by export control laws and regulations. 

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Please join us to learn more about the characteristics of federal contracts, grants and cooperative agreements, and specific areas of concern during negotiation. It is beneficial for Research Administrators to understand the purpose and deliverables for different agreement types and troublesome terms that will need to be negotiated out if funded.

This RAP session explores the following topics

• Purpose, Deliverables, and Sponsor Involvement for different Agreement Types
• Grants and Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) terms
• Cooperative Agreements and sponsor specific terms
• Grant Agreements from Charitable Foundations and Non-Profits
• Federal Contracts and Federal Contracting Clauses – "the FAR"

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• Note: Sponsor Reqs. Certification and COI learning covers financial Conflict of Interest topics spanning the life cycle of a sponsored program and is offered via two RAP sessions. Please also register for part 1: Sponsor Reqs. Certification and COI 1 (you will receive credit for two courses).

  The Kuali Coeus (KC) COI sponsor hierarchy determines financial Conflict of Interest disclosure requirements applied to Investigators and Key Personnel during the life cycle of a sponsored program. Learn more about COI requirements and processes during the lifecycle of a sponsored projects, who plays a role, and how to address specific scenarios at pre- and post-award. View course on Atlas or View Slides

Note: Sponsor Reqs. Certification and COI learning covers financial Conflict of Interest topics spanning the life cycle of a sponsored program and is offered via two RAP sessions. Please also register for part 2: Sponsor Reqs. Certification and COI 2 (you will receive credit for two courses).

MIT’s financial Conflict of Interest policy helps ensure that MIT researchers and the Institute are in compliance with federal regulations and sponsor requirements. The Kuali Coeus (KC) COI sponsor hierarchy determines financial Conflict of Interest disclosure requirements applied to Investigators and Key Personnel during the life cycle of a sponsored program. Learn more about COI requirements and processes during the lifecycle of a sponsored project and who plays a role.  View course on Atlas or view slides

NSF has set a target date of December 31, 2022 for transitioning from Fastlane to Research.gov. Some solicitations already require submission through Research.Gov (information can be found in specific solicitation). Please join us to learn more about NSF resources, RAS guidance, and DLC Research Administrator experience using Research.gov. View course on Atlas or view slides

We welcome all research administrators to join us for the Research Administration Practices (RAP) session on "NIH Proposal Resources and Updates". Come meet with your peers and colleagues in research administration as we discuss available resources and new updates coming from the Agency. View course on Atlas

When purchasing products and services for a sponsored project, that is—a project that is being paid for by an award from the government, a private company, or a charitable foundation—then you need to ensure that the expense is allowable before making the purchase. View Course on Atlas  

Vacation is an employee benefit for eligible employees at MIT. Whether you are creating a budget for proposal submission or managing and tracking post-award expenses, it is essential to understand the vacation cycle process and relevant policy. View course on Atlas or view slides

Monitoring expenses during the lifecycle of a sponsored program is critical for successful management and closeout of an award. SAP is the Institute's system of record for expenditures. View course on Atlas or view slides.

Workspace is the Grants.gov's online environment for proposal creation and submission to federal agencies. This session explores several scenarios and best practices for using Workspace. Resources developed by MIT to assist the community in creating Workspace proposals are also reviewed. View course on Atlas or view slides.

Your DLC faculty member plans to submit a proposal! Begin by closely reading the solicitation along with the sponsor's proposal guidance and RAS sponsor checklists. Careful attention to detail will eliminate or reduce revisions prior to submission. View course on Atlas or view slides.

A Notice of Award (NoA) is a formal notification from a sponsor indicating that a proposal submitted by MIT/RAS has been funded. For successful management of a sponsored program, it is essential for Research Administrators to review the approved funding and the terms and conditions of the award. View course on Atlas or view slides.

The PI is ultimately responsible for all aspects of sponsored research, including proposal submission, compliance with Institute and federal policies, monitoring spending and subrecipients, and technical and progress reporting.

Research Administrators support PIs in successfully meeting sponsored project requirements and effective communication is essential. This RAP session offered on March 24, 2021 covers tips and tricks for how to effectively communicate information in the research administration environment:

• Best communication method
• Tailoring emails for the right audience
• Communicating potential issues or challenges with proposals and/or awards
• Scheduling and conducting Zoom meetings as needed to get the best results.

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Understanding the requirements and processes involved in closing a sponsored project account can be very beneficial in effective management during the lifetime of an award, not just during the 90 days after the end of the award. This RAP session, recorded in June 2020, explores the roles and responsibilities of the PI and DLC Research Administrator, Research Administration Services, and Sponsored Accounting in the financial closeout process.

Topics include:

• Agreement Terms, Prior Approvals, and Carry Forward restrictions 
• No-cost extensions or additional funded extensions
• Subaward closeout timeline
• WBS Closeout Notifications
• Financial Audit & Reconciliation

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