Roles and Responsibilities

Principal Investigator (PI)

  • Submits pre-proposal or Letter of Intent (LOI) where applicable 
  • Reviews sponsor requirements—both standard and non-standard 
  • Develops the scope of work and determines the resources necessary to complete the project 
  • Supplies information pertaining to the budget and justification to the DLCI financial administrator, including verifying time/effort commitments, cost sharing, and underrecovery 
  • Consults with the department/dean regarding the use of space and personnel, underrecovery, cost sharing, international activities and other key issues, as needed 
  • Completes online PI Certification and Conflict of Interest screening questions; submits fCOI disclosure, if required; ensures all other Investigators and Key Persons do the same 
  • Describes the relationships between the proposal and significant financial interests (e.g. consulting); consults with the relevant DLCI head or Conflict of Interest Officer prior to submitting the proposal and consults as needed with program directors, TLO and RAS to manage or eliminate real or perceived conflicts 
  • Works with DLCI, as needed, to respond to RAS proposal review comments and indicate confirmation of any exceptions prior to submission 
  • Submits electronic RPPR/progress report when required for renewals or non-competing continuations
  • Secures all Institute commitments as required at the time of proposal in conjunction with the DLCI. This includes human and animal subject protocol(s) or any other Institute approvals, such as biohazards, radioactivity, hESC use, Fabricated Equipment approval and subaward vs. procurement issues from appropriate Institute office 
  • Completes Research Security Training, if required by sponsor

Department/Lab/Center/Institute Administration (DLCI AO/FO) 

  • Contacts Office of Foundation Relations to approve a proposal before submission 
  • Prepares supporting documents for proposal such as Reps and Certifications, or other sponsor required forms to be reviewed by the Contract Administrator. 
  • Communicates with RAS Research Subaward Team as early as possible during budget preparation regarding subrecipent vs. vendor, and preparation of Small Business Subcontracting Plan, if required 
  • Assists PI to ensure all Institute commitments required for proposal are obtained. This includes Human and Animal subject protocol(s) or any other institute approval, i.e. biohazards, radioactivity, hESC use, Fabricated Equipment approval and Subaward vs. Procurement issues from appropriate Institute office 

DLCI Head 

  • Reviews potential conflict of interest issues as they relate to the project and contacts RAS in cases where a management plan may be needed. Note that conflict of interest approvals cannot be delegated to staff, but another faculty member in the department could be delegated the role of the Designated Official under MIT’s Conflict of Interest in Research Policy 
  • Reviews requests for waiver of 5-day internal deadline rules prior to submission of request to Dean’s Office 

School Administration (Dean’s Office) 

  • Ensures space and other resource commitments in the proposal, such as cost sharing or funding of underrecoveries, will be met either by the department or dean’s office 
  • Works with DLCI to indicate confirmation of any exceptions prior to submission 
  • Assures PI status 
  • Approves requests for waiver of 5-day internal deadline rules 

RAS Contract Administrator Assigned to the Proposal 

  • Reviews proposal, budgets, and supporting documentation for compliance with sponsor solicitation, federal and MIT policies 
  • Ensures proper institutional sign-offs on proposals and financial commitments, such as F&A underrecovery and cost sharing 
  • Notifies the DLCI of any changes required to make the application compliant 
  • Contacts MIT offices that must review sections of the proposal before submission, such as Export Control
  • Drafts the response to anticipated sponsor terms 
  • Works with DLCI to ensure proposal sent to sponsor is reflected in Kuali Coeus 
  • Prepares transmittal letter if needed and signs any documents requiring MIT signature. 
  • Submits electronic proposals if submission by an authorized official is required (such as in NSF Research.gov or Grants.gov Workspace) or notifies the DLCI when the proposal is ready to be sent to the sponsor 
  • Attaches any further relevant proposal documents or approvals into Institute Proposal in Kuali Coeus 

OSATT

  • OSATT Catalysts: Work with PI on industry and some international proposals when first developing a SOW. (If the PI does not work with a Catalyst at that stage, RAS will work with a Catalyst to review and approve the SOW before a proposal review is completed.)  
  • OSATT Hermes Team (Hermes-Team@mit.edu): Prepares and executes non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), data use agreements (DUAs), material transfer agreements (MTAs), memorandum(a) of understanding (MOUs), teaming and collaboration agreements (consulting with other MIT offices as appropriate), if necessary 

Other Research Areas