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Award Administration

  1. About AUC
  2. Sponsored Programs
  3. Award Administration

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) assists in administering awards and ensures that the contracts/awards are compatible with the sponsor guidelines as well as AUC policies and that the reporting deadlines are met.

The Principal Investigator (PI) takes the leading role in managing the grant, as such, a PI is responsible to make purchases, incur costs, and obtain prior approvals. To onboard the PI and his team, OSP offers educational and training opportunities related to financial and administrative compliance to the sponsor and university policies and regulations as well as individual one-on-one meetings with the assigned research administrator and research accountant to ensure full awareness and adherence to the guidelines.

More details can be found in the PI Handbook updated regularly by OSP.

Receipt of Award

The Provost and the President of AUC have the authority to accept an award on behalf of AUC. AUC requires that all sponsored awards be processed, and all award documentation be sent to OSP to be reviewed and accepted on behalf of the University. Any documents sent directly to the PI should be shared with OSP upon receipt, for guidance on contractual matters.

Negotiation and Acceptance of the Award

Prior to accepting an award on behalf of the University, the Office of Sponsored Programs reviews its terms and conditions and secures the approval of the Legal Counsel and Technology Transfer to ensure sponsor’s requirements compatibility with the national law and AUC’s policies and procedures. A sponsored award binds both the sponsor and AUC to certain commitments, OSP may negotiate favorable terms and appropriate remedies if the award’s conditions are incompatible with AUC’s policies or if the agreement falls short of the agreed-upon proposal.

OSP assumes primary responsibility and takes the lead in negotiating terms between AUC and the sponsor. If a PI is contacted directly by a sponsor regarding the terms of an award under discussion, the sponsor should be referred by the PI to OSP.

Signature Authority

To formally accept the terms and conditions of the award, sponsors will require the signature of an authorized institutional official. OSP is responsible for obtaining the authorized institutional signature (Only the President and the Provost are the authorized signatories for AUC). PIs are cautioned against signing any University agreements or material transfers, or legal documents. These agreements bind the University to certain obligations.

Award Administration Process

OSP strongly advises faculty members to refer to the Principal Investigator Handbook which is designed to help Principal Investigators (PIs) administer sponsored projects at AUC. Click here to download the new PI handbook (updated April 2022).

Refer to the Stages for Setting up an Externally Funded Project document for a summary.

Subawards/Subagreements Administration 

OSP is responsible for issuing subawards from prime agreements (contract, grant, or cooperative agreement) awarded to the University. Check the Subawards/Subagreements Administration by OSP document, for more details on how to process such agreements through OSP.

Fiscal Year Awards List

OSP reports the external funding received by AUC annually and updates the award list annually. The funding, which supports research, training, and public service projects, is reported yearly in the University's President report.

For more information; visit the Fiscal Year Award list 2022 page.