Frequently Asked Questions

The University defines sponsored programs as externally funded projects/awards for activities, which can include research, instruction, conferences, public events, training, scholarships, and library grants. If any of the following conditions are present in terms of the award, it is a sponsored program, and funding proposals must be reviewed by central administration through the Office of Sponsored Programs:

• The project implementation includes the transfer of funds to The American University in Cairo (AUC).
• The proposed work binds the University to a specific line of scholarly or scientific inquiry, which requires either a work methodology or validation of approaches.
• A specific commitment is made regarding the level of personnel effort or items of output or if the achievement of specific performance targets is contemplated as a condition of obtaining sponsorship.
• A line-item budget detailing expenditures by activity, function, and project period must be adhered to as a condition of funding, and a detailed fiscal or activity report or external audit is required at intervals during the work and/or at the end of the project period.
• The proposed agreement with the sponsor provides for the disposition of either tangible properties (equipment, records, technical reports, theses, or dissertations) or intangible property (rights in data, copyrights, inventions) which may result from the activity.
• Support is requested from any US or other government agency or from international organizations/agencies.

Solicitations involving any of the above conditions are treated as sponsored programs and are processed following the guidelines in pre-proposal, proposal, and award.

The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) announces on a regular basis relevant funding alerts to faculty members at AUC via email. In addition, all funding alerts are listed on the OSP webpage; check the OSP funding opportunities page, which outlines all currently open opportunities announced by OSP, as well as the previously announced ones for reference on the regular funding cycles.

Both OSP and the Office of Advancement Services assist members of the AUC community in obtaining financial support from foundations and companies. OSP handles all grants and contracts, and the Office of Advancement Services handles gifts.

As the Principal Investigator (PI), you should consider consulting the below questions during the inception phase.

• What do you want to achieve with your research or idea?
• What is its significance, and how is it fulfilling a need?
• How is the project important for you/your organization and community?
• What has been achieved to date?
• What are the suggested methods or theories of change to achieve the project goal??
• Who is the target population/beneficiary group?
• What are the expected outcomes and impacts of the project?
• How will the project sustain itself beyond the grant funding?

For more information, check the Pre-Proposal and Proposal pages on the OSP website.

The Indirect costs are generally the costs incurred by AUC that are associated with any research project, such as electricity, water, sanitation, cleaning/security services, space utilization, equipment and technology infrastructure such as PCs, servers, and network, AUC Library usage which includes access to databases for publications, administration time which includes staff time such as the accounting department, office of sponsored programs, school of sciences and engineering support staff, etc. The rate for indirect costs is specified by the sponsor in the call guidelines.

In case the proposal is submitted to a federal agency (ex., USAID, US Embassy Cairo, US Department of State, etc.), indirect costs are fixed by predetermined rates according to the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). For more details, check the indirect cost rates.

Refer to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval procedure for any research involving human subjects.

The Provost is the authorized signatory for institutional documents (ex., Letters of Support, Letters of Commitment, and so on) and or proposals that need to be signed prior to submission. For submission, the PIs usually submit any applications that require account setting and login credentials, especially if multiple submissions are allowed from the same institution, and the submission requests information on the PI’s academic profile. If the submission is via email, OSP can assist in the process as needed by the PI.

For more information on the proposal process, check the proposal page.

Full-time AUC faculty members (professors, associate professors, and assistant professors) are eligible to apply for external funding and serve as principal investigators or project directors on sponsored projects. Exceptions may be made for other AUC full-time faculty who have titles such as lecturers, senior lecturers, instructors, senior instructors, visiting faculty, and senior AUC staff members, with prior approval from the dean and the provost.

The Principal Investigator is the technical manager of a grant or an externally funded project. His role is centered around supervising and ensuring that various aspects of the grant, like technical requirements, day-to-day administration, and financial management of the project, are taken care of. The PI will also keep the department chair and dean apprised of progress and any problems. For more details on the PI's responsibilities, refer to the PI Handbook.

Yes, all research proposals submitted to external sponsors should be managed through the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Principal Investigators are also advised to keep OSP informed about informal contact, letters of intent, or correspondence with external funding agencies.

If no currently open funding opportunities match the PI's research field of interest, they will be asked to fill out the OSP Funding Search Support Request form that will help OSP know their specific area of interest and pursue it as they search for grant opportunities.

If the opportunity was announced by OSP, the PI should ensure to follow the application process included in each funding alert announcement and send the required documents on or before the internal deadline. If the opportunity was not announced by OSP, PIs will need to kindly share the announcement link or guidelines with OSP, and OSP will review the opportunity and inform the PI of AUC’s eligibility to apply and, if so, the next steps to proceed. If the PI has any questions or clarifications along the process, they may send an email to OSP at [email protected], and they shall receive a reply in less than two working days.

First, a PI needs to share the opportunity link/guidelines if the opportunity was not announced by OSP as well as the name of the partner institution (lead applicant). Once OSP confirms eligibility, the following documents will be required from the PI:

• The AUC share of the budget in an excel sheet reflecting detailed calculation. Download the general template as a reference
• The AUC scope of work reflecting the role of AUC/the PI in the project
• Any other required documents, if any, as per the call guidelines and sponsor/main applicant requirements.

Those documents will be used for internal circulation to obtain the necessary approvals prior to submission by the lead partner.

All sponsored research proposals must be reviewed and approved by the University's administration before submission to external funding agencies. This is typically obtained and documented via the Proposal Approval Form (PAF) generated by an electronic grant system called COEUS.

Once the PAF is generated, it will be circulated for approval along with the final budget and, ideally final narrative/application, according to the following set hierarchy:

• Principal Investigator and co-principal investigator, if applicable
• Department chair - for certain centers, this is not applicable
• School dean or center director
• Office of Sponsored Programs director
• Controller
• Associate vice president for finance and CFO
• Associate provost for research and dean of graduate studies in case the proposal is:
  • Research related, and the budget includes equipment, additional space, or cost-sharing
  • The budget includes a graduate fellowship of any kind
• VP management and operations (in case the PI is requesting additional space during the proposal phase)
• Provost

Most fundraising proposals submitted to public entities, government agencies, public foundations, international organizations, and the like are managed through the Office of Sponsored Programs as grants. Most proposals to private individuals, companies, and foundations are managed through the Office of Institutional Development as gifts. Faculty who are unsure of the appropriate office should consult with the associate provost for sponsored programs or the vice president for institutional development before contacting the agency or sponsor and beginning to prepare a proposal.

The first step is referring to the sponsor call guidelines (if available) for guidance on the budget ceiling and minimum, if any, the eligible costs, the indirect cost rate allowed, if any, and any other restrictions, as applicable.

Typically, depending on the project needs and sponsor guidelines, key line items that may be allowed in a grant budget may include:

• Personnel Costs
• Equipment
• Travel
• Research Costs (data collection tools, dissemination events, publishing costs)
• Project activities (e.g. workshops, events, etc.)
• AUC indirect costs/overheads

Note: Share the proposal budgets in Microsoft Excel to ensure a comprehensive OSP review of calculations and for internal circulation of the budget for approvals.  Use the OSP generic budget template if the sponsor does not provide one.

The indirect costs are generally the costs incurred by AUC that are associated with any research project, such as electricity, water, sanitation, cleaning/security services, space utilization, equipment and technology infrastructure such as PCs, servers, and network, AUC Library usage which includes access to databases for publications, administration time which includes staff time such as the accounting department, Office of Sponsored Programs, school of sciences and engineering support staff, etc. The rate for indirect costs is specified by the sponsor in the call guidelines.

In case the proposal is submitted to a federal agency (ex., USAID, US Embassy Cairo, US Department of State, etc.), indirect costs are fixed by predetermined rates according to the Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA). For more details, check the indirect cost rates.

The fringe benefits rate includes the following: social insurance health/cultural fund, social security, pension, indemnity, medical insurance, group life insurance, unemployment insurance, clinic services, sabbatical grants, visa/passport/permits, home leave travel, staff scholarships, incentive retirement, end of service and relocation expenses. Fringe Benefits Rate - 20.90 percent of salaries and wages applicable to full-time employees.

For more details, check the fringe benefits page.

The rates governing faculty compensation for externally funded research are as follows:

• Up to 25% of base annual salary (both Egyptian pounds and US dollars) for research work during the fall and/or spring semesters
• Up to 1/9 (1 month) of base annual salary for research work during the winter semester.
• Up to 3/9 (3 months) of base annual salary for research work during the summer.

The above compensation levels are contingent on prior written approval by the school dean in consultation with the school council and on condition that the faculty are not teaching overload, winter, or summer courses.

For more details, refer to the faculty handbook, also posted on the AUC website.

The teaching/research assistantship award can entail a time input between 1 and 30 hours per week. The time input is determined by the assignment a teaching assistant has. The maximum time input possible for a teaching assistantship award at AUC is 30 hours per week.

To calculate the RAs’ stipend as a remuneration, use the hourly rate of 80 EGP for master's degree holders, which is EGP 80, and the hourly rate for the bachelor's degree holders is EGP 75.

As for the teaching assistantship award, it is not a term of employment, and the stipend is not a salary.

For more details, refer to the Graduate Studies webpage on the AUC website.

AUC's policy is that sponsored research programs should normally recover their full share of direct and indirect costs from the sponsor.

Sometimes sponsors require that AUC subsidize (cost share) a portion of the costs, or sponsors may decline to support certain types of costs (such as indirect costs). In other cases, AUC offers to subsidize a share of the cost to make a proposal more attractive.

In any of these situations, the researcher/PI must identify a source for the subsidy, such as the department, school, center, or University. Requests for department, school, or center subsidies must be discussed with the appropriate department chair, dean, or center director.

The PI is advised to notify OSP and forward a copy of the document to OSP if requested.

When an award has been signed by both the sponsor and AUC, and the internal approvals are secured on the award approval form, then the award is ready to receive an account number, which is known as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) number along with the award summary. It usually takes a couple of days to generate an account number after the award approval form has been signed. OSP will share it with the PI by email when announcing the award. Before a WBS is created, the PI can start preparing for the project without charging any financial transactions related to the award.

Yes, during the lifetime of an award, changes may take place that require action. OSP will assist in administering such changes when needed. In the event of changes versus the proposal submission, the PI will need to inform the OSP award officer as further approvals from the sponsor may be needed to cater to the changes. Depending on the sponsor and the project, additional information may be necessary.

Additionally, OSP sends monthly reminders to the PI and GAS to notify them of upcoming reporting due dates. OSP is also responsible for sharing progress and financial reports with the sponsors.

It is an account for extra grant funds that were not spent during the lifetime of a fixed-cost award. Refer to the Residual Funds section in the Procedures Governing the Use of Expired Externally Funded Programs document. Once approval from the Provost is secured to use the funds, the PI may request assistance from the GAS office to transfer the Residual Funds.

Here are some useful indicators:

• If the draft agreement lists AUC’s name or the department’s name as a party, then it is an AUC agreement.
• If the work being done will use AUC facilities and/or space, then it is an AUC agreement.
• If the PI intends to involve AUC students or employees, then it is an AUC agreement. But if the PI performs the work individually, then it may be a private consulting agreement.

If the conditions are not clear or a PI you are in doubt, feel free to share the contract/agreement draft with OSP, and we will advise you accordingly.

The board of trustees has authorized the President and the provost to sign contracts that legally bind the University. Faculty members, department chairs, center directors, and deans are not authorized to sign unless they have a specific written delegation from the President. Please note that a PI is advised not to sign any legal document unless authorized and required to do so. OSP will ensure that proper signatures are secured as per the sponsor requirements and AUC policies.

If a grant is issued to AUC and includes project-related work to be performed at another institution, a sub-award may need to be issued. Subaward agreements must be handled by the Office of Sponsored Programs. Under a sub-award, a sub-recipient generally performs tasks that are considered substantive programmatic work.

The determination of the potential need for collaboration is normally made at the grant proposal stage. If a PI becomes aware of the need for collaboration after the grant has been awarded, the sponsoring agency will need to be contacted for authorization to proceed through OSP. Accordingly, the PI will need to communicate closely with OSP, to submit a justification and a budget for this collaboration (sub award).

The PI works with an OSP officer on the sub-agreement to add the agreed scope and budget. Additionally, OSP will add the prime sponsor regulations and guidelines to the agreement and will contact the sub recipient to sign the agreement officially through OSP.

The award officer at OSP will check if the sponsor agrees to the type of change requested in the scope or duration of the award. Accordingly, any sub-award that has already been issued will need to be modified. Since a sub award is a legally binding agreement, this process may take time. Clear communication between the AUC PI and the collaborator is essential.

Not necessarily. If the prime grant allows indirect cost, then the sub-recipient may be allowed to secure indirect cost within the same percentage that AUC receives in case of budget availability.

No, sub awards are cash reimbursable and not paid in advance. The sub recipient must submit invoices to AUC. The AUC PI is responsible for monitoring the technical performance of the sub recipient as well as the approval of all sub award expenses submitted for payment. PIs should be encumbering the total Authorized Amounts of their sub awards to ensure they set aside adequate funds to cover their sub award obligations over the life of the award. Fixed price sub awards can be agreed upon pending AUC and sponsor approval.

A memorandum of understanding, or MoU, is a nonbinding agreement that states each party's intentions to take action, conduct a business transaction, form a new partnership, or set the framework for future collaborations/agreements between the parties with no financial obligations on either party. The agreements, on the other hand, are binding contracts, setting the rights, obligations and liabilities of each party, including the financial obligations of one or both parties.

The PI can either receive the MoU from the partner with the partner’s template, or they can request a template from OSP. After that, the below steps follow:

1. PI sends to OSP the draft of the MoU
2. OSP sends initial feedback to the PI (if any)
3. After the PI and OSP agree on a version, OSP sends the MoU to the legal office and the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) to get their feedback and/ or clearance with regard to the legal and Intellectual Property aspects of the MoU before sharing it with the partners. This stage takes around two weeks.
4. When it is cleared from the legal office and the TTO, OSP initiates the routing process for the MoU to secure the necessary approvals of the PI and the dean through OSP’s system internal system
5. After securing the approvals, the PI shares the MoU with the partner to get their feedback and/or confirmation on the MoU
6. Once all internal approvals are secured, OSP will be able to secure the provost’s signature

• The PI sends a request to the PI Support unit requesting a compensation payment two weeks before the payroll deadline (which is mid-month), specifying the tasks performed and the semester where the service has been incurred
• The memo is routed for the signatures needed
• The memo is submitted to the faculty affairs for processing

• The PI initiates the travel request through the online travel system
• The PI secures the needed approvals on the final plan (Dean/department head)
• PISU creates funding information on SAP
• PISU coordinates the request between the PI and GAS office for processing
• The PI initiates a per diem request to PISU (The per diem allowance application form) and secures line approvals (Dean/department head)

• The agreement is prepared and sent to the legal office for clearance
• A PR is issued and sent to the supply chain management (SCM) to make a competition process and suggest suppliers
• A sole source form is required by the PI if a specific supplier is required
• The SCM sends a purchase order to the selected supplier

• If the purchase cost is less than $500, it is processed as a direct purchase with reimbursement
• If the purchase cost is more than $500 and less than $2000, the PI Support Unit places a direct purchase request (DPR) and a direct purchase order (DPO) to the supplier, and payment is transferred to the supplier after the goods are received
• If the purchase cost is more than $2000, the PI support unit places a purchase request through the Supply Chain Management

The grant admin person or team is basically the one to coordinates all the grant's activities. These include events, catering, travel, transportation, hiring, and expense tracking.

The PISU senior officer assists the PI and the grant admin team in the financial management of the grant budget. The senior officer processes all expenses sent by the PI and the grant team while making sure those expenses abide by AUC and the sponsor's financial rules and regulations.

• The PI should send a request to the PI support unit to initiate the course release memo
• Fall course release memos are submitted in June, and Spring course release memos are submitted in January
• The memo is then routed for approval and signatures
• The memo is submitted to the faculty affairs for processing

Apart from the official financial reports received from the controller’s office, the PISU sends regular financial status reports, quarterly or semi-annually, depending on the duration of the grant.

These status reports serve as a tool for the PI to detect the level of spending, expenditures versus budget as well as the time elapsed in the grant versus the remaining period; and in light of the lead timer of the needed transactions, the PI can also decide whether he needs to apply for a grant extension or not.

• Send the consultant’s information to HR for initial approval
• Secure the needed supporting documents
• PISU will then follow up with HR on contract preparation and approval, compile the needed supporting documents and file the final contract

• Initiate the request to PISU by email
• Secure line approvals on the General Payment Request (GPR)
• Submit invoices/ docs supporting the cash advance for settlement

Since grants are multiyear funds, a PI can continue spending beyond the fiscal year, nonetheless, will need to send a request for the budget rollover to PISU.

PISU will prepare the necessary financial reports to detect the remaining balances at the end of the fiscal year, then prepare the request and submit it to the Grants office for processing.