Florida International University
University Park Campus
11200 S.W. 8 Street, MARC 430
Miami, FL 33199
Phone: (305) 348-2494
Fax: (305) 348-4117

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Where can I find the official OSRA policies?

All University policies and procedures are located in one central on-line location in the University Policies and Procedures Library maintained by the University Compliance Office at http://policies.fiu.edu/. All of the policies and procedures of the Office of Sponsored Research Administration may be reviewed on that database which is arranged by Pre-Award and Award, Post-Award and the Office of Research Integrity. Additionally, users may search the database using key words and all policies and procedures containing the key words will be listed, regardless of the University unit to which they pertain. This is particularly useful for sponsored research matters as administration of projects routinely involves other University units such as Purchasing, Travel, Risk Management and Environmental Health and Safety and many other units. Thus,the ability to search the Policies and Procedures Library using key words provides users with an expedient way to ensure that all releant policies and procedures are accessed. The on-line policies and procedures also list the appropriate University contacts so that users may know whom they can call if they have any questions on the policies or procedures. Needed forms and background information are also included in the policies and procedures. Other policies relating to proposal preparation and review, budget and fiscal requirements, project administration, project close-out, and research compliance are also included in the OSRA policies and procedures.

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What is the indirect cost rate?

• Washington Primer on F&A costs
• Private Companies & On Campus Research:



07/01/07 – 06/30/08	40% MTDC
07/01/08 – 06/30/09	42% MTDC
07/01/09 – 06/30/10	44% MTDC
07/01/10 – 06/30/11	45% MTDC
07/01/11 – Until Amended	45% MTDC


Excluding equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships and the portion of each subcontract and/or subgrant in excess of $25,000 regardless of the period covered. Consultants are not subcontracts. Equipment means an article of nonexpendable tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year, and an acquisition cost of $1000 or more per unit.

• Off Campus Research : 26% MTDC
  Excluding equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships and fellowships and the portion of each subcontract and/or subgrant in excess of $25,000 regardless of the period covered. Consultants are not subcontracts. Equipment means an article of nonexpendable tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year, and an acquisition cost of $1000 or more per unit.  If more than 50% of the project will be performed off-campus, the off-campus rate will apply to the entire project.
• American Cancer Society: 20% MTDC for grants funded after July 1, 2002. IDC is allowed on direct costs excluding permanent equipment. Indirect Costs for a subcontract budget may be claimed by either the primary or the secondary institution but not both.
• US Department of Education Training Grants: 8% MTDC excluding tuition, stipends, and major equipment (greater than $1,000 per item). (As per 34 CFR 75.562) The training  F&A rate is allowable for training projects where FIU students are being trained and the 8% rate is specified in the proposal guidelines.
• State Agencies: 15% TDC
• South Florida Water Management District: 25% TDC
• US Department of the Interior/Everglades National Park: 20% MTDC
  Excluding equipment (greater than $1,000 per item), tuition, and stipends. Applies to agreements executed prior to October 6th, 2005 and existing DOI/NPS agreements through the end of the life of the project.  
• CESU/South Florida Carribbean Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit: 17.50% TDC  Applies to new agreements executed after October 6th, 2005 for work conducted under the CESU agreement with the following agencies from the Department of the Interior (DOI): Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), United States Geological Survey (USGS) and National Park Service (NPS)     
• Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Council: No indirect cost allowed.

See also OSRA policy - Full Facilities and Administrative Charges Must be Charged on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the Univeristy Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

What are the Congressional and Senate districts numbers?

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What are the FIU Federal ID (TIN), DUNS, CAGE, TEN, and CEC numbers?

FIU Federal ID Number: 65-0177616  
DUNS Number (aka CCR Number): 07-129-8814
CAGE Code: 1JHM5
Tax Exempt Number: 85-8012622369C-4
CEC Number: 07-220-891B

You can get information on funding availability by doing a search on SPIN. If you are a faculty member, you may set up a profile on SMARTS/GENIUS.

For OSRA deadline dates for submission of proposal to OSRA, see OSRA policy - Deadlines for Proposal Submissions for OSRA Review found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

Electronic submissions will require more time from both the PIs and the Office of Sponsored Research in order to anticipate and address problems. Federal electronic submission deadlines pertain to submissions with no errors.

Deans and Center Directors should NOT submit to OSRA any proposals that donot adhere to the OSRA deadline policy dates, as any proposals submitted after the deadline will be returned tothe Dean/Center Director.

Following are the items which comprise a complete proposal which must be submitted to OSRA for OSRA's review prior to submission of the proposal to the sponsor.

1. Internal Clearance Form fully completed and signed.  By signing the Internal Clearance Form, the PI is approving the entire proposal and certifies that he/she will undertake the responsibility for the programmatic and scientific requirements of the project and that he/she will administer the project in accordance with the sponsor guidelines, the approved budget, applicable law and regulations and University policies and procedures.  By signing the ICF, the additional signatories (chairs, deans, center directors) certify that the PI is eligible to submit the proposal and can effectively manage the project. The signatories to the ICF should carefully read the ICF above the place for their signature, which sets forth all matters to which their signature certifies.
2. Cost Sharing Form ( pdf) fully completed and signed, with account numbers, as applicable, from which the cost sharing will be drawn.  This form is needed if FIU is providing any cost sharing for the project.  If the project is funded, the PI will be responsible for ensuring that the cost sharing is tracked and documented for future reporting to the sponsor.  When including cost sharing in a proposal, the persons signing the Cost Sharing Form pledging the cost sharing must ensure that there is funding in the account pledged as cost sharing to cover the amount of cost sharing proposed for at least one year.  If cost sharing funds are not available at time of award, the award may not be processed by OSRA.
3. Current and Pending Form (word) fully completed and signed.
4. Text of the Proposal, including technical description of the project and all sections required by the sponsor’s guidelines.
5. Budget and budget justification.  The budget justification must explain in reasonable detail how the amounts in the itemized categories of the budget were calculated and what the budgeted categories will be used to purchase.
6. A writing from the sponsor (or sponsor guidelines) must be included memorializing what the sponsor will pay in F&A costs if the F&A costs to be recovered on the project are less than the FIU standard rates.
7. Copy of the sponsor guidelines or list the website on the Internal Clearance Form where the guidelines are located.
8. Collaboration letters or emails from all collaborators named in the proposal whether the collaborator is employed by FIU or not, acknowledging their collaboration on the project.  If the collaborators are individuals, the letter or email may be from the individual him/herself.  If the collaborator is another entity, the letter or email must be from that entity’s authorized representative.  If the proposal indicates that the collaborator is providing any cost sharing or matching to the project, the letter or email must detail the same.
9. If the proposal includes a budget item for a named subcontractor, include a copy of that subcontractor’s proposal, including the subcontractor’s budget and scope of work, signed by an authorized representative of the subcontractor.  If the subcontractor shall provide cost sharing or match, the proposal must detail the same. If the subcontractor is charging F&A costs, the subcontractor must state the basis for arriving at the F&A rate used.
10. Proposed contract for the project, if the sponsor has provided one to the PI.

Sponsors will sometimes request a preliminary or “white paper” proposal prior to submission of a full proposal.  In those circumstances, approval from OSRA prior to the PI’s submission of the “white paper” proposal to the sponsor is not required provided the white paper or preliminary proposal does NOT contain any of the following: (1) a budget; (2) commitment of University cost sharing or space additional to that already available to the PI; or (3) an authorized University signature. 

If any of the foregoing items is included or required in the white paper or preliminary proposal, then the normal proposal approval process must be followed by the PI.  However, for all white papers or preliminary proposals where OSRA approval is not required, the PI should nonetheless forward a copy of the same to OSRA for its files in the event a full proposal is later submitted.

See also OSRA policy - OSRA Prior Approval on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

See also OSRA policy - Collaboration Letters and Subcontractor Proposals Required for Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

If the Dean and/or Chairperson has/have not designated an alternate and there is no cost sharing or release time involved from your College or Department, OSRA would accept the Internal Clearance pending the signature of Chairperson  and/or Dean.  If the Dean/Chairperson does not approve the proposal, the proposal will need to be withdrawn.

They may be listed by name and expertise with pertinent percentage of time. Note that other FIU faculty cannot be paid as consultants. They must either be paid as senior personnel or as overload in rare instances when overload payment are permissible.

See also OSRA policy - Salary and Wage Charges on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

The place to start when requesting cost-sharing is at the Departmental level, followed by the College, and then the Office of Sponsored Research Administration. Please note that the University permits cost sharing only when mandatroy and required in the solicitation.

See also OSRA policy found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Cost Sharing on Sponsored Projects
• Tracking Cost Share on Sponsored Project Award

What items may not be listed as match or cost share?

See also OSRA policy found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Cost Sharing on Sponsored Projects
• Tracking Cost Share on Sponsored Project Award

Items that are included as part of the F&A costs, including administrative salaries, utilities usage, and University-owned facilities dedicated to research cannot be used as cost sharing. As a general rule, it is best to not list supplies or duplicating as match as it is almost impossible to provide proper documentation for audit purposes. The exception would be if a project involves mass mailing or other large-volume duplicating that can be tracked easily.

The items easiest to track for cost sharing purposes are non-administrative personnel, travel or tuition waivers. Foregone overhead may also be used as cost sharing. Prior to establishing an award, OSRA will confirm that there are funds in the cost sharing source(s) stated on the cost sharing form. If the required funds are not available, the grant award will not be established. It is the Principal Investigator's responsibility that match is met according to what was stated in the proposal.

A program that restricts the number of proposals submitted by an institution is considered a limited submission. Agencies that impose a limited submission policy will refuse to review any application from an institution submitting more than the number specified in the guidelines. Therefore, complying with restrictions is crucial.

OSRA tracks limited submission programs and posts them on this web site with their corresponding internal and agency deadlines as well as specific information on the necessary internal application procedures. OSRA makes every effort to track limited submission solicitations. However, if you are interested in applying to a limited solicitation that is not listed on your site, please contact Jorge Vazquez, limited submission program coordinator, immediately for guidance.

See OSRA policy - Sponsor Limit to Number of Proposal Submissions found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

See the Limited Submission portion of this site here: Limited Submissions

Who is the Authorized Organizational Representative that can sign my proposal cover page?

Roberto Gutierrez
Director, Pre-Award
gutierrr@fiu.edu

See also OSRA policy - OSRA Prior Approval on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

What information do I need to provide to OSRA   in order to add my name to the NSF Fastlane database?

The information required in order to add your name to the Fastlane database is as follows:

• First Name, Middle Initial (if any), and Last Name
• E-mail address
• Office telephone number
• Office fax number
• Department name
• Highest Degree (i.e. BS, MS, Ph.D., etc.)
• Year that the degree was obtained

You may call OSRA at (305) 348-2494 to provide the information or e-mail us at osra@fiu.edu. You may also email your PreAward representative.

What are the fringe benefit rates?

Estimated Fringe Benefit rates are for budgeting purposes.

Table I contains the components that are currently being charged to sponsored projects based on actuals.  Table II contains the components that are being charged centrally and will now be charged to sponsored projects through an allocation.  The following rates should be reflected on all proposals effective immediately for the period of July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.

See also OSRA policy - Full Facilities and Administrative Charges Must be Charged on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

See also OSRA policy - Extra State Compensation From Sponsored Projects for FIU Personnel found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

The Dean's Office of your respective college can best answer that question, as different schools and disciplines pay different rates.

See also OSRA policy - Salary and Wage Charges on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

Have the agency put in writing that they will not pay over a certain percentage in overhead costs. Provide a copy of this document or of guidelines stating the deviation from the overhead rate to OSRA at the time of proposal submission.

See also OSRA policy - Full Facilities and Administrative Charges Must be Charged on Sponsored Project Proposals found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

What are FIU's Federal-Wide Assurance (FWA), IRB registration, and Animal Welfare Assurance numbers?

FIU's Federal-Wide Assurance (FWA): FWA00000060 (Assurance Date: February 15, 2001)
IRB Registration Number: IRB00000905
Animal Welfare Assurance number: A3096-01

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FIU and most funding agencies will not release funding for spending until IRB/IACUC approval has been verified. Contact OSRA and/or the IRB/IACUC Coordinator for assistance. Also, subsequent funding years will not be released if the IRB/IACUC is not in compliance and active (i.e. annually submitted for review and approved).

See also OSRA policies found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at: http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Human Subjects Approval Prior to Award Processing
• Animal Subjects Approval Prior to Award Processing

In most cases (NIH, NSF, USDA, Dept. of Education), you will be submitting the approval information "just-in-time" (when you receive a fundable score, award letter, or when the agency requests the IRB/IACUC approval information). For the most accurate information, the PI should consult the agency for guidelines for the use of human subjects and/or animal subjects. IRB or IACUC approval must be obtained before OSRA may issue an account number.

See also OSRA policies found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Human Subjects Approval Prior to Award Processing
• Animal Subjects Approval Prior to Award Processing

My grant is ending and I would like to transfer remaining funds to a miscellaneous account. What do I need to do?

See OSRA policy - Transfer of Residual Balances to Miscellaneous Accounts found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

Funds from a reimbursable account cannot be transferred to a miscellaneous account. They must be returned to the agency.

26.

How do I transfer charges or costs between two different Project IDs?

See OSRA policy - Cost and Payroll Transfers on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

What is FDP? FDP stands for Federal Demonstration Partnership. Awards under FDP allow the University to administer certain matters relating to federal grants without prior approval from the sponsor. Your award document from the sponsor will state if the grant is issued pursuant to the FDP.

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28.

Budget transfers: What do I do if I run out of money in a category?

A budget transfer serves to reallocate funds between budget categories.

See OSRA policy - Budget Transfers on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

If your award is covered under the FDP or agency expanded authorities and you are transferring from a category that does not allow indirect costs to a category that does accrue indirect costs, then the budget for the appropriate amount of indirect costs can be increased. You will need to transfer an amount sufficient to cover both the direct cost transfer and the indirect portion allocable to that transfer. Please contact your OSRA Post Award representative if you need clarification. 

29.

Overhead is lost when money is transferred from a category which can be assessed overhead to a category which cannot. In order to calculate the loss of overhead, multiply the dollar amount that you are transferring from the overhead-bearing category to the non-overhead-bearing category by the indirect cost rate of your grant.

30.

What is a No Cost Extension? How do I process a No Cost Extension?

A No Cost Extension (NCE) extends the ending date of a grant award without adding any additional funds.

See OSRA policy - No Cost Extensions on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

You may call or e-mail the accountant assigned to your grant, or you may check your account balances on Panthersoft. For access to Panthersoft go to: http://panthersoft.fiu.edu/f_accessingsys.htm.

A consultant should be paid on the basis of his/her history of consultancy fees and the work they are to conduct. 

See also the following OSRA policies found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Consultant Services on Sponsored Project Proposals
• Hiring and Paying Consultants on Sponsored Projects

I need to hire a consultant on my grant.  How do I go about doing that?

See OSRA policy - Hiring and Paying Consultants on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

My grant calls for a subcontract to be prepared. How do I go about it?

See OSRA policy - Subaward Preparation and Payment to Subrecipients on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

Service / Recharge centers are departments within the University that charge a fee for the services they perform. Some of the costs associated with these centers are recovered by charging the sponsored project a pre-approved service fee.  An example of a recharge/service center is the Duplicating Services Department.  Contact the Post-Award Section for a listing of the service/recharge centers in FIU.

Purchases from Service/Recharge Centers are done by interdepartmental transfers for the services performed by the recharge center.

See OSRA policy - Stipend and Other Payments to Students and Temporary Personnel on Sponsored Projects found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

Graduate student support must be included in proposals in which the funding agency and the project permit graduate student support.  Unfortunately, this practice has not always been followed, and more importantly, in many instances in which the student support was available in budgets of funded grants, some Colleges have utilized tuition waivers from the University Graduate School instead of supporting students through the grants.  This costly and inappropriate practice must not continue.  OSRA will review grant proposals for adherence to this directive.  Training and support of graduate students in our funded research is an integral element in reaching the University’s goal of achieving the next level of scholarly excellence.

Depending on what purchase is being made, you will need a subcontract, a requisition, a purchase order or a consulting agreement. Speak to your OSRA, Post-Award, representative about which document is needed for your situation.

Subcontracts vs. Procurement from a Vendor?
Florida International University receives grants and contracts for research, scholarship, and other sponsored activities from a broad source of funding entities which often have specific guidance as to how to process a portion of that money to other organizations and whether that processing is through a subcontract or procurement. The distinctions between subcontracts and procurements are generally guided by the Federal Acquisition Regulations, OMB Circulars A-110 and A-133, sponsor regulations and State of Florida statutes.  These distinctions often include the purpose of the distribution of funds to a sub-awardee and the necessity to flow-down the terms and conditions of the award from the organization initially receiving the funds to the sub-awardee. 

A procurement process generally is used when FIU buys goods or services from a vendor in the general and usual course of the vendor’s commercial business.  Examples of such procurements are the purchase of non-specialized equipment, supplies, printing services and other products and services generally provided in commercial activities.  In these instances, the activity is a procurement, and the entity receiving the funds is a vendor.  A subcontract is generally not required for these procurements; rather the procurements are done via a purchase order obtained through a Panthersoft requisition or by way of a Pro Card purchase.

The subgrant or subcontract process is used when FIU passes-through a portion of the sponsored award to another entity for the purpose of programmatic effort on the project.  Rather than a general commercial purchase, the subrecipient will be responsible for managing the technical and administrative aspects of its part of the overall sponsored project in accordance with the scope of work detailed in the subaward.  All the terms and conditions that are part of the primary award that are applicable to the sub-recipient must be included in the sub-award document and flowed down to the sub-recipient. Accordingly, a written subcontract is required for these programmatic purchases and signature of acceptance of these terms by the receiving entity is required.  The entity receiving the funds is a sub-recipient.

If you need additional guidance when preparing your proposal budgets as to whether your proposed item is a subgrant as opposed to a procurement of goods or services processed through the Purchasing Office then please contact your Pre-Award Represenative at 305-348-2494.

Do fellowships need to be routed through Sponsored Research?

Fellowships do not need to be routed through Sponsored Research if the fellow is paid directly by the funding agency and no authorized University signature is required. Applications for fellowships or scholarships that will be made to the University on behalf of an individual must be routed through the OSRA internal clearance process at proposal time. A student may be the PI on a fellowship as long as a faculty member serves as the co-PI.  Please note that these applications need to adhere to the OSRA proposal deadlines addressed above in these FAQ.

FIU's NIH IPF number is 513809.

Do I need to send OSRA a copy of the technical reports for my Project?

See OSRA policies found on the University Policies and Procedures Library at:
http://policies.fiu.edu/browse.php?l=university_area&t=1&letter=26

• Sponsor Invoicing and Payment Processing
• Close Out of Sponsored Projects

Must I use a U.S. air carrier for my sponsored project?

Air Travel on federally sponsored projects must use U.S. flag carriers to the maximum extent possible when commercial air transportation is used between the United States and a foreign country or between foreign countries.  Cost savings, convenience or personal preference, are not exceptions to using non U.S. flag air carrier.  For more information on exceptions, see the website at http://www.fic.nih.gov/funding/grants_info/travel.htm.