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Sense and Sensibility – A Review of Two Post Award
Office StructuresPresenters:Rochelle Athey – Executive Director Sponsored ProgramsUniversity of Nevada Las Vegas
Kim Calvery – Assistant Director Office of Post Award AdministrationOregon State University
UNLVThe experience of a combined post-award office in a growing, medium-sized research
university
Background Information“One does not love a place the less for having suffered in it, unless
it has been all suffering, nothing but suffering.”
UNLV Post-Award Statistics $106M in awards in FY07 $104M in expenditures in FY07 Experienced expenditure growth of 16.5%
annually over the past five years Staff has not increased significantly during
that time frame 1 Assoc Dir; 4 Sr. Research Administrators; 2
Grant Coordinators
UNLV Post-Award History Co-located with the pre-award office in
November 2005 Combined with pre-award in May 2006 as
Sponsored Programs Oversight under Vice President for Research Many adjustment issues after combination
Advantages of a Combined Office One Vice President to provide vision and
leadership One Director to manage office Unification of policy, procedure and process Better staff understanding of cradle to grave
business processes Team work is easier
Disadvantages to a Combined Office Potential audit issues – no separation of duties Potential for weak or disfunctional relationship with
other divisions at university if under Research, then potential relationship issues with
Finance or vice versa Sometimes there is little understanding by your
division leadership for aspects of your workload that may be more familiar to another division (try explaining F&A proposal development to a sociologist)
OSUThe experience of a separate post-award office in a growing, large - sized research university
Background Information“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
OSU FY07 Statistics Carnegie Foundation designation
Very High Research Activity $145 million in Awards $149 million in Expenditures 2,800 Active Awards Cognizant Agency is DHHS Major Sponsors are NSF, USDA, HHS No Audit Findings for Last 12 Years
A-133 Audits; OIG Investigations; OIG Close-out Audits
Staff – Post Award Admin Twelve Total Staff
1 - Assistant Director 1 - Assistant Manager 5 - Grant Accountants 1 - High Risk Monitoring Accountant 1- Accountant 2 – Award set-up 1- Fiscal Coordinator – Cash Mgmt, Cost Share 1- Lead Fiscal Coordinator – Subcontracts 1- Admin Program Specialist – PAR, Electronic Files
Duties of Post Award Admin Award Set-up in FIS –
Banner Invoicing Agencies Accounting/Monitoring Budget Changes No Cost Extensions Reporting/Closeout High Risk Expenditure
Approvals
Audit Coordination Cost Share Subcontract Admin Electronic Filing
System Effort Reporting Fellowship Admin Training Campus
Department Staff
OSU Pre and Post Award Structure OSU has separate Pre and Post Award Offices
Pre-Award and Contracts combined – Report to VP for Research
Post Award – Report to VP for Finance July 2006 Contracts Combined with Pre-Award
Previously co-located with Post Award
Advantages of Separate Offices Commended by Internal Audit Allows for Separation of Duties Maintain Focused Missions Post Award Reports to Finance VP Understanding of Financial Issues
Disadvantages of Separate Offices No Flexibility for Exceptions
Unique Circumstances Post-Award very focused on Regulations
Pre-Award Doesn’t Understand Post-Award Issues with Invoicing and Budgets
Communication Breaks Down or non-Existent Conflicting Policies and Procedures Hard to Establish “Seamless Operation” with Faculty
Culture- UNLV“One man’s ways may be as good as another’s, but we all like our
own best.”
Culture and Transition at UNLV New mission and focus for institution Workload changes Technology External and internal environmental
awareness
Culture – Age of UNLV Experience with non-standard research issues Reputation of university
Culture – Centralization v. Decentralization
University Systems Use to your advantage
Risk management and Office Role Distribution of Activities
Time/effort monitoring Expenditure monitoring Other post award activities
Culture at OSU“As long as you’re going to think anyway – you
might as well think BIG!”
Culture – Centralization v. Decentralization at OSU
Business Centers
Business Centers at OSU Combine College Thematic Areas Central Accounting Office
Pay Bills up to $500,000; Reimbursements Process HR Actions Review Proposal Budgets Effort Report Monitoring
Reports to Finance and Administration Ensures compliance Provides separation of duties for Colleges
Business Centers at OSU Train Staff
Grant Accountants come to OPAA for Training Immersion in OPAA (Central Admin functions) Train for 4-6 months Include in staff meetings/social functions when return
to Business Center
Grant Accountant from OPAA will Rotate to Business Center to Establish Compliance Culture
Growth at OSU“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not enhanced, and
the inconvenience is often considerable.”
Plan for Growth at OSU 50% Increase in Awards
Occurred over 3 years No New Staff
Reclassed only Admin Support position to Grant Accountant
Little or no Overtime Allowed Budget Constraints
Leadership Change in Post Award New Ideas
Plan for Growth at OSU Review Processes
Can you stop doing non-essential functions? Double reviews; Shadow Accounting Systems
Automate Invoicing Hand typing invoices and forms
Decentralize Functions Bill payment; non-standard invoicing
Student Labor vs Classified Staff
Plan for Growth at OSU Automate Processes Keep VP’s Informed of Growth
Let them know your struggles Staff Very Team Oriented
Suggestions taken from Staff Nothing implemented w/o staff buy-in
Celebrate Your Successes!! Make them Public
Growth at UNLV“Surprises are foolish things. The pleasure is not
enhanced, and the inconvenience is often considerable.”
Growth – Complexity at UNLV Contract requirements Export control Cash Interest Program Income Cost Sharing
Growth – Efficiency at UNLV Consolidation of activities in post award Business processes Benchmarking
Keep statistics of process functions Time tracking
Growth – Audit and Compliance Increased funding Contracts International awards Small business relationships
Communication“Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human
disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken.”
Communication Between Separate Pre-Award and Post-Award Offices
Close Proximity of Offices Co-locate if you can
Meet Weekly to Discuss Issues Develop Joint Policies and Procedures Develop Joint Communications to Campus Develop and Present Training Jointly Review Websites for Conflicting Information
Communication Between Separate Pre-Award and Post-Award Offices
Release Data Jointly OSU offices work together for award and
expenditure data releases Host Joint “Meet and Greets” for Campus Create Opportunities for Staff
Get to know each other Mentor each other in procedures Encourage team building
Communication in a Combined Office Weekly meetings between Associate Vice President
for Research and Executive Director Weekly individual meetings with Executive Director
and Associate Directors of pre and post award to discuss issues
Monthly combined meetings of Executive Director and both Associate Directors
Monthly staff meetings Regular meetings with Finance Division staff
Communication in General Ad hoc work or issue groups
OSU utilizes for policy implementation Formal university committees Informal networking within university
OSU meets monthly with campus University Research Administrators
External networks and groups
Lessons Learned at UNLV“We have all a better guide in ourselves, if we would attend to it,
than any other person can be.”
Lessons Learned Quantify Create policies and procedures Write it down and document Business process redesign Quality Network Communicate
Lessons Learned“Working together works.”
The End
Any Questions?
Contact Information: Rochelle AtheyOffice of Sponsored ProgramsUniversity of Nevada Las Vegas
http://research.unlv.edu/osp.html
Contact InformationKim CalveryOffice of Post Award AdministrationOregon State University541 [email protected]
http://oregonstate.edu/fa/businessaffairs/postawards/
