Type of Policy: Administrative
Policy No: 3.18
Last Revised:
Review Date:
Retire Date: July
Contact Name: Josh Rosenberg
Contact Title: Executive Director, Grants and Contracts Accounting
Contact Email: josh.rosenberg@business.gatech.edu
Policy Statement
This procedure describes the process to be used by departments and the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting to establish and distribute project information for new sub-projects under sponsored awards and to redistribute the budgets of existing main and sub-projects. The Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting is responsible for assigning sub-project numbers for externally funded awards and internally funded projects (i.e., Georgia Tech Research Corporation and Georgia Tech Foundation). Georgia Tech Foundation projects are managed by the Controller’s Office.
Procedures
Departmental/Unit Approval for Budget Revision to Sponsored Projects
Staff with the proper approval and authority may initiate a request for a new sponsored sub-project number using the WEB Grants Management system. Users of the web-based Budget Revision to Sponsored Project tool have a responsibility to ensure the accuracy and legitimacy of the sub-project requests they initiate. When Budget Revision requests are submitted, the user must read, confirm, and acknowledge the following:
- I have Departmental/Unit authorization to prepare and approve this request for a new sub-project and/or budget revision.
- This request for a new sub-project and/or budget revision has been reviewed and approved by the project director.
- This request for a new sub-project and/or budget revision complies with all terms and conditions of the supporting sponsored agreement.
- This request for a budget revision has been approved by OSP or does not require OSP approval.
The Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting is charged with establishing project numbers for sub-projects in sponsored operations, maintenance of budget information related to sub-projects in sponsored project files, and maintenance of Institute accounting records for Resident Instruction (RI), Georgia Tech Professional Education (GTPE), Enterprise Innovation Institute (EII), and Plant funds (if applicable). Requests to establish a sub-project are to be initiated and approved by the academic or administrative unit of the main project director.
Requests for sub-projects supported by the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) are to be provided to the Office of Grants and Contracts Accounting with required source documentation as prepared by the GTRI Accounting office.
Establishing Sub-Projects
These procedures address the redistribution of existing budgeted funds from the main project to new sub-project(s).
Requests for sponsored project budget revisions are to be prepared using the Budget Revision to Sponsored Projects feature available on the WEB Grants Management menu. All of the standards outlined in G&C Policy No. 3.19 - Sponsored Project Budget Revisions should be adhered to. Additional procedures and steps to navigate this feature of the system can be found in the Grants Management for Campus Administrators training manual located on the G&C website: http://www.grants.gatech.edu.
Grants and Contracts Accounting will receive the request for a new sub-project electronically and will assign a sub-project number in the GM System and Chart of Accounts. Grants and Contracts Accounting will provide notification via email to the department once the new sub-project has been assigned.
Circumstances Requiring a Sub-project
The sub-project accounting mechanism referenced above should be used to account for sponsored funds in the following circumstances:
- Participant Support is a component of the sponsored award. This expense category is separate from the main project for reporting and auditing purposes. See G&C Policy No. 3.12.4 - Processing Participant Support Stipends or Subsistence Allowance for additional information.
- Shared research awards between multiple departments.
- A portion of an award has a different F&A (indirect) rate.
Contact the Grants and Contracts Accounting Department for specific guidance related to establishing new sponsored sub-projects in the Grants Management System.