FRLP Module 6: Grant and Contract Administration
Introduction
Winning a research grant or contract gives you a real buzz! Your hard work, careful planning, and persuasive writing have convinced the funding body that your research proposal is significant, innovative and achievable – and most important of all, fundable. Your Head of School is delighted, your colleagues will help you celebrate your success, and your partner may even forgive you for all the hours he or she was ignored while you wrote your proposal. Now the real challenge begins: how to achieve your stated outcomes and manage the administration of your grant or contract. Whether you have been awarded a small seeding grant by your employing institution, or have been awarded a large collaborative grant or contract that involves several stakeholders, as the first-named Chief (CI) or Principal Investigator (PI) on the grant or contract there will be fundamental administrative requirements that you need to address. This can be frustrating when all you want to do is concentrate on your research, but you are accountable for the money that you have been awarded so you need to have a clear understanding of your responsibilities.This module has been designed to inform you about the important aspects of research grant and contract administration for which you, as first-named CI/PI will be responsible. Your institution will have a Research Office, through which you will have submitted your application for funding. The Research Office is responsible at the institutional level for ensuring that the university complies with its contractual obligations to the funding body, but it is the first-named CI/PI who is responsible for the day-to-day management of his or her project, whether it is a research grant or a research contract. As with other modules in this program, this module has a two-stage approach: first, the written material provides you with an overview of the key issues relating to grant and contract administration with which you need to be familiar, and secondly, following review of this material, you will be able to participate in a workshop that will reinforce the management strategies learned through the written material.
The module requires a time commitment of 7 to 8 hours. In that time you will need to review this written material, familiarise yourself with your institution's key research administrative support sections, interact with senior research managers for practical advice on managing a project in your research area and, after those tasks are completed, attend a 3-hour workhop.
Aims
The aims of this module on the administration of research grants and contracts are to:- Inform you about your obligations and responsibilities as the first-named CI/PI of a research grant or research contract;
- Provide practical advice on how to manage research grants and contracts;
- Give you an overview of the legalities and structure of research contracts;
- Help you to think strategically about how to schedule tasks and outcomes for your new project while accommodating all the other activities in which you are involved.
Learning outcomes
After completing this module you should be able to:- Review a funding agreement or draft research contract and identify key issues that relate to the administration of your project;
- Make strategic decisions about how to optimise your research outcomes within the constraints of time and funding limits;
- Identify personnel issues that have the potential to impact on the progress of your project;
- Design a plan for the management of your project that includes the preparation of a schedule of timelines, tasks and outcomes for everyone involved in the project.
- Identify administrative sections in your institution that can assist in the administration of your research.
Content overview
The module comprises the following topics:- Administration of research grants
1.1 The nature of research grants
1.2 Managing the research grant - Administration of research contracts
2.1 The nature of research contracts
2.2 Managing the research contract - Project time management