Procedure Library

Approval for Post-Award Changes

Purpose

Submit requests for approval of changes to a previously approved grant or contract to comply with sponsor and University procedures.

Applicability

Principal Investigators (PIs) and administrators need to be aware that revisions to awarded project plans or budgets must often be approved, either internally by University officials or by the sponsor, before they can be applied to the award. Regulated revisions that usually require approvals include:

• Change in scope or objective of the project
• Change of PI or other key personnel
• Change of PI institution
• Extended absence or disengagement of the PI
• Extension of the project and/or budget period
• Budget modifications
• Use of funds remaining from a prior budget period (carryover of funds)
• New subawards

For more information, review post-award processes in the Grant Life Cycle.

Instructions

1. Review the award terms and conditions and sponsor policies to determine whether the proposed revision is allowed for that award and, if so, whether sponsor approval is required.
   
   1. Some changes need to be approved internally by OSP, but do not require sponsor approval. Contact your Sponsored Projects Officer for guidance.
2. Depending upon the type of change proposed, a form, email, or memo may be used to request approval.
3. If sponsor approval is required, OSP will review and submit the request to the sponsor in coordination with the PI and administrator.
   
   1. Sponsor approval must be received from the sponsor in writing.
4. OSP will process the approved change and share the information with Grants and Contracts Accounting (GCA). Management Reports will be updated as appropriate for the change that has been approved.
   1. It is the department's responsibility to monitor these changes in Management Reports and ensure their accuracy.
   2. If sponsor approval is not required, budget modification requests are submitted directly to GCA for processing.
      1. NOTE: GCA can process these changes independently of OSP only when the requested rebudget is not moving funds into a restricted category or a new category not previously established.

Related Policies and Procedures

• Grant Life Cycle > Manage Your Award
• Grant Life Cycle > Manage Your Award > Expanded Authority Actions
• Resources > Forms > Institutional Transfers