Procedure Library

Pre-Award and Preliminary Spending Requests

Purpose

To request authorization to spend sponsored project funds before the official award document is received, in cases where there is a very high likelihood that the award will be issued.

Applicability

Principal Investigators (PIs) and departmental administrators who need to initiate pre-award spending when an executed award document (initial award or modification) has not yet been received or executed.

Establishing a chartfield before award receipt is often necessary to meet payroll and effort commitments. 

Guidelines

1. Preliminary project duration
   • Preliminary projects for federal grants with expanded authorities are typically established for 90 days to 6 months.
   • Federal contracts do not allow a 90-day pre-award spending period. 
   • Agreements with national laboratories generally take effect upon execution rather than the proposed project start date. This increases risk - PIs should discuss anticipated start dates directly with the sponsor. 
2. Use of preliminary projects for fully executed award
   In some cases, preliminary project setup may still be appropriate even after an award has been executed (e.g., when the project start date has already passed but Conflict of Interest disclosures are still pending).
   
   Note: Submitting a Preliminary Project Set-Up Request or Preliminary Project Extension Request does not automatically initiate a sponsor extension through OSP. Contact your OSP Officer if a formal extension request to the sponsor is needed
   

Instructions

1. Submit the pre-award request
   
   • Submit a Pre-award Spending Transaction via eAward. 
   • When available, attach sponsor documentation indicating intent to fund the project.
   • The guarantee chartfield must be a solvent University of Utah funding source.
2. OSP review
   • OSP will review the request.
   • Departments must consider the risk that:
     • the award document may not be issued, and/or
     • payment from the sponsor may not be received.
3. GCA project setup
   • When approved, OSP forwards the request to Grants & Contracts Accounting (GCA).
   • GCA will establish the preliminary project or extension.
4. Charging expenses
   • Expenses may be charged to the preliminary chartfield, but must not exceed the proposal budget.
   • Departments are responsible for monitoring expenditures.
5. Transition to finalized project
   When departments submit the New Project Setup Request in eAward, note that the preliminary project must be cleared.
   
   When GCA receives the executed award and final budget, the preliminary chartfield is cleared, and the official project is established.
   
   PIs and administrators should:
   • Follow up with the sponsor regarding award status if it is not already under OSP review.
6. If an award is not received
   • The department that requested pre-award spending must:
     • Transfer all payroll and expenses to an appropriate funding source.
     • Notify GCA to close the account.
7. GCA-initiated account closure
   If GCA determines that the account should be closed due to lack of an award, lack of income, or other issues, GCA will:
   • Work with the department/unit to remove all expenses.
   • Transfer costs to the guarantee chartfield listed on the request form.
   • If the guarantee chartfield is no longer solvent, the department must work with GCA to provide an alternative funding source per financial close-out procedures.

Related Policies and Procedures

• Research Handbook > Award Acceptance > Pre-Award/Preliminary Project Set-Up