Award Negotiation & Acceptance
The Office of Research Administration (ORA) supports faculty and staff in negotiating their federal and non-federal sponsored awards, consulting with the Principal Investigator (PI), General Counsel, Risk Management, as well as other support Departments across the University to ensure the PI and University’s interests are considered and protected. The negotiation process can take a few days to several weeks depending upon the complexity of the award terms and conditions.
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Notice of Award
A Notice of Award (or intent to fund) is a formal notification from the sponsor that they intend to award in response to an application submitted by the University. If a PI receives such a notification from a sponsor, please forward to umgrants@maine.edu for review. The same process applies if a sponsor sends a copy of an award document
Award Agreement Types
The following table provides some examples of the types of agreements received and reviewed by ORA on behalf of the University:
| Agreement Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Grant | A form of financial assistance awarded to an organization for the conduct of research or other program as specified in an approved proposal. A grant, as opposed to a cooperative agreement, is used whenever the awarding office anticipates no substantial programmatic involvement with the recipient during the performance of the activities. |
| Cooperative Agreement | A form of financial assistance in which the sponsor can be described as a “partner” and plays a significant role in the project or program. |
| Contract | A mechanism for the procurement of goods or services for a particular project or program. Components of a contract are: deliverables, timeliness, and “works for hire.” |
| Amendment or Modification | An award that modifies any aspect of an existing award, e.g. additional funding, an extension of time, change of PI, change in terms and conditions, etc. |
| Subaward | A mechanism used to award pass-through funding from a prime recipient to the University (sub-recipient). All terms and conditions of the prime award “flow-down” to the University. |
| Memorandum of Understanding | A mechanism used to acknowledge an ongoing and strategic relationship between institutions, and/or support a grant application. An MOU lists areas of possible joint activities, without creating financial obligations or committing resources. |
Award Terms & conditions
Each award has unique terms and conditions. During the negotiation phase ORA often consults with many stakeholders across the University to ensure the PI and University’s interests are considered and protected. In addition, ORA will verify compliance approvals have been secured for projects that involve human subjects, animal subjects, rDNA or infectious agents, or other compliance issues.
All PIs are expected to review and approve the award terms and conditions to become familiar with the sponsor’s expectations and requirements in carrying out the project. For example, federal sponsors will often expect annual and final technical progress reports as well as specify changes that require the sponsor’s prior approval (e.g., change in key personnel).
Problematic Terms & Conditions
Typically, negotiations are not required on a federal grant because the terms and conditions are standard and prescribed. Whereas, the terms and conditions found in agreements and contracts may require substantial negotiation depending upon the sponsor/funding source. The following clauses may be subject to negotiation:
Award Acceptance
ORA is authorized to accept awards on behalf of the University of Maine System once award terms and conditions have been reviewed and approved, all compliance approvals have been secured, and cost-share or third party commitments have been verified.
If a PI receives a copy of an award notice from an external sponsor, they should forward a copy to ORA (umgrants@maine.edu) for processing. PIs are not authorized to sign these documents on behalf of the University of Maine; they must be signed by an authorized University representative with institutional signature authority.
