Grant Transfers
When a Principal Investigator (PI) moves to a new institution, transferring an active grant or contract requires formal steps, since awards are made to institutions – not individuals. To complete a grant transfer, the original institution must formally relinquish the award and any remaining funds, the new institution must accept the award, and the funding agency must approve the transfer. The following sections outline the specific procedures for transferring awards to or from the University of Maine (UMaine):
Jump to
Transfers to UMaine
The University of Maine processes incoming grant transfers from other institutions as if they were new proposals. Essential steps include the following:
- Submission of a Notice of Intent in Proposal Approval Routing System (PARS)*
- Creation of an ORA budget, budget justification and abstract specific to the work performed at UMaine
- Completion of PARS routing
- Submission of any requested sponsor documents
* In order to access PARS, a new PI must log in using their UMS single sign-on credentials and claim their profile. Completion of the CITI FCOI Training is also required.
More information on the UMaine proposal steps and guidance can be found in the Proposal section of our website. The assigned ORA proposal staff will assist the PI in budget creation and incorporating UMaine rates as applicable (tuition, graduate student stipend, fringe benefit rates and indirect cost rates). In addition, if there are questions regarding the indirect cost rate assigned to the project, the proposal staff will assist the PI in navigating this area and determining if a waiver of indirect costs is available and appropriate.
Finally, ORA staff will coordinate with the PI’s previous institution to determine the value of the grant transfer, review the original solicitation, and work with the Program Officer to determine the necessary steps to move the transfer forward. For questions related to transferring awards to the UMaine, please email proposals@maine.edu or contact the Grant & Contract Administrator who has been assigned to review your specific proposal.
Transfers to Other Institutions
Transferring an award from the University to another institution begins by contacting the Office of Research Administration at ora@maine.edu at least 90 days prior to the desired transfer date. ORA will provide guidance and will coordinate the transfer with the sponsor and the PI’s new institution. In order to facilitate the request, the following information will be needed for each award being transferred:
Other Considerations
- All subawards must be closed out at least 60 days prior to the transfer date. ORA will facilitate the subaward close out process, which includes collection of the final report and invoice
- All required final reports will need to be submitted to the sponsor (e.g. final technical progress reports, property or equipment reports, patent/invention reports and financial reports). ORA will assist in the submission of these reports
- The PI must arrange for the new institution to assume any cost-sharing obligations
- The PI must coordinate the transition of oversight for all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows supported under the work with their academic units
- If any equipment was purchased with award funds and needs to be transferred to the new institution, then the PI must coordinate with ORA and Facilities Management on the transfer
- If there are any compliance protocols (IRB, IACUC, rDNA, etc.), then the PI must notify and coordinate any transition requirements with the Office of Research Compliance
In some transfers, part of the project may remain at UMaine under a new PI. In such cases, the University returns the award to the sponsor, who reissues it to the new institution. That institution then issues a subaward to UMaine, led by the new PI, who must follow the standard proposal submission process.
Please contact ora@maine.edu for any questions regarding award transfers to other institutions.
