Principal Investigator Eligibility
The University is the legal recipient of all grants and contracts made in support of sponsored projects. However, it is the Principal Investigator who initiates, oversees and develops sponsored project applications and when funded is responsible for project execution, award management, and compliance with all applicable rules and regulations that govern sponsored projects. To serve as Principal Investigator an individual must be a faculty member or other professionally qualified staff, as noted below.
PI Eligible
Active full- or part-time salaried employees holding the following titles:
- Tenured and tenure track faculty
- Research faculty
- Extension faculty
- Instructor or lecturer
- Professional staff
- University administrators
- Post-Doctoral or Graduate Student fellows on training and fellowship applications, where a PI eligible faculty member is named as a mentor.
- Emeritus Faculty who have an active appointment in PeopleSoft HR and receive compensation for their effort
New Hires
New faculty hires who have accepted positions at the University are PI eligible and may submit proposals before they start their appointment.
Ineligible Positions
Individuals in the following categories are not eligible to be a Principal Investigator unless they have written approval from the Department Chair/Center Director, Dean if applicable, and the Vice President for Research & Dean of the Graduate School through use of the PI Eligibility Form; have an active appointment in PeopleSoft HR; and receive compensation for their effort.
- External Associates
- Visiting Faculty
- Adjunct Faculty
- Students
FAQs:
Are soft-funded research faculty who have a lapse in funding eligible to submit proposals as a PI?
Current soft-funded research faculty can go on leave when they have a lapse in funding. They are still considered employees.
Is there a way for a faculty member at another institution to serve as PI under an UMaine award while remaining as a faculty at their current institution?
Possibly. This individual would need to be given an adjunct faculty appointment at UMaine and would need to be compensated for their actual efforts. The adjunct faculty appointment letter should state what they are doing and should coincide with the start and end date of the award. They would need to be compensated for their efforts so that UMaine can accurately document effort certification. Other items that should be considered is whether they are being ‘released’ from their appointment at their current institution in order to perform the research here at UMaine or whether they are performing this work in the summer and are forgoing their summer salary at their current institution.
Revised 3/2023