External funding is a vital part of today’s academic environment. Bellarmine University, through the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), is committed to assisting faculty, staff, and students with support to engage in creative activities, pursue research interests, and advance career objectives. The OSP serves to assist, guide and support a culture of research and exploration for Bellarmine employees.
All Bellarmine employees (faculty [and supervised students]; staff) who are interested in seeking outside funding through grants or contracts, must contact the OSP for assistance with the coordination, budget development, review, and submission of all externally contracted funds. Although early contact with OSP is always best, all proposals for external funding should be received by the OSP via email or electronically at least 10 business days in advance of submission. Faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to work closely with their department chairs, supervisors, and deans throughout the submission process to facilitate successful applications for external support. Externally sponsored recipients must also work closely with the OSP during the funded period to meet all reporting requirements, including extensions, renewals, and annual and final reports.
To begin the proposal process, contact Connie Smith, Director of Office of Sponsored Projects, at csmith6@bellarmine.edu.
Policies & Procedures
Required Forms
The following forms are required to be completed, including appropriate signatures, and received by the OSP via email or electronically before a proposal can be submitted to a sponsor.
- Conflict of Interest Form (doc) - As part of the institution’s commitment to ethics in research, Bellarmine requires researchers to complete a Conflict-of-Interest Form associated with any external agreements that might potentially compromise university-based research or represent a conflict of interest.
- Proposal Routing Form (doc) - The Proposal Routing Form is an internal form for documenting the University’s official approval of the plans and commitments contained in proposals to external sponsors.
Pre-Award
- Develop Idea
- Identify funding: Your project may be eligible for funding. You can explore the Funding Opportunities page for a possible funding source. Or the OSP can help you.
- Prepare proposal: It is important to review the proposed project with your academic leadership team (ex: chair, dean, etc.) to inform them of time and funding needs. Also, make sure to discuss your project with other services or departments you might need. Commitments will be needed for the application process. Don’t forget to include the OSP during this process!
- Budget Basics for Grants: Even though the budget basics for grants (pdf) is a helpful guide to developing the project budget, it is still essential to include the OSP and the sponsored project accountant in this process.
- Indirect Costs or Facilities and Administration (F&A): This refers to a fixed reimbursement rate for the use of the University’s facilities and administering the grant project. Bellarmine has a Federally Negotiated Rate (pdf). In some cases, the F&A rates are capped and/or modified by sponsors as specifically outlined in the public request for proposals (RFP) or program solicitation. All project budgets should include F&A costs (as applicable to the sponsor). In addition, the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees has authorized revenue sharing of F&A recovery. This policy can be found in section 9.6.11.2 in the Faculty and Staff Policies and Procedures Manual.
Post Award
Contact the OSP as soon as possible. Only the OSP can officially accept an award on behalf of the University. We must work with the sponsor to determine the terms and conditions of the award and accept it.
Budgets
You will work closely with the sponsored project accountant in the Business Affairs Office regarding grant funds. However, a few important things to remember:
- Charge grant related expenses directly to the grant account.
- Spend according to the grant budget. In most cases, alterations to the budget must have prior sponsor approval. Please speak with the OSP to discuss this process.
- If your grant includes cost share and/or a specific amount of your time, talk with the OSP or the sponsored project accountant about how that is documented and what your role is in this process.
- Only charge expenses that will be used for the grant through the specified time frame. Do not wait until funding is about to end to use the balance!
Award Compliance
Administering a sponsored project has several concerns beyond day-to-day fiscal administration. You must follow federal, sponsor, state and University policies and procedures. The OSP and the sponsored project accountant can help you with this! However, please remember the PI accepts responsibility for the overall conduct of a sponsored project, including (but not limited to) all technical, programmatic, financial compliance and administrative aspects.
Time and Effort
Time and Effort Report (xls) - The effort reporting system at Bellarmine University is designed to provide a reasonable basis for determining and documenting salary and wages charged to sponsored projects. Federal regulations, as well as University policy, require that you certify time worked on a grant.
Your certification reaffirms you worked on your grant the same percentage of time that was charged to the grant. This applies to all external grants — not just federal awards.
Failure to comply with this federal requirement could result in substantial fines to the University and jeopardize future grant funding.
Federal Regulations
Bellarmine University, as well as researchers, are required to comply with federal and state regulations governing business practices, safety, and ethics.