What can we help you with?

General

1. Where can I find the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) forms? 

   The Forms page on our website contains many research administration forms you may need to submit a proposal. Contact your OSR staff if you cannot find what you need. 

2. Where do I find policies related to research administration at UCSF? 

   Relevant UC, UCSF and sponsor policies are often noted on the specific webpage on the OSR site. Contact [email protected] to sign up for the OSR Announce Listserv for updates on processes, policies, meetings and other information.

3. How do I find institutional information for UCSF, such as the EID and DUNS numbers?

   The Institutional Information page includes much of the detail you may need.  For additional guidance, please contact OSR Staff.

4. Where can I find sources of funding for my project? 

   Funding sources can be researched through COS/PIVOT, Grants.gov, FedBizOpps and a number of other federal and non-federal websites. Learn more on the UCSF Research Development Office's website. 

5. How do I find my OSR staff support? 

   Search for your OSR staff support in the Find My Support section. 

6. How do I submit a Material Transfer (MTA) or Data Agreement (DUA)?

   A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) or Data Agreement is needed any time a UCSF investigator sends or receives materials, samples, software, or data into or out of UCSF. The Industry Contracts Division (ICD) handles all incoming materials, outgoing human materials (i.e. blood, tissue, resected tumors, etc.), and all incoming/outgoing data.

   For outgoing non-human material transfers (i.e. mice, modified cell lines, reagents, etc.), please refer the Office of Technology Management (OTM) website or e-mail [email protected].

   When materials and/or data are exchanged in both directions, this should be treated as a collaboration. For collaborations with industry partners, please see the ICD Industry Collaborations page. For collaborations with other academic institutions or non-profits, please e-mail OSR.

7. What is a Foreign Component on an NIH project. 

    

   Foreign Component is existence of any “significant scientific element or segment of a project” outside of the United States, in other words

   performance of work by a researcher or recipient in a foreign location, whether or not NIH grant funds are expended and/or performance of work by a researcher in a foreign location employed or paid for by a foreign organization, whether or not NIH grant funds are expended.

   For Postdoctoral scholars that are required to work on their originally approved work remotely from a foreign country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, where no grant funds are going to a foreign entity, NIH has determined this scenario does not constitute the performance of a significant element or segment of the project outside the US.  Therefore, this is not considered a foreign component and does not require prior approval. 

   If project staff (including visiting faculty, scientists, etc.) leave the country to return home due to COVID-19 and continue to work on the project, whether paid by the project or not, this could qualify as a foreign component and would require prior approval from the NIH IC.

   SOURCE: NIH NOT-OD-19-114, NIH COVID-19 FAQ

    

8. What are some examples of a “significant element of a project” when making determinations regarding a foreign component?

   The recipient institution should evaluate the element of the project that is being conducted outside of the United States within the context of the project as a whole when making determinations about significance. Some examples of activities that may be considered a significant element of the project include, but are not limited to:

   • collaborations with investigators at a foreign site anticipated to result in co-authorship
   • use of facilities or instrumentation at a foreign site
   • receipt of financial support or resources from a foreign entity

   SOURCE: NIH FAQs

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Proposal Preparation and Submission

1. How do I submit my proposal? 

   OSR staff will assist you throughout the proposal submission process.  Work with your OSR staff in order to obtain information on preparing and submitting a proposal through OSR. Note that your sponsor type and/or agreement type will determine which OSR team will provide support. 

2. How do I find institutional information for UCSF, such as the EID and DUNS numbers need for proposal preparation?

   The Institutional Information page includes much of the detail you may need.  For additional guidance, please contact OSR Staff.

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Budget Preparation

1. I have a postdoc or research associate that is coming from outside the U.S. to work on my federal award, can I charge the cost of their visa to the grant?

   According to the new Uniform Guidance [§ 200.463 (d) “Recruiting Costs” you may charge visa application fees to your grant provided the postdoc/researcher is critical and necessary for the conduct of the project. 

2. How do I determine the F&A/indirect cost rate to use for my project? 

   UCSF's negotatiated F&A rates should be used in most cases. The rate will depend upon the sponsor, project type and location. Learn more. 

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NIH Other Support

1. Should the budget amount during an NCE be the last year's direct costs, total costs or what is remaining?

   The budget amount should be the Total Costs for the entire project period. 

2. Do we need to include awards where the PI has no measurable effort? 

   Yes, even if there is no measurable effort, if the award supports the PI's research endeavors it must be included.  

   OSR recommendation is to put “Effort as Needed*” in the table and then have an explanation below the table including that the effort will not exceed XX amount. Keep in mind PI effort should not be more than 12 months in the current year. Also include the statement “This sponsor funds the research but does not allow PI support and does not require PI effort”. 

   Be aware different GMSs may require additional information or clarification. 

   Example:

   

3. When a research is including information on a subproject, should the researcher provide thet total award for the averall award, or only the subproject.  Also how should we report the effort if they are on more than one subproject? 

   According to NIH's FAQs: For subprojects, recipients should provide the project number and PD/PI name for the overall project. All other information, including total award amount and person months, for the subproject only.

   NIH does not provide guidance on how to report the effort if they are on more than one project.  OSR recommendation, is to have a separate column in the effort table for each Project/Core.  

4. How should we calculate effort? Should it be a "snapshot"?  Or based on Calendar Year, Fiscal year, or on the Budget Period? 

   NIH guidance states: PD/PI's need to provide person months of effort for the current budget period and indicate the proposed level effort for each remaining budget period.

   OSR recommends 2 options:

   Option1: Snapshot - For the current year, use a snapshot of what the effort currently is today.  If PI efforts remains consistent, then this a more simplified option.  However, if the PI effort fluctuate across different times of the year, it may incorrectly show a lower effort level.  Reminder, if the researcher is listed as Key Personnel in the NOA, then prior approval is required.  This may give a false impression that prior approval is needed even if over the course of the year they effort is not reduced by more than 25%.  

   Option 2: Budget Period -- So for each award listed, calculate effort based on that AWARDS budget period.  The budget period will not be the same across the different awards.  This may prevent the problems that can occur with option 1 when effort fluctuate across the year.  However, because the dates vary, it makes cause the effort to appear to be over 12 CM because of the timing of when certain awards end.  It is important that if the effort for the current year (the first entry in each of the effort tables) adds up to more than 12CM that and Overlap statement is included that describes how it is not a commitment overlap.  For example, explain that the effort for Award Y is reduced for a few months until Award X ends.  

5. When should we remove something from the pending section?

   Either if the start date has already passed, or if the PI hears from the sponsor that it will not be funded.

6. Do you need prior approval from the NIH’s GMS for subsumed effort on a K award?

   No, subsumed effort is complementary effort and does not require prior approval but you do need approval for concurrent support. For more information go NIH GPS Chapter 12 (see 12.3.6.1 and 12.3.6.2)

7. If my faculty is a co-investigator on a grant, should I list the project costs for the whole project, or for just his/her portion of the project? 

   The project costs for the whole project.  If this is a large project grant (for example a P50), list only projects/core that the faculty member work on, list the project costs for the project/core

8. How do I get previous copies of NIH RPPR progress reports?

   NIH RPPR progress reports are uploaded to eProposal.  To find documents in eProposal follow the Finding Projects and eProposal Navigation guide (Must have an UCSF Myaccess account to view). Search by the A#. 

9. Should I Submit the Other Support directly to NIH, or should it go to OSR?

   Submit the Other Support to your OSR staff.  OSR will submit to NIH.

10. Do we need prior approval for an increase of effort?

    For NIH, no. You only need prior approval for REDUCTIONS of 25% or more (if they are listed as Key Personnel in the Notice of Award).  If not NIH, please check the sponsor policy.

11. What if we have received prior approval to reduce effort?

    This is the new baseline of effort.  If you make further reductions, you need to ask for prior approval if you reduce by 25% of this NEW approved effort level. 

12. What should I do if NCE is pending?

    Keep it listed in the active section.  Put the proposed new dates and next to the dates, put in Parentheses, NCE Pending.

    Example: 

    R01 HL 0000002 (Anderson) (AXXXXXX)                                                   03/1/10– 02/28/16(NCE Pending)  5.60 calendar

13. What are differet types of overlap?

    Identify any scientific, budgetary, or commitment overlap that would occur if the current proposal were approved. Then state how it would be resolved.The goals in identifying and eliminating overlap are to ensure that sufficient and appropriate levels of effort are committed to the project; that there is no duplication of funding for scientific aims, specific budgetary items, or an individual’s level of effort; and that only funds necessary to the conduct of the approved project are included in the award.

    Budgetary overlap occurs when duplicate or equivalent budgetary items (e.g., equipment, salary) are requested in an application but are already provided for by another source.

    Commitment overlap occurs when a person’s time commitment exceeds 100 percent (i.e., 12 person months), whether or not salary support is requested in the application. While information on other support is only requested for Senior/key Personnel (excluding consultants), no individuals on the project may have commitments in excess of 100 percent or 12 person months.

    Scientific overlap occurs when: (1) substantially the same research is proposed in more than one application or is submitted to two or more different funding sources for review and funding consideration, or (2) a specific research objective and the research design for accomplishing that objective are the same or closely related in two or more applications or awards, regardless of the funding source. Potential scientific overlap is to be addressed by the SRG only by its identification in an Administrative Note in the Summary Statement.

14. What are some examples of Overlap statements?

    Example 1:

    There is commitment overlap for Dr. XYZ between 5R01WE1234546-01 and the application under consideration. If this application is funded Dr. XYZ will request approval to reduce his effort on 5R01WE1234546-01 to 2 calendar months. If other pending applications are funded, Dr. XYZ will reduce his effort appropriately. 

    Example 2:

    There is scientific overlap commitment overlap for Dr. XYZ  between aim 1 of 5R01WE1234546-01 and aim 2 of the application under consideration. If this application is funded, Dr. XYZ’s effort will be adjusted on 5R01WE123456-01 to remove the overlap.

    As noted above, the Institute/Center’s scientific program and grants management staff will review other support information prior to award.

    Resolution of overlap occurs at the time of award in conjunction with applicant institution officials, the principal investigator, and awarding agency staff. NIH staff continue to monitor changes to other support information throughout the project as part of the annual progress reviews.

15. Does UCSF have any additional resources regarding Foreign Influence?

    Yes, the Ethics and Compliance website about Foreign Influence and Export Control. 

16. If a PI has an appointment or receives resources from another entity, does this need to be reported internal at UCSF?

    Yes, this is considered a “Conflict of Commitment” and certain categories of outside activities require prior approval.  PI should consult with their department chairs and/or use OATS (Outside Tracking System) to report activity. 

17. For NIH Other Support, should we use Annual Direct Costs or Total Costs?

    NOT-OD-19-114 indicates using Total Costs.

18. Is the department’s role w/ foreign influence just to help make faculty aware and direct them to appropriate offices? Or are we expected to verify all information against other sources of information? For instance, do we need to be vetting non-US sponsors of research against entities subject to Restricted Persons Screening?

    Yes, the department’s role is to ask faculty whether they are engaging with foreign entities for research purposes, and make faculty aware and direct them to appropriate offices.  Postaward and OSR staff are not expected to verify all information against other sources of information outside of the financial system. If a faculty member mentions that they have a collaboration with a researcher at a foreign institution, Postaward and OSR staff should consider whether the activity requires reporting to NIH as Other Support or a Foreign Component, and make the faculty member aware that they need to report.

19. Does a Foreign Component need to be included on Other Support?

    The Foreign component should be part of the proposal, R&R Other Project Information Form,  not the Other Support document. The addition of a foreign component to an ongoing NIH grant continues to require NIH prior approval, as outlined in the NIHGPS, Section 8.1.2, Prior Approval Requirements.  Principal Investigator’s should work with their OSR staff to submit the prior approval request.

    If an activity does not meet the definition of foreign component because all research is being conducted within the United States, but there is a non-U.S. resource that supports the research of an investigator and/or researcher, it must be reported as other support.

    For example, if a PD/PI of an NIH-funded grant has a collaborator outside of the U.S. who performs experiments in support of the PD/PI’s NIH-funded project, this would constitute a foreign component, regardless of whether the foreign collaborator receives funding from the PD/PI’s grant. Additional funding from a foreign source for the NIH-supported research of a PD/PI at a U.S. institution would not constitute a foreign component but would necessitate reporting as other support.

20. How should effort be listed for Industry Clinical Trials when the effort varies depending on the current progress? 

    One option is to list as "aggregated effort" for all Industry Clinical Trials.  List the information for each individual study and then have 1 effort table at the bottom that represents the aggregated effort.   Introduce the Clinical Trials section with the following statement:

    "Each of these individual projects has a varying need of effort depending on the type of activity currently in progress:  protocol development, start-up, patient recruitment, enrollment, follow-up, monitoring, data analysis, publication, and closeout. Faculty determines each project's need and adjust their effort between projects within the total aggregated effort assigned to the clinical projects.  Effort is reviewed and confirmed by the department based on the activity of each project."

    Example of Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials Entry for Other Support

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Outgoing Subawards/Subcontracts

1. How do I submit an outgoing subaward/subcontract request? 

   Please contact your OSR staff in order to process an outgoing subaward/subcontract request. OSR staff will assist you in collecting the necessary information. 

2. Who do I contact to find the status of my subcontract/subaward

   C&G Associate or Specialist will be able to answer questions about an award that is currently in-process. 

3. How should the Subcontract Request Form (SRF) and other attachments, if not able to attach as one PDF, be titled (filename)?  

   The required documents should be attached to the SRF to create one PDF. There is no required filename or format but they should be named with descriptive titles. For example, a subcontract request to Stanford University could be named “SRF_Stanford”. If you are unable to submit the request as one PDF, descriptively name the other documents. For example, a budget for a subcontract request to Stanford University could be named “Stanford_budget”.

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Clinical Trials

1. How do I set up a Clinical Trial? 

   The Office of Clinical Trial Activiation (OCTA) works with investigators and industry sponsors to negotiate the contracts and budgets for all clinical research studies funded by a private, for-profit entity. Contact OCTA to set-up an industry-sponsored clinical trial. 

   For clinical trials funded by nonprofit or governmental entities, please contact your OSR staff.

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Business Contracts

1. How do I request a business contract? 

   For information and contacts for business contracts, visit the Business Contracts page.

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Award Set-up and Administration

1. How do I find institutional information for UCSF, such as the EID and DUNS numbers for award documents?

   The Institutional Information page includes much of the detail you may need.  For additional guidance, please contact OSR Staff.

2. How do I find the status of my award?

   The OSR staff member who assisted with your proposal submission will be able to answer questions about an award that is currently in-process or a proposal that was submitted but not yet funded.

   Contact OCTA for Clinical Trial proposals submitted through Office of Clinical Trial Activiation (OCTA).

3. How do I make a change to an existing award? Which OSR team should I work with?

   Amendment term changes that do not require substantive negotiation and can be reviewed by Proposal and Grants team:

   • Timeline Changes such as financial reporting periods period of performance, budget periods, no-cost extension
   • Funding increases/decreases
   • Administrative changes in the status of PI/Key Personnel/Department, contact information, carryforward, rebudgeting, placing/lifting restrictions, early termination

   Amendment term changes that require substantive negotiations for alignment with UC policy and should be reviewed by the Awards team:

   • Publication, publicity
   • Intellectual property, patents, licenses, copyright
   • Rights to research results and use of data and materials
   • Confidentiality Insurance, liability, indemnity
   • Governing law, dispute resolution

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Animal and Human Subjects

1. How do I make changes to/or file my IRB or IACUC ?

   View the HRRP webstie for IRB submissions and modifications. Contact IRB staff for assistance. 

   View the IACUC website for protocol submission and their FAQ regarding submitting a modification. Contact IACUC staff for assistance. 

   Contact your OSR staff if you have further questions regarding  the steps necessary to make an administrative modification.

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PSA/TAA Platform

1. What is different with the PSA Request Page in Lightning? 

   A majority of the help hover texts were updated to assist department requesters in completing the Professional Services Agreement (PSA) request form. Clinical services provided by UCSF campus faculty/personnel to another entity are documented in a PSA. The most significant updates can be found in the Billing Section. There are new fields requesting the sources used to support compensation rates and the ability to upload documents to justify rates as fair market value (FMV).

   Instructional Video on submitting a PSA Request 

2. Why was the Billing Section in the PSA Request Page updated?

   The Billing Section was updated based on findings from an internal UCSF audit that as a campus, UCSF can do better in complying with federal rules and regulations, such as the Anti-Kickback Statutes and Stark Laws, regarding the provision of clinical services to another entity. FMV is a key component for compliance with these rules and regulations. The new Billing Section was designed in collaboration with the School of Medicine’s Dean’s Office, UCSF Office of Healthcare Compliance & Privacy, and UCOP Legal. This new section was built with various help texts, flags, fields with a selection of FMV sources and other mechanisms to assist departments in thinking about FMV; thus, moving the whole UCSF community toward compliance.

3. Will I be able to submit a request without uploading documentation supporting the compensations rates as FMV?  

   Yes, you can submit a request without uploading supporting documents. However, the request may be declined by the Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs from the School of Medicine. This office provides a quick review of all PSA requests. If the Vice Dean approves the request, it is routed to the Business Contracts Unit (BC). A Contract Specialist in BC will further review the request to ensure a PSA is appropriate for the activity and follow up with department requesters on any missing information and documentation.

4. What is Buisness Contract Unit (BC)’s role in the PSA process?

   BC supports outgoing campus clinical services. BC acts as a conduit with other UCSF offices such as Risk Management, Privacy and Legal, along with other campus stakeholders when necessary to ensure the agreements meet UCSF policies and procedures.

5. What is FMV? 

   FMV means the value in arm’s-length transactions, consistent with the compensation that would be included in a service agreement, as the result of bona fide bargaining between well-informed parties to the agreement who are not otherwise in a position to generate business for the other party at the time of the service agreement. Questions about FMV for a particular agreement can be discussed further with the subject matter expert at UCOP Legal.

6. How will I determine that a rate is FMV?  

   Sources for documenting FMV include, but are not limited to, independent evaluation firms, MGMA Salary Survey, Sullivan Cotter Survey, other party fee schedule, etc. The new Billing Section provides a list of sources that may be used.  Although FMV is required for legal compliance, it is ultimately a business practice question.

7. Are old reports still available?

   Yes, old reports generated before Lightning are still available in Lighting.  

8. What is Lightning in relation to CACTAS and Salesforce? 

   Salesforce is the overall system housing the CACTAS platform and the TAA/PSA platform.  At UCSF, Salesforce and CACTAS are used interchangeably. UCSF was operating on an old version of Salesforce (Classic). The more current version of Salesforce (Lightning) will allow us to utilize the system to its fullest.

9. What is different with the TAA Request Page in Lightning? 

   Aside from a different look, the TAA Request Page has minimal changes. 

   Instructional Video on submitting a TAA Request

10. Does the Clone feature work? 

    YES! The Clone feature works in Lightning. 

11.  How do I do a search in Lightning?  

    The Global Search feature will provide results for Service Agreement (SA) records and requests, files, and folders. Use the search bar up at the top of the page to refine your search criteria by: Department or Name of Other Party (PSA); School or Name of Affiliate (TAA). The columns in the results page can be used to sort records by Agreement and Amendment End Dates.

    If known, a specific department can be typed into the search bar at top of the page. This will yield the best results.

    If unknown, try doing a broad search ex: the Department of Pediatrics uses the abbreviation “PEDS” before any specialty/sub-department. Keep in mind that typing in “M_Orthopaedic Surgery” vs. “Orthopaedic Surgery” may yield different results.

    Instruction Video on the Global Search Feature for PSAs

    Search for specific Schools by spelling out the school: “Nursing”, “Medicine”, “Dentistry”, or “Pharmacy”; or use the school acronym: “SON”, “SOM”, “SOD”, or “SOP”.

    Instruction Video on the Global Search Feature for TAAs

12. How do I run reports for my department’s PSAs in the Salesforce system?

    Instruction Video on PSA reporting

    Available Report: PSA For Department with Amendment and agreement end dates.  Open the PSA report. Select “Edit” in the top right-hand corner to go to the report customization page. On the left-hand column, switch over to the “Filters” tab. Select the “Department” field, then set the operator to “contains” if you’re doing a broad search, or “equal” if you know how the department is coded in CACTAS. Type in the Department parameters and apply your changes. Select “Run” in the top right-hand corner to see the full list of records. Click on the “Agreement End Date” and “Amendment End Date” columns to sort the results chronologically.

13. How do I run reports for my School’s TAAs in the Salesforce system?

     Instruction Video on TAA reporting

    Available Report: TAA For Schools with Amendment and agreement end dates. Open the TAA report.  Select “Edit” in the top right-hand corner to go to the report customization page. On the left-hand column, switch over to the “Filters” tab. Select the “School” field, type in the School you’re searching for and apply your changes. Select “Run” in the top right-hand corner to see the full list of records. Click on the “Agreement End Date” and “Amendment End Date” columns to sort the results chronologically.

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