An Award Advance (also known as At-Risk Fund or Advance Fund) is a request for the advancement of funds prior to the receipt of funding from the extramural funding source. PI and Department must complete and submit the Award Advance Request form to OSR. OSR will verify all compliance requirements in accordance with the applicable regulations and will create an Award Advance CACTAS record that is submitted to CGA.
An Award Advance requires the PI and Department Chair (MSO signature accepted on form) to certify that the department will pay any expended funds from the departmental discretionary account or other department-designated account in compliance with UCSF policy if the award is not received by the University.
Dean’s signature is required if the award advance request is greater than $500k total costs.
For a period advance of an existing award, if there are future years in RAS, advances for the next activity periods are automatic.
If the award does not have future years in RAS, then the department submits a ServiceNow ticket to CGA ([email protected]), including:
- Commitment to fund from contracting officer at sponsoring institution for the subsequent budget period
- Confirmation of active certifications in place or in progress
CGA will authorize the award advance:
- No past-due receivables older than 90 days
- Not a clinical trial
- Record the intent intent to fund letter in CACTAS; a new agreement will be created if needed.
PHS-Funded Awards
Due to the new federal COI rules, if you are submitting an advance for PHS-funded awards, you must complete your required COI disclosure in COI-SMART (available via MyAccess) before the funds can be released
NIH Rules
NIH permits up to 90 days pre-award spending.
Special rules apply on funds for State and City and County of San Francisco require additional signatures.