Your Questions Answered | PI Transfers
Each month, the Catalyst will feature a question posed to our panel of SRAI Distinguished Faculty members to get their take on all sorts of topics encompassing research administration. Do you have a research administration question for our experts? Send your question to catalyst@srainternational.org!
What tips and tricks do you have for PI Transfers, whether bringing in awards or moving awards out?
Sandra M. Nordhal, CRA, Director, SR Contracting and Compliance and Facility Security Officer, SDSU Research Foundation, SRAI Distinguished Faculty
- Communication is the key! Set the times or due dates for items that are needed to accomplish the transfer process for projects and clearly state who needs to accomplish what. Ensure that when you are “transferring” the faculty/staff member to another individual, that everyone is clear on the expectations for the outcome and what will be accomplished at this next step. Provide resources for the new faculty/staff. Be sure to assist with the variety of questions they might have related to the “new” processes for them. Assuming that they will know what to do because they are bringing awards/projects with them is a recipe for disaster. Plan a follow up conversation to determine the status of the transfer and ensure that all loose ends have been connected.
Jason Guilbeault, MBA, CRA, Associate Vice President for Sponsored Programs Administration, Executive Director for Augusta University Research Institute, SRAI Distinguished Faculty
- For outgoing PI transfers, we communicate with the PI and their chair to find out what arrangements will be made between the two, so we know if we are transferring their awards or not or keeping an award and subawarding to the new institution. Finding out the arrangement drives our processes from there, for which we have both pre- and post-award checklists to ensure each office does its part in the process.
Susan Wyatt Sedwick, PhD, CRA, CSM, Senior Consulting Specialist, Attain Partners, SRAI Distinguished Faculty
- Once a new recruit has accepted the offer, as the AVP I would send out an email welcoming that person to the institution. I would copy those individual(s) who would be handling transfers, awards, and questions. We also allowed incoming faculty to submit proposals through our institutions that had a proposed start date on or after their start date with us. Thus, I would include instructions on what was required to seek advance PI status. We set up advance accounts once we had a reasonable assurance of a start date for transferred awards.
Domenica G. Pappas, CRA, Associate Vice Provost for Research, Office of Research, Illinois Tech, SRAI Distinguished Faculty
- We also allow incoming faculty to submit proposals before their start date as long as the contract has been finalized. The Director of Sponsored Research Office meets with them to start the process and get them onboarding into our system(s). For grant transfers, we require that the faculty member set up an advanced expenditure authorization form so we can track pending awards, etc. For outgoing transfers, I receive a list from the Office of the Provost. I then reach out to the Chair/Dean to discuss the transfer process. Once a determination has been made to transfer the grant, we reach out to the PI to start the process.
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