Concurrent Sessions

How do you ensure financial compliance with Uniform Guidance? Does your institution have written policies surrounding institutional responsibility, sponsored funds management, and faculty time and effort? Do you need a policy or a procedure? How do you determine what issues to tackle first? If an auditor showed up today, what would they find? This is the continuing challenge faced by most PUI’s and non-research intensive institutions. This session will discuss different financial policies and procedures that will help you meet the requirements of the Uniform Guidance and how to prioritize them.

Content Level: Intermediate

Learning Objectives:

• Identify policies and procedures required by 2CFR200.
• Learn how to prioritize and implement new policies and procedures.

Room: Rockland Ballroom

Speaker(s): Mary Louise Healy, Assistant Dean for Research Administration, Johns Hopkins Krieger School of Arts and Sciences; Magui Cardona, Assistant Provost for Sponsored Research, University of Baltimore

While setting up and managing an international research portfolio does not require your own diplomatic corps, the successful financial administration of overseas research requires patience, practice and expertise above and beyond that of the traditional “in-country” programs. If you find yourself struggling to set up and manage an ever-increasing portfolio of complex international initiatives, then this session is right for you. We will discuss the unique pre- and post-award challenges that may arise, common pitfalls and institutional best practices.

Content Level: Intermediate
Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn about special considerations for setting up and managing international research.
• Participants will learn about best practices to succeed in international contracting/subcontracting.
• Discuss how to develop a framework in your own institution where central and department administration can complement each other to build institutional capacity for today’s global research environment.

Room: Rockland A

Speaker(s): Shari Swisher, Director of Shared Services and Business Operations, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

This session will provide an overview of NIH multi-project grant proposals.  We'll cover application guide requirements, strategies for proposal development, component types, ASSIST and special requirements.

Content Level: Basic

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how NIH Multi-project applications differ from standard NIH research grant applications.
• Learn about best practices and lessons learned for Multi-project proposal development.

Room: Rockland B

Speaker(s): Marc Lennon, MBA, CRA, Johns Hopkins University; Chasmine Stoddart-Osumah, Johns Hopkins University

This session will introduce grant application preparation and submission primarily and post-award (non-financial) administration secondarily, designed to help understand NSF processes. Furthermore, the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) will be presented to demonstrate how this may be maximized in making pre- and post-award administration easy and more efficient. Finally, lessons learned, including tips and tricks, gained from years of administering federal awards will be shared. 

Content Level: Basic

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the steps starting from planning through reviewing and submitting compliant proposals/application forms.
• Identify uniquely NSF guidelines, requirements and mechanisms.
• List select post-award transactions during the life of a grant and how to manage these.

Room: Lynn Duncan

Speaker(s): Ruel Hector R. Tiongson, Georgetown University

This session will offer discussion on intellectual property and research organizations involvement with industry.

Content Level: Basic

Learning Objectives:

• The attendee will have a better understanding of why organizations with disparate goals are willing to work together.
• The attendee will learn what the issues are relating to intellectual property and ownership.

Room: Rockland A

Speaker(s): Gayle Mowbray Walters, Director, Consortia Services, Johns Hopkins University

This session will lend guidance on how to define allowable, allocable and reasonable costs while adhering to sponsor guidelines, federal regulations and institutional policies. Participants should come ready to discuss their decision metrics for making the case for allowability. The facilitator and participants will highlight and discuss their own unique situations they’ve encountered in determining allowableness of costs and discuss the current audit environment and findings as it relates to Uniform Guidance Subpart E: Cost Principles.

Content Level: Intermediate

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the four steps that govern direct cost.
• Discuss costs that are targeted by sponsors and auditors as unallowable.

Room: Rockland Ball Room

Speaker(s): Marchon Jackson, Director of Sponsored Program Accounting and Compliance, University of Maryland; Debra Murray, Assistant Director of Sponsored Program Accounting and Compliance, University of Maryland

This session will review some of the practical and pragmatic aspects of reviewing and monitoring support (sponsored and non-sponsored) with special emphasis on distinguishing effort from pay.

Content Level: Intermediate

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish between budgeted/proposed effort, actual effort, reported effort, and uncompensated effort.
• Create a system for tracking effort and pay.

Room: Rockland B

Speaker(s): Lisa Campbell, Director, Research Finance Operations, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Associate Administrator, Finance and Research Operations, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins

This session is an overall review of the closing process, what are the requirements by Uniform Guidance, who is responsible for closing out an award, and how we as research administrators can help our PIs.

Content Level: Basic

Learning Objectives:

• Know where in Uniform Guidance to find information pertaining to requirements for closing an award.
• Know who is responsible for which parts of the closeout and ways in which the research administrator can assist to make the process easier.

Room: Lynn Duncan

Speaker(s): MaDonna Perry, Senior Financial Analyst, School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University; Vanessa Pigatt, Research Administrator, School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University