Q&A Follow Up to the Feb 11 MRAM

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Greetings Colleagues, 

The February 11th MRAM materials are published for your review. Q&A from our session are included for reference and will be available with the other meeting materials shortly. 

Jump to Topic Q&A: 

 

Recap: Paperless, Subaward Approval & Telecommunications Restrictions

Q1: Does this mean if we need to purchase a zoom account for folks on our studies outside of UW that we cannot use federal funds to pay for the zoom account?
A1: At this time Zoom is not listed as a restricted entity. However, please run an entity search prior to making any purchases. 

Q2: Do we need to create an account on SAM.gov?
A2: SAM.gov is a database that contains information about entities and people doing business with the federal government. One part of SAM.gov is the public search of entity records. You do not need to create an account on SAM.gov to conduct the public search of entity records needed to confirm there are no limitations to working with a particular entity.

Q3:Is there a link to the list on SAM.gov? I can only find a searchable database.
A3: There is not a list of entities. You need to search the SAM.gov database for the entity in question.

Q4: GIM 2 - who can approve the subaward invoice if the PI suddenly passed away?
A4: If the PI has passed away then Dean/Chair will make a determination who will be responsible for the award’s implementation and/or assign a new PI.

Q5: Is the telecommunications restriction still applicable even with the change in Presidential Administration?
A5: Yes because this restriction was a law passed by Congress, it was not an Executive Order issued by the President. The only change to this restriction can came from Congress.

Q6: Any guidance on what information on telecommunications restrictions we should be sharing with our potential subrecipients when we invite them to be part of our federal grant application? 
A6: This restriction applies to all recipients of federal funding and all federal purchases.  You should share this restriction with potential subrecipients as you would share other federal requirements with them. 

Q7: Is there a language on the subaward agreement sent by OSP that can address the telecommunications restrictions?
A7: This regulation is one of the terms and conditions flowed down to the subrecipient in the subaward agreement when it applies to the prime award.

Questions?
About Post Award Fiscal Compliance? email: gcafco@uw.edu
About Subawards? email: ospsubs@uw.edu

 

Advance Budget Request Streamlining: Sneak Peek & ASTRA Prep

We wanted to thank all of you for your questions. Details about the new process will be covered more in depth at future MRAMs as well as within training material under development. For now, we are going to hold off on diving into some of these detailed process questions and focus on key questions for the current stage of this project. 

Your  questions are important! We intend to make sure they are addressed. We are keeping track, and many are helping inform training and future communication development. Keep your questions coming and stay tuned for more to come. 

Timing
Q1: When is this going to take place? Will it be available in MyResearch?
A1: We are currently targeting mid/late April for release of the new functionality and updates to policy and processes. We'll provide a status update at the March MRAM so that you can plan for the changes. Advances will not be available in MyResearch in April but is being evaluated for future visibility there.

New ASTRA Role
Q2: Who should get the new Advance Reviewer ASTRA user role?
A2: Whoever currently signs to approve guarantee budget numbers for advances should receive this ASTRA role. This could be a different role/position in each Department or organizational unit that provides a guarantee budget number for advances, so each organization will have the flexibility within ASTRA to assign that role to whomever they wish. This can include people who also prepare/submit advances.

Q3: What will someone with an Advance Reviewer ASTRA user role be able to do in SAGE? 
A3:  The Advance Reviewer ASTRA user role is linked to one or more Organization Codes and will provide that person with an email notification when an Advance has been routed for their organization. It also provides that person with access to view the advance (and details from related eGC1) and with the ability approve, return, and comment on it. If someone has other ASTRA roles (like Proposal Preparer), the addition of this role will not affect their ability to perform existing functions in SAGE.

How Can I Learn More?
Stay tuned for a status update at the March MRAM to help you plan for the changes. We are working on more resources and will share as they are available.

Questions? 
Send your questions to carlsc@uw.edu

 

Research - A Sustaining Element of UW’s Mission?

Q: What is teaching income?
A: Teaching income/revenue would be mostly tuition and fees.

Questions? 
email: research@uw.edu

 

Budget Number Update

Q: Will we get notification before closing a budget?
A: GCA does not send out notifications before closing budgets. We encourage departments to monitor their budgets’ Final Action Dates (FAD), which can be found on the Grant Tracker Budget Information page. A budget will automatically close to status 3 after the FAD has passed, and GCA will prepare any required final financial report and/or invoice. The budget will close to status 4 when these documents have been submitted, the budget is in balance, any cost share commitments have been met, and all sponsor payments have been received. Per the Uniform Guidance, our goal is to complete the closeout process within 120 days of a budget’s expiration date.

Questions? 

 

Thank you,
MRAM