Grant Information

External Submissions- There are a few administrative steps with any external submission. Please see Kristen or Karen when you have decided to submit a grant so that she can begin collecting necessary information. Due to the steps involved, it's best if Kristen or Karen are notified two-three weeks before the application deadline. After administrative pages have been completed and reviewed for accuracy, Kristen or Karen will get necessary departmental signatures and send the application over to the Med School for review and signatures. The Med School Grants Office would like to have the application seven working days before the deadline. It then goes onto DRDA (Division of Research Development and Administration) for final signature. You have the option of having DRDA make copies and send to the sponsor as long as you’re within the time limits listed on DRDA’s website listed later in this section. You also have the option of having the grant returned or picked up after DRDA has signed so that you can mail it.

In the case of NIH submissions, this is what Kristen or Karen would like to see as soon as possible:

For other non-federal sponsored grants, please provide a website or application requirements and guidelines so Kristen or Karen can determine what information is needed to get the application through the Department, Med School and DRDA for necessary signatures.

Internal Submissions

The guidelines vary by funding source. Again, please include a relevant website or set of guidelines so that Kristen or Karen can ensure the application is accurate and complete. These still need to be routed through the department.

Useful websites:

Med School Grants Office: http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool/grants/index.html
DRDA: http://www.research.umich.edu/contacts/overview/drda_mission.html

In summary…

If it looks like a grant, feels like a grant, sounds like a grant, smells like a grant and includes any financial commitments, it needs to come through the CDB office.

Subcontracts

When funds awarded to the University for the conduct of a sponsored project are to be paid to an organization outside of the University, the arrangement should be treated as a subcontract if all the following criteria apply:

  1. The funds are to be paid to a university or other non-profit entity rather than to a for-profit business or individual and are not considered "pass-through" funds from the sponsor.
  2. The subcontractor's key person is acting as a collaborator or co-investigator and contributing to a significant portion of the scholarly/scientific conduct of the project as described in a statement of work for the subcontractor.
  3. Performance of the subcontractor's portion of the project must be of such a unique nature that it requires discretion and expertise available from only one source.
  4. Subcontractor does not provide similar services to others as their primary business.
  5. Verification by the University's Principal Investigator of the subcontractor's performance is required before payment is made. If any of the above criteria do not apply, the funds should be paid through a purchase order.

All paperwork regarding subcontracts needs to be routed through the department.

Animals

University policy and federal law require a review of projects for humane treatment and judicious use of vertebrate animals. At the University of Michigan, the University Committee on Use and Care of Animals (UCUCA) assures adherence to this policy and federal law through review of the Application to Use Vertebrate Animals in Research, Testing or Instruction (Form 8225). In fulfilling its responsibility to ensure the judicious use of animals, the UCUCA requires evidence of scientific and instructional merit, such as awards from peer-reviewed funding agencies. Applications that are not currently funded may be submitted to and reviewed by the Committee if required by the granting agency.

Principal investigators must obtain approval from UCUCA before initiating any research, testing, or instructional project involving the use of vertebrate animals. Failure to do so is a violation of federal law.

The following types of animal use do not require UCUCA review:

Useful Websites:

Animal approval: http://www.ucuca.umich.edu/UCUCADoc.html
Unit for Lab Animal Medicine: http://www.ulam.umich.edu/index.html

Radioactive Material

All personnel intending to become an Authorized User and work with radioactive material must first be approved by the University of Michigan (U-M)-Radiation Policy Committee (RPC). Complete and submit to Radiation Safety Service (RSS) an Application for Authorization to Use Radioactive Material (RSS-101 form). In addition, any significant changes in authorized radioactive material protocols must be approved by the RPC. The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) may grant temporary approval pending final approval by the RPC.

Relevant website: http://www.umich.edu/~oseh/

Human Use

As an Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Protection of Human Research Subjects, the IRBMED is mandated by regulations of the United States Government to review and monitor any and all types of research, in which living human subjects, their tissues or their data are involved directly or indirectly. In addition to research involving human subjects, IRBMED also oversees the use of investigational drugs, biologics and devices (“test articles”) not yet approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but are exempted for investigational use, even if they are used on human subjects in non-research settings. Even though Federal regulations allow certain types of research to be exempt from review by IRBs, no research involving living human subjects at the University of Michigan Medical School/Health System will be given exemption from IRBMED review

Relevant website: http://www.med.umich.edu/irbmed/

PEERRS

PEERRS is a web-based foundational instruction and certification program for members of the University community engaged in or associated with research.

Certification is required for:

Faculty members who become Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-Investigators (Co-Is) on sponsored projects at the UM for the first time, as well as PIs/Co-Is on all new NIH projects (including competing renewals), must be certified in the PEERRS system before spending on newly established sponsored research projects will be authorized. Applicable projects are those with an effective start date of December 15, 2003 or later.

Other faculty, staff and students may also need PEERRS certification, depending on his or her research roles and specifications from the Dean of some Schools or Colleges.

Relevant website: http://www.research.umich.edu/training/peerrs.html

NIH Commons

The Commons, the electronic research administration system of NIH, is accessible via the internet. The system offers principal investigators and their research staff several online features including:

Commons Registration

Some NIH Commons functions require a Commons Registration - a user name and password. These are assigned by a UM liaison person, Jo Anne Painter (jpainter@umich.edu, 4-7234). Each user will be assigned a unique Commons username and password. PI's will assign privileges to their staff and collaborators using these usernames and passwords.

Relevant websites:

UM site: http://www.research.umich.edu/nih/commons/#commons
NIH site: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/

Material Transfer Agreements

A Materials Transfer Approval Form facilitates the transfer of various kinds of materials-- biological materials, compounds, equipment, and prototypes--for use in research projects. A copy of the Materials Transfer Approval Form (MTAF) can be obtained in the departmental office or online (http://www.research.umich.edu/proposals/forms/forms.html). As a general rule, the University is required to sign an agreement with the provider of the materials before the transfer can take place. These agreements often include terms and conditions regarding intellectual property rights, publication privileges and restrictions, confidentiality of information, indemnification and warranty provisions and, therefore, should be considered research contracts. All material transfer agreements and approval forms need to be routed through Kristen or Karen before sending to Medical School Grants Office and DRDA. A brief description of the materials and their intended use should be included with the approval form. This information assists in determining any contractual conditions that need to be modified or removed and University exposure to liabilities. Faculty and staff do not have the authority to accept these agreements on behalf of the University.