Project Closeout
Timely closeout of sponsored awards is essential to Brandeis’ compliance with both the sponsor requirements as well as university policies.
There are different types of Research Agreements at Brandeis:
- Data Use Agreement – This is an agreement where you agree to give a second party access to confidential data for a specific research purpose. A data use agreement specifies the scope of data to be disclosed, the access requirements and non-disclosure obligations. Data Providers can charge for data access.
- Services Agreement – An Agreement where one person or group purchases the services of another party. Payment is contingent on the Service Provider’s work (as designated in the specifications as outlined in the agreement).
- Sponsored Research Agreement (SRA) – An agreement (grant, contract, or cooperative agreement) providing funding to support a specified research project. Sponsor can be foundation, federal or state agency, research institute or other university. Sponsored research agreements contain scope of work, budget, period of performance and reporting requirements. Funds must be spent as stipulated in the budget and the agreement may require that any funds not spent may be returned to the Sponsor.
Each one of these agreements can have different closing processes. But essentially, the Sponsored Programs Accounting (SPA) works with the grant manager to make sure that all bills are paid appropriately and that all charges are allowable and allocable.
The grant manager and SPA also review all uncertified salary for an account before the award closes.
Final report – there are two types of final reports that are generally required. The first is a narrative final report written by the PI. The second is a final financial report produced and signed by SPA. The financial report is reviewed by the grant manager and an analyst from SPA.