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Animal Subjects

The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) must review all research (externally funded, internally funded, or unfunded) that involves animal subjects.  In some cases IACUC approval may be required prior to proposal submission; in EVERY case, IACUC approval or exemption is required prior to the conduct of any research involving animal subjects. 

Contracting / Sub-Contracting

Award contracts from external sponsors funding research, educational or service projects conducted by UTC must be processed through the Office of Grants and Program Review.  Subcontracts that pay outside/third parties to do a portion of the work on an externally-funded project must be processed through Business and Financial Affairs.  Additional information is available at Contracts and Sub-Contracts.      

Conflict of Interests

UT faculty and staff are expected to take all reasonable precautions to ensure that their outside financial interests (including interests of a spouse, dependent children, and nondependent children) do not place them in conflict with carrying out their duties and responsibilities as employees of the university. Conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the following situations:

  • A UT employee allows outside financial interests to interfere with or compromise judgement and objectivity with respect to duties and responsibilities to the university and sponsoring organizations.
  • A UT employee makes university decisions or uses university resources in a manner that results or is expected to result in (1) personal financial gain or the financial gain of relatives or (2) an unfair advantage or favored treatment afforded to a third party outside the university.
  • A UT employee allows outside financial interests to affect the design, conduct, or reporting of research.

UT Fiscal Policy #FI0125 explains the UT Conflict of Interest Policy, provides examples of conflicts of interest and includes information about faculty and staff reporting requirements and links to the Outside Interest Disclosure Form that all faculty and staff should complete annually.

Cost-share

Cost-share, also called matching funds, is sometimes required for grant programs.  Cost-share is financial or other resources (personnel time, etc.)which the funding organization requests or requires that the applicant contribute or “share” to support the grant-funded program or project. 

Cost-share may be in cash or in-kind.  Cash cost-share is when UTC or a partner commits to outlay funds to support the project / program.  In-kind cost-share occurs when UTC or a partner commits to providing resources that are not cash but can be assigned a cash value (e.g., personnel time, use of facilities, use of equipment, etc.).  If you are working on a project that involves cost-share, contact the Office of Grants & Program Review immediately for additional information specific to the project you are working on.  Here are some general notes about the use of cost-share: 

  • All UTC cost-share must be approved in writing by an appropriate administrator and by the Vice Chancellor for Finance & Operations during the internal approval process. 
  • All cost-share from partnering organizations must be approved in writing by an appropriate administrator from the partnering organization. 
  • During the project period, it is the responsibility of the Primary Investigator / Project Director to keep appropriate records and document that all cost-share commitments are honored. 

Export Control

Certain federal regulations may require the university to obtain permission from the Department of State or the Department of Commerce before allowing foreign nationals to participate in research involving specific technologies or before sharing research information (written or verbal communication) with persons who are not citizens of the United States or permanent resident aliens. This applies to faculty, staff, and students.  And, some federal agencies prohibit the participation of foreign nationals. The attached links will provide you with an overview on export control and provide you with information that will enable you to determine if your program is subject to export control laws.  After review of these materials, should you still have questions, please contact Lindsay Pardue at 425-4431.

To learn more about export control, take the export control tutorial for faculty and staff.  You will need your netid and password to access the tutorial at this link: https://my.tennessee.edu/portal/page?_pageid=43,616539&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL

Funding Agency Approvals for Project Modifications / Revisions

Once a grant or contract is funded, It may be necessary to make changes to the proposed plan. For example, you may need to make adjustments to the budget, the project period, key personnel, etc. Most federal funding agencies allow institutions some discretion in making modest adjustments to the program, but many funding agencies require prior written approval before changes can be implemented. This chart summarizes regulations from the Office of Management and Budget regarding project changes that do not require prior approval from the funding agency as well as changes that do require prior approval. You will need to work with the Office of Grants & Program review on all project modifications/revisions.

Hamilton County Department of Education Partnership Projects

The Hamilton County Department of Education (HCDE) requires that proposals that involve partnership activities be reviewed and approved by HCDE administrators and, in certain cases, the Hamilton County School Board prior to submission of the grant application. If a project will involve Hamilton County schools in any way, please contact the Office of Grants & Program Review immediately to discuss the HCDE review and approval process.

Prior to submission, all grant proposals must be approved by the appropriate director of operations, assistant superintendent or curriculum and instruction director, and the chief financial officer.

Grant Proposals requesting between $10,000 - $100,000 also require approval by the superintendent and school board chairman. Required documentation must be submitted to HCDE personnel in a timely manner that will allow a minimum of 10 working days for review and approval.

Grant proposals requesting $100,000 or more require school board approval. Required documentation must be submitted to HCDE personnel 20 working days before the next scheduled school board meeting. Please see the Schedule for information on HCDE School Board meeting dates and associated deadlines for submitting information about partnership proposals.

Required Documentation: HCDE requires that the following documents be submitted:

  • A completed Grant Submission Approval Form (contact the Office of Grants & Program Review to initiate the process)
  • An executive summary which includes the purpose of the grant, the time commitment of staff, students, and others; the project time period, the monitoring / evaluation process, and the name of the project director
  • A budget for the project
  • Letters of commitment from the principals of individual schools to be involved in the project

Institutional Review Board (Human Subjects Research)

The Institutional Review Board must review all programs (externally funded, internally funded, or unfunded) that include any form of research involving human subjects (e.g., surveys, evaluation instruments, pre- and post-tests, baseline data collection, etc.)  In some cases IRB approval is required prior to proposal submission; in EVERY case, IRB approval or exemption is required prior to the conduct of any research involving human subjects.

It may also be helpful to review the following sets of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) published by the Office for Human Research Protections.  This information may help clarify assurance and IRB registration issues.

Assurance page -- http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/assurances/assurances_index.html ,

IRB registration page -- http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/assurances, or

Policy and Guidance page -- http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/policy/index.html

These and other FAQs may also be accessed from the HHS homepage (http://www.hhs.gov), by selecting "Questions" at the top right of the page and then on the 'Questions and Answers" page under the "Category" drop-down menu, selecting "Human Research."

For additional information, contact Helen Eigenberg, the Chair of UTC's Institutional Review Board.  

 

Internal Approval Process

All proposals, contracts, and sub-contracts must be approved through UTC’s internal approval process.  This involves several steps: 

  • At least 5 business days before the deadline, the proposal writer must submit a final, complete budget including a narrative description of each budget item and a narrative description of the project.  Proposal writers may submit the budget in the format requested by the funder, but the budget must include sufficient detail to facilitate the internal review and approval process.    
  • OGPR reviews the budget and project description, makes comments as necessary, and develops an internal approval memo.  The internal approval memo is sent to you via email for your review and approval. 
  • The internal approval memo is disseminated electronically to appropriate administrators.  Typically, approving administrators include the Department Head / Director of departments with committed faculty, staff, or resources; the Dean of Colleges with committed faculty, staff, or resources; the Provost; and the Chancellor.  If cost-share or space allocation is involved, the Vice-Chancellor for Finance & Operations is also required to review and approve the proposal. 
  • Administrators review and approve or request changes to the proposal.

A chart illustrating the typical internal approval process is available here.

 

Performance Reporting

While each individual funding agency has its own unique requirements, most agencies do require some type of performance reporting. Grantees are typically required to submit at least one report at the end of the project period to summarize the program accomplishments (the goals and objectives were met). For federal grants, this report will typically be due within 90 days of the project end date.  Frequently, interim performance reports are required throughout the course of a project.  Typically, the reporting requirements will be listed on the last page of the award letter / award documents.

Once you have received your award letter, please send a copy to the Grants Office.  The Grants Office will enter your reporting requirements in our database and send you a reminder of the due date 30 days in advance of the required deadline date. We also review and approve the performance reports. We ask that you submit a copy of the performance report to Lindsay Pardue at least five days prior to the deadline.

 

Proposal Development and Submission

OGPR is the central hub for proposal submissions, and all proposals, contract bids, and sub-contracts must be reviewed and approved by OGPR and appropriate UTC administrators through the internal approval process.  The internal approval process requires that proposal writers submit to OGPR staff a complete and correct budget and a narrative description of the project (a draft or executive summary is appropriate) no later than 5 business days in advance of the deadline.  See the Grant Proposal Checklist for details on proposal development requirements and recommended strategies. The UTC Faculty Handbook also has helpful information (see section 7.3.2)  

 

Restricted (R) Account Set-Up

The Office of Grants and Program Review works in conjunction with the Office of Business and Financial Affairs to initiate the set-up of all restricted accounts for externally funded awards.  In order to do this, our office needs a few basic documents.  The necessary documents are 1) award documentation—this is usually an award letter or contract—from the sponsoring agency that lists both the award amount and the project period and 2) a detailed budget that matches the amount listed in the award documentation.  In some cases, additional information may be required; however, our office will work with the PI in those instances to make certain that an account is set up in a timely manner.  Once the account is established, the office of Business & Financial Affairs will email the PI with the account name and number.

Scientific Misconduct

The University of Tennessee has developed a Statement of Policy on Misconduct in Resarch and Service.

Travel

When preparing travel plans, please consult http://treasurer.tennessee.edu/travel. This site provides information on current university travel regulations including reimbursement rates for in-state and out-of-state travel, travel fiscal policy, information on international travel, travel forms, and mileage reimbursement rates.

Use of Sample Proposals

The Office of Grants & Program Review frequently provides sample funded proposals from other institutions that proposal writers can use to help identify the hallmarks of a successful proposal. 

These documents have been graciously provided by the proposal applicant / writer to illustrate the logical arguments, clarity, level of detail, etc. needed to successfully compete in grants competitions.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD INFORMATION BE TAKEN FROM THESE DOCUMENTS WITHOUT PROPER REFERENCE / CITATION.  To do so may violate legal and ethical codes of conduct.

UT Policy on Patents, Copyrights, and Other Intellectual Property 

This policy covers your rights and what to do if you invent or create something while working on a university grant, contract, or other externally-sponsored activity.  Intellectual property includes inventions, discoveries, products, computer code and software, written materials, methods, recordings, arts, crafts, and technology-based academic materials.