Institutions receive funding from hundreds of different sponsors, including federal agencies, foundations and for-profit companies. Each of these has the right to establish its own terms and conditions for its awards. In addition, each individual award may include specific terms applicable to that award.
The terms of an individual award take precedence over the provisions of Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-21, Cost Principles of Educational Institutions. For example, although travel is not defined as unallowable in A-21, your particular award may designate travel, or more likely foreign travel, as unallowable. In that case, you may not charge those expenses to that project. Similar types of provisions may pertain to the acquisition of equipment.
Where required by the terms of the award, you MUST have the written approval of the sponsor's Grant or Contract Officer before charging specified expenses. The Sponsored Projects Office and the Post Award Office can assist with proper documentation of these approvals.
It is important to note that all sponsor terms and conditions specified in an award "flow down" to any recipients of subawards.
Awards may also contain requirements for advance notification of certain conditions. For federal grants, OMB Circular A-110 requires prior approvals of changes in PI status (including reduction of effort by 25% or more) or significant changes in scope of work. The Sponsored Projects Office and the Post Award Office can assist with proper documentation of these approvals.
Cost-type contracts oftentimes have other requirements. Many of these requirements require sponsor approval, therefore, notifications, when required by the sponsor, must be in writing to the sponsor’s Grant or Contract Officer and submitted via the SPO.
Finally, award notices specify requirements for reports. PIs who fail to submit timely technical or progress reports, for example, risk losing their own funding, and jeopardize the funding of other PIs at the institution.