Sponsored Projects Resource Hub
Welcome to the Sponsored Projects Resource Hub, your starting point for navigating sponsored research at GW. This web page brings together essential guidance, training materials, and practical tools to support individuals who are working on sponsored projects, including principal investigators (PIs), staff members, and graduate students. Whether you are learning about the sponsored projects lifecycle, understanding federal and sponsor regulations, developing proposals, or managing awards, these resources are designed to build foundational knowledge and confidence. Explore the hub to better understand your role, identify key requirements and milestones, and support the successful development and stewardship of sponsored projects from proposal to closeout.
Key Sponsored Projects Topics
- A Sponsored Project's Lifecycle
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Define Opportunity
The sponsored projects lifecycle starts when a PI identifies an internal or external funding opportunity to support their research project. GW investigators can begin the search for funding opportunities using PIVOT, a searchable database of funding opportunities from federal and non-federal sources including foundations and commercial sponsors. The university's subscription to this service allows GW users to create customized searches and have matching opportunities e-mailed as they are posted.
Proposal Development and Submission (Pre-Award)
After an appropriate funding opportunity has been identified, investigators and their support team will work on building a complete and compliant proposal. This process includes preparing proposal materials in accordance with university and sponsor requirements, securing all required approvals, and coordinating internal review. Once finalized, the complete proposal is routed to the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) for institutional review, approval, and submission to the sponsor.
Award Negotiation and Acceptance
Award negotiation and acceptance is the institutional process that occurs after a sponsor decides to fund a proposal but before the university legally accepts the award. During the award negotiation and acceptance process, institutional representatives make sure that the final award terms are legally acceptable to the university, the project can be conducted in compliance with federal, state, sponsor, and university policies, and any financial, intellectual property, compliance, and risk issues are resolved before work begins on the project. Acceptance of an award occurs when an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) signs the agreement or accepts the award through the sponsor's electronic system.Award Setup
Award setup is the process by which financial accounts for sponsor-funded grants and contracts are created within the university’s financial system, the Enterprise Accounting System (EAS). EAS supports the posting of expenditures, invoicing, financial reporting, and the overall tracking of sponsored funds. Award setup is a critical step that enables the university to begin spending sponsor funds and ensures that expenditures are properly tracked and reported. This process is fully managed by the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) Award Setup Analysts.
Award Administration and Management
Award administration and management begins after an award has been formally accepted by the university and continues through project closeout. It encompasses all activities required to spend sponsored funds appropriately and on time, ensure ongoing compliance with sponsor, regulatory, and university requirements, support the PI in successfully executing the scientific and programmatic scope, and protect the university from audit, financial, and legal risk. Award management is a shared responsibility between PIs, Research Support Teams (RSTs), the Office of Sponsored Projects, and other affiliated offices across the university.
Award Closeout
Award closeout is the formal, time‑bound process that occurs at the end of a sponsored project to confirm that all project activities are complete, all funds have been spent appropriately and reported accurately, all sponsor, regulatory, and institutional obligations have been met, and the award can be officially concluded with no outstanding liabilities. While specific processes may vary by sponsor and funding mechanism, award closeout ultimately signifies the completion of all required work and associated administrative actions.
- Proposal Development and Submission (Pre-Award)
Pre-Proposal
A pre‑proposal is any activity that occurs before full proposal development and submission. Not all opportunities require a formal pre‑proposal, but, when required, this phase can help to determine whether an idea is viable, competitive, and institutionally supportable.
Common pre‑proposal triggers include limited submission opportunities (agency caps on submissions per institution), large, center‑level, or interdisciplinary awards, new funding mechanisms or sponsors, industry or foundation‐initiated discussions, and faculty seeking early feedback on competitiveness.
Proposal Development
After an appropriate funding opportunity has been identified, investigators and their support team will work on building a complete and compliant proposal.
The development of a complete proposal includes, but is not limited to:
Common proposal components include a conflict of interest (COI) and financial conflict of interest (FCOI) project form (PDF, GW login required), a scope of work, a budget and budget narrative, a subrecipient package, a biographical sketch, and a current and pending (other support) form.
Resource: The training Confidentiality in Research Administration is available in the Talent@GW system. A GW login is required to access the Talent@GW system.
Resource: The GW Research Enhancement Unit (REU) periodically hosts grant writing workshops. They can also provide research consultation services for proposal development. Check the REU website for the latest workshop dates, or to request consultation services.
Resource: The second session of the OSP Pre-Award Bootcamp discusses proposal budgeting and is available on our Education and Training SharePoint site: Video | Slides. A GW login is required to access SharePoint resources.
Resource: GW's Himmelfarb Health Sciences Library maintains a research guide for utilizing SciENcv to create biographical sketches and current and pending (other) support forms.
- The Financials of Sponsored Projects
- A budget is simply a money plan for a sponsored project. It shows how funds will be used to carry out the work described in the award and helps guide spending from start to finish. All of a sponsored project's costs must be necessary for the project, reasonable in amount, and clearly related to the work, in line with federal regulations, university policies, and the sponsor’s rules. While budget rules differ across sponsors and award types, most sponsored projects use the same core budget categories: direct costs, indirect (F&A) costs, and required cost sharing, if any.
Direct Costs
Direct costs are expenses that can be specifically and reliably identified with a single sponsored project and that directly support accomplishing its scientific or programmatic objectives. Direct costs include categories such as personnel, tuition, consultant costs, equipment, supplies, travel, subawards, and other costs (as applicable). Personnel costs often make up the largest share of direct costs, which is why effort management and salary charging receive heightened scrutiny.
Resource: Budget Mentor provides an overview of the difference between direct and indirect costs in the video below.
Indirect CostsIndirect costs are also commonly referred to as Overhead, Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A), IDC, or Indirects. Indirect costs support the shared infrastructure necessary to conduct research but cannot be easily attributed to a single project. They include both facilities costs (physical infrastructure) and administrative costs (central services). GW applies indirect rates to sponsored projects based on the university's Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) with the federal government. The negotiated rate reflects averaged, institution‑wide costs; indirect cost recovery does not fully reimburse actual infrastructure expenses at most research universities.
Resource: The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) provides an overview of indirect costs in the video below.
Cost Share
Cost sharing occurs when the total cost of a sponsored project exceeds the amount paid by the sponsor, and the university covers the difference with its own funds. These are costs not covered by the sponsor and can be in the form of cash, equipment, in-kind contributions by third parties, and/or faculty effort. Cost sharing can be mandatory or voluntary. Mandatory cost sharing is required by the sponsor as a condition of receiving an award. Voluntary committed cost sharing may be offered by the applicant to demonstrate the institution’s dedication to a program or project. Voluntary committed cost sharing is not required but it does become a binding commitment to the funding agency and a part of the award’s terms and conditions.
- Financial, Administrative and Project Reporting
Award Reporting is a core compliance obligation which helps the university demonstrate accountability, transparency, and performance to sponsors. Accurate and timely reporting also helps to protect GW's eligibility for future funding. Reporting requirements vary by sponsor and award; the terms and conditions of each individual award detail that award's specific reporting requirements.
Financial Reporting
Financial reporting helps to demonstrate that project funds are spent on allowable projects costs within the approved period of performance and managed in accordance with sponsor regulations and university policy. Some commonly required financial reports include quarterly or annual expenditure reports, drawdown reports, or spending projections. At GW, Grants and Contracts Accounting Services (GCAS) manages the preparation and filing of invoices and financial reports.
Resource: A guide to the most frequently used accounting reports including reports for monitoring sponsored project activities is available from the Office of the University Controller.
Resource: The eleventh session of the OSP Award Management Bootcamp discusses financial compliance, reporting, and management and is available on our Education and Training SharePoint site: Video | Slides. A GW login is required to access SharePoint resources.
Administrative and Project Reporting
Non-financial award reporting required for sponsored projects may include compliance certifications (such as Annual Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Certification), progress or performance reports, invention reporting, or technical reports. Certain sponsors may also require reporting related to research milestones or draft updates. At the time of the award setup, the OSP Award Management Specialist (SPA) will establish deliverable reminders for non-financial reports in myResearch to facilitate timely reporting. The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the satisfactory completion of technical reports. Research Support Team (RST) personnel can assist with the non-technical information included in reports.
Resource: The fifth and sixth sessions of the OSP Award Management Bootcamp discusses award modifications, budgeting, prior approvals, and progress reports and are available on our Education and Training SharePoint site. A GW login is required to access SharePoint resources.
Resource: A webinar recording on project management and reporting is available from NCURA on our Education and Training SharePoint site: Video | Slides. A GW login is required to access SharePoint resources.
- Data Management and Sharing
Data Management and Sharing
Managing research data is an increasingly important feature of the research lifecycle. During the course of a research project, data are created, collected, analyzed, stored, accessed, used, shared, and ultimately archived. Through data use agreements, researchers have access to sensitive information which may include personal and student’s records, personal health information, and other research data protected by statutes and regulations. Data management plans outline how data will be managed and documented throughout a research project, including the appropriate security and privacy controls for complying with data use agreements. Many sponsors require a data management plan, submitted with a proposal and treated as a binding commitment.
Resource: The GW Libraries provides access to DMPTool, a tool to create data management and sharing plans that meet requirements and promote research. Additional resources on creating data management plans are also available via the GW Libraries.
Resource: A webinar recording on data use agreements is available from NCURA on our Education and Training SharePoint site: Video | Slides. A GW login is required to access SharePoint resources.
- The Regulations Governing Sponsored Projects
Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200)
The Uniform Guidance is a set of federal guidance that standardizes how grants and other federal awards are managed across U.S. government agencies. It’s officially known as 2 CFR Part 200 and was issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to streamline and unify rules that were previously scattered across multiple OMB circulars.
The Uniform Guidance covers three major areas:
- Administrative Requirements: Rules for managing federal awards, including documentation, reporting, and oversight.
- Cost Principles: Guidelines for determining which costs are allowable, reasonable, and allocable to federal awards.
- Audit Requirements: Standards for auditing entities that receive federal funds, including the Single Audit process.
The Uniform Guidance is currently under consideration for a major overhaul. To review the status of any potential updates or revisions to the Uniform Guidance, visit the Federal Research Updates page.
Resource: The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) provides an overview of the Uniform Guidance in the video below.
Research Security Requirements
Research Security is a federally-mandated, institution-wide program designed to safeguard the research enterprise against undue foreign interference and/or the misappropriation of research and intellectual property. This program applies to many institutional functions, including but not limited to research activities.
Under National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 and the CHIPS + Science Act (2022), entities which accept federal research funding must develop and implement a Research Security program which includes:
- an export control program,
- federal research agency disclosure management,
- a foreign travel security program,
- a cybersecurity program to protect Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI),
- a research integrity program, and
- research security training.
If you have questions related to Research Security and/or foreign influence prevention, please contact the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance at rsec
gwu [dot] edu (rsec[at]gwu[dot]edu).Resource: Federal agencies require that Covered Individuals (PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD, or other individuals “who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the development or execution of the scope of work”) included on research and development (R&D) projects and/or applications complete Research Security Training. This required training is available on the Office of Research Integrity and Compliance website.
Intellectual Property and the Bayh-Dole Act
In the context of sponsored research, intellectual property might include inventions, software and algorithms, copyrightable works, data sets with proprietary or restricted value, and more. GW maintains policies on ownership and management of inventions, scholarly works and creative works that provide incentives for GW faculty, staff and students to develop their ideas. These policies, including the Copyright Policy and the Patents and Scholarly Work Policy, help inform the GW community of laws governing intellectual property.
The Bayh-Dole Act, also known as the Patent and Trademarks Law Amendments Act, is an important piece of federal legislation that defines how inventions developed from federal government-funded research are handled. The Bayh-Dole Act permits universities that receive federal funding to own inventions that result from the research, rather than assigning inventions to the federal government.
Resource: WFYI Public Media provides an overview of the Bayh-Dole Act in the video below.
The GW Policy on Patents and Scholarly Work requires researchers to sign agreements providing GW ownership of certain inventions using significant university resources including sponsored research funds. GW is requires that these documents to be signed electronically in the form of an acknowledgement of responsibilities under the Policy on Patents and Scholarly Work. The acknowledgement is presented at the end of a 5-minute online module in the Talent@GW system.Resource: The training Bayh-Dole Compliance is available in the Talent@GW system. A GW login is required to access the Talent@GW system.
At GW, the Technology Commercialization Office assists researchers with information related to intellectual property.
Resources
- OSP Education and Training SharePoint Site (GW Login Required)
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I request a specific training for my lab/office/school?
The Office of Sponsored Projects is pleased to work with colleagues to accommodate specific training requests. Please email OSP_EandT
gwu [dot] edu (OSP_EandT[at]gwu[dot]edu) to request a specific training for your office, lab, or school.
Support
- For research support team (RST) contact information, click here.
- For sponsored projects education and training questions, email OSP_EandTgwu [dot] edu (OSP_EandT[at]gwu[dot]edu).