Grant Award Phases
The following information details how Research Operations supports your sponsored research throughout each phase.
Pre-Award
The pre-award phase includes the preparation and submission of required grant documentation. Research Operations can provide direct support and/or coordination with standard grant application requirements.
Grant Identification
Finding appropriate funding sources for your research can be daunting. Common sponsors such as the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) graciously support social science research. We can put you in touch with experts from our Business Library to help you find potential grantors using Grants.gov and GrantForward.
Grant Application
Research Operations will schedule coordination meetings with OSR to ensure a collective understanding of all grant requirements and will assist in the preparation of the administrative elements, such as grant-specific budgets to include an accurate representation of costs such as Stanford’s indirect expenses, research-related travel, and post-doc salaries and fringe expenses to ensure successful completion for internal (e.g., Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment) and external (e.g., NSF or ONR) grants.
Grant Writing
The technical requirements for any grant are the faculty member's responsibility. However, we can review technical proposals for clarity and conciseness. Additionally, Research Operations will coordinate with subject matter experts and assist with:
- Data Use Agreements: Research Operations will coordinate with the Data Acquisition and Governance (DAG) team within the Research Hub to prepare any required data use agreements associated with the sponsored research project.
- University and Partner Agreements: Research Operations, through the DAG team, will review the memorandum of understanding and related partner agreements that seek to formalize working relationships and responsibilities on shared-sponsored research projects.
- Institutional Review Board (IRB): Research Operations can coordinate with the RCO for non-medical IRB submissions and approval. However, the completion and submission of all IRB-related documents are the responsibility of the GSB faculty member.
- Budget Preparation: Research Operations will help GSB faculty develop detailed grant budgets. This support is distinct from GSB Finance support which will work with OSR or the internal sponsor to establish the appropriate accounts (PTAs) to allow for spending and allocation of sponsored funds. Research Operations will support your budget formulation with the following:
- Detailed spreadsheets for submission and execution
- Research assistant, pre- and post-doc salaries and fringe benefits
- Tuition costs
- Direct and indirect costs
- Subcontract costs
- Travel costs
Post-Award
The post-award phase primarily focuses on budget execution and intermittent reporting requirements. Research Operations will provide updates and recommendations to ensure principal investigators meet financial targets.
Budget Execution
Research Operations can coordinate with GSB Finance to provide monthly budget reports to track expenditures to GSB faculty. Additionally, we can offer consultation services on the appropriateness of charges, limits on certain spending, and other thresholds established within the award documents.
- Detailed spreadsheets incorporating the FFIT outputs
- Consultation services on appropriateness and threshold limits for spending
- Tracking faculty level-of-effort/salary allocation targets
- Tracking research assistant, pre-, and post-doc salaries and tuition costs
- P-card transactions
- Travel and T-card transactions
Hiring of Research Assistants, Pre- and Post-Doc Support
Research Operations will ensure proper budgeting and tracking of related salary, fringe, and tuition costs for required research support staff. Additionally, we can provide administrative oversight (e.g., time card approvals) for grant-funded, fixed-term research staff.
Reporting Requirements
Research Operations will assist in any non-technical reporting requirements established by the sponsor. These may include:
- Quarterly, semi-annual, and annual financial statements
- Detailed categorical summaries of expenses
- Ensure compliance with all targets established in the award documents
Grant Closeout
The closeout phase of any sponsored research can require myriad last-minute adjustments to meet all necessary targets. The following outlines areas of support.
Budget Adjustments
Research Operations can coordinate with GSB Finance to properly allocate expenses within GSB faculty PTAs. Examples include:
- Reallocation of faculty salary to sponsored account PTAs to meet targeted level of effort
- Reallocation of P-card/T-card expenditures
No-Cost Extensions
Research Operations can coordinate with OSR and the sponsor to request a no-cost extension if grant funding can not be expensed within the dedicated performance period.