Roles & Responsibilities

The grant notice of award/contract award document is the legal document which notifies a recipient organization that it has received an award. It is crucial for representatives (PI & Research Administrator) of the project and the institutional representative to carefully review the award notice, particularly the terms and conditions of the award, before accepting the award to understand just what the award entails.

Some questions a reviewer may ask:

• Do the funds awarded correspond to the budget in the proposal?
• Has the agency made any unilateral changes in the project scope?
• Does the award include special terms and conditions?

The answers to some of these questions may cause a recipient to decide not to accept the award because of negative impact on the institution or project. Once agreed to, the terms and conditions are legally binding, and both the recipient and the awarding agency must follow them. Unilateral changes by either party are not permitted.

If the sponsor does accept a proposal and budget as written, or if terms and conditions are not satisfactory to the PI or to Stanford, negotiations take place. Not all awards are negotiated, many grants have general terms and conditions which address issues such as financial and performance reports, compliance with public policy, invention reporting, etc. These general terms and conditions are usually boilerplate documents attached to all grant awarded by a particular agency.

Following are the responsibilities for Stanford reviewers. These reviewers must ensure Stanford concerns are met:

Institutional Representative

• Accuracy and conformity with previously negotiated terms and Stanford Policies
• Risk of loss is minimized
• Investigator and institution protected
• Patent, copyright and data obligations are appropriate
• View a chart of responsibilities by group

Principal Investigator

• He or she can work within the scope required
• The scope of work accurately reflect the scientific or scholarly research the PI agreed to do
• Deliverables and timelines are acceptable

Research/Department/School Administrator

• The financial terms and budget
• Reporting requirements
• Compliance issues Considerations for Negotiation
• Reporting
• Deliverables
• Equipment
• Record Retention
• Payment terms