Notification, Review and Acceptance of the Award

Notification of the Award

If the Sponsor selects the proposal for award, it sends the University a notification of grant, contract or cooperative agreement. The Office of Research Services (ORS) reviews and negotiates the award agreement to ensure that the terms regarding report submission dates, publications, indemnification, intellectual property, termination, dispute resolution, and governing law are compliant with University’s policy. After determining that the award is acceptable, the Office of Research Services (ORS) signs in behalf of the University. For Official Institution Business Officers visit here

The Office of Research Services (ORS) is authorized to negotiate and accept awards on behalf of Georgetown University.  ORS has responsibility for reviewing the terms and conditions of all sponsored research agreements and will work with the Principal Investigator (PI), General Counsel’s Office, Office of Technology and Commercialization and the Tax Department to negotiate any necessary changes. 

For incoming awards with the NIH Office of Research Services (ORS) will initiate the NIH Other Support process described as follows: i) The PI and key personnel will each receive notification from GU-Pass to answer questions and to upload a signed Other Support document in the Other Support module in GU-Pass. Please refer to to the GU Pass Job Aid for Other support (Principal Investigator guide) for additional guidance; ii) Investigators should be advised that by signing this Other Support document, they are certifying that the information is complete and true and correct to the best of their knowledge; iii) If the PI or other key personnel has entered into an agreement with a foreign organization, that agreement, in English, must be submitted as a part of the Just-in-Time requests from NIH.  A machine-readable translation is sufficient. Please visit International Research Relationships and Activities for additional information and compliance guidelines.

Review and Negotiation of the Award

All externally funded awards must be routed to relevant Grants and Contracts Administrator who reviews the awards for compliance with University policy. ORS will review the award budget and compare it to the proposed budget. Significant differences between the two budgets will be brought to the attention of the Principal Investigator. If budget changes are substantial, it is customary to revise the proposed statement of work to correspond to the budget changes.

ORS will try to negotiate in USD all incoming agreements that are in foreign currency including reporting and invoices to be in USD. If the sponsor requires using a foreign currency, the PI and Grant Manager will provide the budget into USD using Start Date exchange rate and order to set up the award and the budget accordingly in GMS

ORS Award Review Team

For Award Notification and Negotiation assistance, please contact the team at ORS for any questions. Each team member has the following portfolio of awards:

  • NSF Awards  and all incoming sub-agreements with NSF funding only.  All other incoming sub-agreements will be distributed according to the sponsor type. Please contact: Ruel Hector Tiongson- Grants and Contracts Administrator (rht3@georgetown.edu)
  • All Federal Awards (except NSF), and the following Foundations: Please contact Blair Ribeiro – Grants and Contracts Administrator (br561@georgetown.edu)
  • All Non Federal Agreements for EXCEPT for MSPP & Law Center. Please contact John Dykes – Grants and Contracts Administrator (john.dykes@georgetown.edu)
  • All Non Federal Agreements for MSPP & Law Center. Please contact Subramanian (Subu) ChitturSrinivasan – Grants and Contracts Administrator (sc2210@georgetown.edu)

Legal Considerations

When reviewing and negotiating an award is crucial to take into account these legal considerations.

Setting up the Award in GMS

  • Office of Research Services (ORS) is the point of entry for all incoming awards and will negotiate the terms and conditions of the award as needed on behalf of the university. Once the agreement has been negotiated ORS proceeds with the set up in GMS. The Principal Investigator with the support of the Grant Manager is responsible for managing the award. Both must follow the rules and regulations set forth in federal guidance as well as institutional policies and procedures published by Georgetown University.
  • Across the University, we are focusing more attention on research security as it relates to export controls, conflict of interest, and outside professional activities. ORS will run a compliance check for all incoming agreements for Law Center and Main Campus before setting up the award in GMS. Please visit Office of Research Oversight for additional guidelines
  • Office of Research Services (ORS) sets up the new award/amendment in GMS and then it gets routed to SPFO for review and approval. After the new award/amendment is approved by SPFO, the update process is completed and the changes are reflected on GMS. For new awards, the account can be charged only after the whole process is complete (not before SPFO approves). A unique AWD and GR accounts are created in the University’s financial system GMS, and the PI and other relevant campus individuals are notified of the account numbers. The PI may then begin to work on the research project. For any questions regarding the award set up in GMS please contact Christiana Kasner, Data Analyst (interim) at the Office of Research Services (awardsetup@georgetown.edu)

Pre-award spending occurs on an award prior to receiving the official notice from the sponsor. Though authorized by the sponsor, the University bears all the risk and the award may not materialize; therefore, it is important to assess such risks before engaging in spending. 

Advance Accounts may be appropriate in situations where the PI wants to begin work on the project while the terms of the award are in negotiation. Any charges incurred are the department’s responsibility if agreement on acceptable terms cannot be reached. It is possible to request authorization for pre-award spending on grants and cooperative agreements with most federal agencies and to charge award-related expenses up to 90 days prior to the award start date.

Establishing an account “at risk” account allows charges to be tracked properly, prevents the accumulation of charges in unrelated “holding” accounts while waiting for official sponsor authorization, and reduces the likelihood of late cost transfers. All “at risk” accounts should be monitored with special care.

As of March 16, 2021, the Provost’s Finance Office has authorized the use of At-Risk accounts in accordance with the University’s Advance Account policy FA-179-14.  This would include using advance accounts for multi-year grants that are waiting for their annual authorization and  for new grants waiting for their notice of award. To set up an At-Risk account, complete the at-risk account form and route to the appropriate offices for signature before sending the completed form for ORS approval. Please send request to: researchadmin@georgetown.edu

Contact Us

Office of Research Services
37th & O Street NW Box 571014 650 ICC

M-F, 8:30am – 5:00pm
Phone: (202) 687-1958
Email: researchadmin@georgetown.edu

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