FAQs

A grant is an assistance instrument of which the primary purpose of which is to support the University in the pursuit of its mission. The sponsor has no substantial involvement in the conduct of the project.

A cooperative agreement is an assistance instrument used by federal agencies in cases where the agency anticipates being substantially involved with the awardee in the programmatic aspects of the work.

A gift is a contribution; an unconditional transfer of cash that is voluntary and non-reciprocal. It is different from a grant in that gift funds are unrestricted. Whereas, grant funds are restricted and must be used as described in the proposal. The ORSP does not monitor gifts. Please contact the Advancement Office regarding any questions about gifts.

The primary purpose of a (sponsored) contract is to enable the sponsor to purchase services or goods from Concordia University. Contract performance is closely monitored by the sponsor and the ORSP to ensure that the objectives of the contract are met and the funds are spent appropriately.

A sub-award is negotiated with a pass-through entity (the prime applicant) at the proposal stage. A sub-awardee is selected to carry out part of the Federal award received by the prime recipient. It should not be confused with a contract.

Yes, all proposals must be approved and submitted by the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.

The PI is the Principal Investigator; the person with subject matter expertise and the person responsible for the entire project.

The PI is responsible for understanding the granting agency guidelines; including deadlines, writing the project narrative, providing budget information to the ORSP, providing any information needed to submit the proposal (i.e. resumes, letters of commitment, etc.). The PI is also responsible for starting the routing process. After the award, the PI is responsible for carrying out all project activities, approving expenses, writing interim and final reports, among other project-specific responsibilities.

The ORSP is responsible for assisting the PI with proposal submission, including navigating the Cayuse system and approving the final budget. The ORSP also helps the PI with budget development, interpreting the guidelines, and may assist with editing. After the award, the ORSP assists with project review, monitoring budget expenditures, pre-audit, and conducting risk assessment of sub-awardees.

The ORSP requires 48 hour lead time for all proposal submissions. This allows ORSP staff ample time to review and edit the proposal documents, complete the online forms, and ensure that it is routed for internal approvals.

Use this form to submit a request for things like help writing and submitting grants, getting a project development consultation, assistance with data analysis, and questions about IRBs, CIRG & SURF funding, and more!

Click here to submit an ORSP Service Request form.

Facilities & Administrative (F&A) costs, also known as Indirect Costs or IDC, are a normal part of most Federal grants. When submitting a grant proposal, you must factor these costs into your budget. F&A funds are charged on the Direct Costs of your grant, not the entire budget. F&A funds are meant to cover the intangible costs of research that you cannot write into the grant budget in clean categories and percentages. Examples: electricity costs for the lab you use; subscription costs for the software you use; technology costs for the computer you use; and administrative costs for the people who make sure your grant period goes smoothly behind the scenes. IT, HR, Finance, ORSP and other departments who already work full-time for Concordia get tasks added on to their daily work whenever a new grant comes in. Since you cannot write a percentage of work time into your grant for those administrators like you can with project personnel, the F&A costs help Concordia ensure there is enough support to administer your grant. Many people are helping your project in the background, and F&A supports their work.

ORSP and the Chief Financial Officer negotiate CUWAA’s Facilities & Administrative (F&A) rate with the government every few years. The rate is different for every university, with some rates as high as 90%. The rate is calculated based on several factors including past research costs the university has incurred. The F&A costs to be added to your grant budget are based on the Direct Costs of your project - so do not think of it as CUWAA getting half your grant. Based on what your funder calls Direct Costs, you can calculate what needs to go into your budget for F&A. It is important to note that the Federal government has a restrictive cap on allowable percentages to charge for Administration, and universities contribute the vast majority of research administrative support. Universities do not make money from grants.

ORSP stewards 50% of Facilities & Administrative (F&A) funds, and the other 50% go into CUWAA’s General Fund. Though the exact percentages vary from year to year, ORSP generally divides their portion of the funds as follows:

  50% Faculty Research Funding

Each year, ORSP funds the Concordia Intramural Research Grant competition to support faculty research. Beyond CIRG, faculty can request funds for research costs on an as-needed basis. The Faculty Scholarship Committee reviews projects and helps ORSP make decisions about funding distribution.

  25% Faculty Professional Development

ORSP offers more than a dozen workshops for faculty each year. Select workshops offer paid spots for faculty to accomplish research tasks such as writing, hiring research assistants, analyzing data, presenting at conferences, and publishing. External professionals as well as faculty receive an honorarium for leading workshops.

  15% Student Research Support

Student research is supported through semesterly funding opportunities and workshops aimed at helping students develop their research and take cost support pressure off academic departments.

  10% Staff Professional Development

Many Concordia staff are working hard to support you and other researchers through smooth and successful grant projects. These funds support staff to get continued professional development to do so.