Which of the following are the responsibilities of the principal investigator (pi) of a study?

The Principal Investigator [PI] is charged to conduct objective research that generates independent, high quality, and reproducible results. The PI is responsible for management of the integrity of the design, conduct, and reporting of the research project; and for managing, monitoring, and ensuring the integrity of any collaborative relationships. Additionally, the PI is responsible for the direction and oversight of compliance, financial, personnel, and other related aspects of the research project; and for coordination with school, department, and central administration personnel to assure research is conducted in accordance with federal regulations, university, and sponsoring agency policies and procedures. The PI has primary responsibility for achieving the technical success of the project, while also complying with the financial and administrative policies and regulations associated with the award. Although PIs may have administrative staff to assist them with the management of project funds, the ultimate responsibility for the management of the sponsored research award rests with them.

Pre-Award Responsibilities

Pre-award administration encompasses preliminary review and approval of projects with potential for external sponsorship, funding source identification, cost sharing analysis, proposal processing and submission.

• Prospective PIs should establish profiles in Community of Science so they can receive information on funding opportunities offered by various federal agencies and private foundations.
• Upon identification of a funding opportunity the PI must inform the Pre-Award Administrator and send an URL link where available.
• The PI is responsible for setting up a meeting with the Pre- Award Administrator to review sponsor guidelines and to establish a timeline.
• Upon review of the guidelines, should the PI have any questions, they should submit them to the Pre-Award Administrator, who will make the inquiry to the funding agency.
• PI is responsible for the design and development of the proposal and all required components in accordance with the sponsor guidelines.
• PI is responsible for the preparation of budget; the assistance of the Pre-Award Administrator is also available. - The budget must be developed in accordance with University policies and procedures, sponsor guidelines, applicable laws and regulations, including OMB Circular A-21.
• PI will prepare the budget justification.
• It is the responsibility of the PI to link the Pre-Award Administrator with proposed sub-contractor/s and/or consultants.
• The PI is responsible for obtaining collaboration letters from any collaborator, including subcontractor/s or consultant/s, on the proposed project.
• PI will notify the Pre-Award Administrator if they wish to submit a proposal/application to a sponsor who has stipulated a limit of proposals/applications per institution. The Pre-Award Administrator will alert ORS who may conduct an internal competition, if necessary.
• The PI is tasked with the responsibility of discussing with their Chair/Director any additional needs above and beyond what has been requested in the budget e.g. cost share, personnel [GRAs], computers, and space.
• The PI is tasked with the completion and submission of the Internal Processing forms [NORM], which must be done in a timely manner to allow each person adequate review and analysis of the proposal [including all PIs and their chairs, center directors, and deans].
• Forward the complete proposal to the CHHS Pre-Award Administrator at least two weeks in advance of the sponsor deadline for normal proposal processing and to allow for adequate review by the CHHS Pre-Award Administrator and the Office of Research. Occasionally staff may be able to submit a proposal in a week, depending on the volume of other proposals that need to be submitted across the university. Proposals submitted less than two weeks before the deadline risk not being able to receive the same attention to review and revision, and risk a higher error rate, for which neither the CHHS Pre-Award Administrator nor ORS are responsible.
• The PI will review the application with the Pre-Award Administrator and give permission for the proposal to be submitted to ORS. ORS will do a final review and submit the proposal.
• If it is an application to NIH, the PI should review the application in eRA commons within the 2 day period.
• The PI should notify ORS and the Pre-Award Administrator, if PI receives award notification from Sponsor and forward the award document to ORS for processing.
• The PI should notify Pre-Award Administrator when notified that the proposal will not be funded/rejected.

Post Award Responsibilities

The fundamental responsibilities of the PI during the post-award phase of a sponsored research award include:

• Comply with all UNC Charlotte policies and procedures related to conduct of research, project management and personnel practices.
• Comply with all applicable sponsor rules, regulations and/or terms and conditions of the award.
• Review sponsor’s award document for technical and administrative requirements and ensure that the same are appropriate for completion of the project, including budget funding and timing requirements.
• Ensure that IRB, IACUC or IBC approval is obtained, if needed, prior to the receipt of funding, and that all policies and procedures relating to human or animal subject research or research involving recombinant DNA, as applicable, are followed.
• Ensure that project’s technical requirements are properly met and accepted by the sponsor and that the fiscal administration of the project is done in accordance with the budget approved by the sponsor at the time of award and is not exceeded; ensure that technical reports are provided in a timely manner to the sponsor.
• Ensure that expenditures are processed timely through the University channels; i.e., that requisitions are prepared and processed, and that purchases on sponsored projects are allowable and allocable.
• Ensure that all necessary approvals are obtained from the sponsor and documented in the file before making any restricted purchases, such as foreign travel or equipment purchases.
• Ensure that travel expenditures are properly approved, appropriate, and allowable.
• Ensure that permanent equipment purchased is properly tagged and tracked. At the conclusion of the project, the PI must ensure that the permanent equipment is retained by the University or returned to the sponsor [as applicable], as required by the sponsor.
• Ensure that environmental health and safety requirements are followed and prior approvals are obtained for hazardous substances purchases, and that labs are maintained in accordance with environmental health and safety standards.
• Initiate and process personnel hiring for the project through the department administrative assistants.
• Prepare the necessary documentation for a no cost extension, budget transfer or cost transfer in a timely fashion.
• Ensure that the PI and department administrative assistant forward all PI/Sponsor correspondence and copies of budget processes to the Post-Award Administrator so that a project file is maintained and kept up-to-date. In the event that the sponsor requests an audit, the project records need to be maintained for the length of time required by the ORS policies and procedures.
• Ensure that the University’s effort reporting and certification procedures are followed.
• Ensure that all mandatory and voluntary committed cost sharing is properly processed, tracked and documented in the file.
• Periodically, meet with the Post-Award Administrator to review the budget, and to ensure that any issues are addressed and corrected in a timely manner.
• Meet with the Post-Award Administrator toward the end of the project period, preferably not later than 90 days prior to the project end date, to review the budget and expenditures posted. If there are any changes needed, they can then be addressed and processed before the end of the grant.
• Assist in project close-out in accordance with the requirements of the ORS policies and procedures.

The Principal Investigator's responsibilities may be divided into two related but distinctly different sets of activities: those activities involving the management of the work of the project, and responsible spending of project funds. While the work of the project should drive the financial activities, sound management practices in both arenas are required. The financial stewardship of sponsored research funds is a shared responsibility with other areas of the University, among them the OSP.

Once a project has been funded, there is the expectation by both the Sponsoring Agency and OSP that the PI will responsibly spend the award. Sound fiscal management of sponsored research funds requires knowledge of and adherence to a prescribed set of federal and locally developed financial guidelines. Over the life of a sponsored research award, a researcher may initiate changes to a project that impact the management of these awarded funds. A PI must have a good understanding of the procedures associated with initiating financial transactions or changes to a sponsored research award's financial plan.

To facilitate the PI’s fulfillment of these responsibilities, the CHHS-OR and OSP is committed to assisting Principal Investigators in the administration of research and other sponsored activities.