The following is an archive of notes documenting the proceedings of the Maxwell Research Administrator Network Monthly Meetings.  Unit administrative staff with proposal development (pre-award) and/or grants management (post-award) responsibilities address together the research-related policies, processes, and best practices for Maxwell. 

PLEASE NOTE:  Agendas and notes from meetings after July 10th, 2024 are now posted on the Maxwell RAN Teams channel.  Please email Vanessa Gatmaitan vqgatmai@syr.edu if you would like to join the Team!  

JULY 10, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (ORD), Lisa Henty (Dean’s Office), Julie Davis (Dean’s Office), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Janet Coria (Sociology), Tara Slater (PARCC), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Emily Graham (Lerner), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (History), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

Updates

Fall start - 8/16/2024
Fall end date - 12/31/2024
Fall first pay - 8/31/2024
Fall last pay - 12/31/2024

Spring start - 1/1/25
Spring end - 5/15/2025
Spring first pay - 1/15/2025
Spring last pay - 5/15/2025

Full year start – 8/16/2024
Full year end – 5/15/202
Full year first pay – 8/31/2024
Full year last pay – 5/15/2025

General Discussion Topics

JUNE 12, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (Office of Research), Lisa Henty (Dean’s Office), Julie Davis (Dean’s Office), Janet Coria (Sociology), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Peg Austin (CPR), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Emily Graham (Lerner), (Christians Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

Updates

General Discussion Topics

MAY 08, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Debbie Toole (Geography), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

cc: Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Peg Austin (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner)

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

Updates

General Discussion Topics

MARCH 10, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Liz Lance (Dean's Office), Christiane Page (CQMI), Christina Cleason (HIST), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Tara Slater (PARCC), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), , Debbie Toole (Geography), Emily Graham (Lerner), , Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

Intros

Round Robin - recent awards and future proposals

Review of CQMI – Christiane Page

Updates

General Discussion Topics

MARCH 6, 2024 

In attendance: Vanessa Gatmaitan (Dean's Office), Shana Gadarian (ADR), Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Doris Mahoney (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (Anthropology), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Ashley DiCarlo (Economics), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Christiane Page (CQMI)

cc:  Emily Graham (Lerner), Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Christina Cleason (HIST), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

What is working well?  What would you change? (SG)

Intros

Internal Funding Updates

General Discussion Topics

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

In attendancePeg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Doris Mahoney (ASI),  Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc:  Emily Graham (Lerner), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),  Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

FY 2023 Indirect Cost Recovery Return to PIs

Faculty Creative Activities and Research (FCAR) Grant Program

Appleby-Mosher and Roscoe Martin Applications

Office of Research/Maxwell Research Office Updates

OCTOBER 24, 2023

FY 2023 Indirect Cost Recovery Return to PIs

Appleby-Mosher and Roscoe Martin Applications

Maxwell Faculty Research MyCodes

SEPTEMBER 28, 2023

Office of Research/Maxwell Research Office Updates

AUGUST 22, 2023

In attendancePeg Austin (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc:  Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Doris Mahoney (ASI),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE) , Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

Maxwell Research Support Overview on Answers

https://su-jsm.atlassian.net/wiki/x/uYWVCQ

SU Office of Research Development

RD and RA Org Chart Changes 

JUNE 27, 2023

In attendance:  Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Yetunde Hamilton (CEPA), Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Doris Mahoney (ASI),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),  Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR),Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE) , Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

OSP Budget Template (FY'24) 

Effort Reporting, cont'd.

University Fringe Benefit Rates for FY '24

Syracuse University Identifiers and Financial Information

MAY 23, 2023 

Fiscal 2023 Year-End Accounting Closing Procedures and Dates

Effort Reporting

Certification Calendar 

Certification PeriodCertification WindowEffort Period of Performance
Spring 2023May 30, 2023 – June 16, 2023Faculty: January 1 – May 7

Staff: January 1 – May 15

Helpful Links

APRIL 25, 2023 

In attendance:  Peg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Doris Mahoney (ASI), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),   Tara Slater (PARCC), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc: Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

Welcome to ASI and Maxwell, Doris! 

NCURA Annual Meeting, Aug 6-9 in DC

Summer Salary Rate of Pay

CUSE Grant Program 

Faculty Creative Activities and Research (FCAR) Grant Program

Onboarding for New Staff with Research-related Responsibilities 

MARCH 28, 2023

Updated IRR (March 2023)

Upcoming Research Administration Conferences (Fall 2023)

Please continue to share about the RA professional development in which you participate; see here for a curated listing. 

Cross-School/College Collaborations

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

In attendance:  Peg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),   Karen Tavernese (ASI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc: Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

Survey of Pre/Post Award School and College Positions - Due March 1

New NSF Requirement: Plan for Safe and Inclusive Working Environment for Off-campus Research 

Next week’s Maxwell Staff Open Information and Skills Sharing Session 

Maxwell GA Pay Rate AY23-24

JANUARY 24, 2023

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography and the Environment)

cc:  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),   Tara Slater (PARCC),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI),  Jackie Wells (ANT)

New NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy Effective Jan. 25, 2023

New NSF Proposals & Awards Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1) Effective Jan. 30, 2023

Requests to Waive Indirect Cost Recovery 

DECEMBER 20, 2022

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),   Tara Slater (PARCC), Karen Tavernese (ASI),

cc:  Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (ANT)

AY 2022-2023 Dean's Office Internal Grants Awarded

Contracts versus Grants

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

In attendanceLynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),   Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),   Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

Course Buyouts on Grants

Pre-award

Post-award

10a. To update an appointment by moving a portion of salary to the sponsored account, enter a chartstring change request.
For committed effort, use the award’s chartstring for allocated costs. For cost sharing or voluntarily committed effort, use an institutional chart string, adding the award’s “project tail” (i.e., project, activity, and budget reference numbers).

*From the Administrator New Award Checklist (Maxwell RAN resource on Answers)  

Suggestions for Future Meeting Topics

OCTOBER 25, 2022

In attendanceLynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),   Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

FY 2022 Indirect Cost Recovery Return to PIs

Appleby-Mosher and Roscoe Martin Applications

New Resource: Grant Application Workflow

SEPTEMBER 27, 2022

In attendance:  Peg Austin (CPR), Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc: Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Emily Graham (Lerner), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Proposal to Centralize Pre- and Post-award Research Administration for Academic Departments: Seeking Your Feedback

New Answers Page: Boilerplate Language for Grant Applications

AUGUST 23, 2022

In attendance:  Lynnell Cabezas (ASPI), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

Maxwell Research Support Overview on Answers

https://su-jsm.atlassian.net/wiki/x/uYWVCQ

Working with the Office of Sponsored Programs | Sept. 14, 10-11 a.m. ET | Zoom

Travel and Other Expense Reimbursements to Students 

JULY 26, 2022

In attendance:  Peg Austin (CPR), Yetunde Dozier (CEPA),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography), Jackie Wells (ANT)

cc:  Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Holly Johnson (Dean's Office), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell),  Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

JUNE 28, 2022

In attendance:  Peg Austin (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI), Holly Johnson (Dean's Office), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Karen Tavernese (ASI), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Jackie Wells (ANT)

Syracuse University Identifiers and Financial Information

University Fringe Benefit Rates for FY '23

The University has negotiated new fringe benefit rates with the federal government for fiscal year 2023 (July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023). These rates will be used for charging both sponsored (funds 13 and 91) and non-sponsored restricted (funds 15 and 16) chartstrings.

F&A Rates for FY '22 - FY '25

The University has recently finalized its federally negotiated F&A rate agreement with the Dept. of Health and Human Services, and this communication is to provide information regarding the application of the F&A rates from FY ‘22 through FY ‘25.  This rate agreement is different than prior rate agreements in that it employs a “stepped rate” approach for on-campus research, rather than a single negotiated rate over the four year duration of the agreement.  The University’s implementation of this rate agreement is presented in further detail below.

The four-year rate agreement, covering sponsored projects awarded between July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2025, is as follows:

  1. On-campus research, stepped rates per fiscal year period
    1. 50% = FY ‘22
    2. 49% = FY ‘23
    3. 49% = FY ‘24
    4. 49.5% = FY ‘25
  2. Training/ Instruction, rates stay constant from FY ’22 through FY ‘25, as follows:
    1. 34% for on-campus training/instruction
  3. Other Sponsored Activities, rates stay constant from FY ’22 through FY ’25, as follows:
    1. 35% for on-campus other sponsored activities
  4. Off-Campus Rate for all programs (research, training/instruction, and other sponsored activities), rates stay constant from FY ’22 through FY ’25, as follows:
    1. 26% for off-campus research, training/instruction, and other sponsored activities

Proposals are now being submitted with the new F&A rates.  The OSP budget template has been updated to reflect the new F&A rates, as well as, the updated Fringe Benefit rates for FY ’23.

Implementation plan for new F&A rates on sponsored project awards: In accordance with federal Uniform Guidance (Appendix III to Part 200), the F&A rate in effect at the time of initial award shall be utilized throughout the “life of the award.”  “Life” for the purpose of this guidance means each competitive segment of a sponsored project.

 See below for example award scenarios of On-Campus Research, and F&A rate determinations based on date of initial award:

  1. New Award for On-campus Research, awarded between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022:  F&A rate would be 50% for the life of the award. 
  2. New Award for On-campus Research, awarded between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023:  F&A rate would be 49% for the life of the award.
  3. New Award for On-campus Research, awarded between July 1, 2023 and June 30, 2024:  F&A rate would be 49% for the life of the award.
  4. New award for On-campus Research, awarded between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2025:  F&A rate would be 49.5% for the life of the award.

MAY 24, 2022

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Holly Johnson (Dean's Office), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner),  Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Summer Pay

Fiscal 2022 Year-End Accounting Closing Procedures and Dates

Effort Reporting

Certification Calendar 

Certification PeriodCertification WindowEffort Period of Performance
Spring 2022May 31, 2022 – June 17, 2022Faculty: January 1 – May 7

Staff: January 1 – May 15

Helpful Links

Spring 2022 SOURCE and Honors Grants

APRIL 26, 2022

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Holly Johnson (Dean's Office), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (PARCC),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Summer Salary Rate of Pay

Follow-up/Discussion from SPA Workshop on Supporting Research with the SAMtool

Onboarding for New Staff with Research-related Responsibilities 

MARCH 22, 2022

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Holly Johnson (Dean's Office), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Tara Slater (PARCC), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

SPA Workshop on April 6: Supporting Research with the SAMtool and Other Resources

Cayuse Update

Reminder: Maxwell Administrator New Award Checklist on Answers

Dean's Office Summer Project Assistantships RFP

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Maxwell GA Pay Rate FY22-23

Format for Vacant PIN Chartstring Change Comments

If 100% distribution to one chartstring:

SUID#:  123456-7890

NAME:  Tut, King

COMPENSATION AMOUNT (Contract):  $13,050.00

SEMI-MO RATE:  $3,728.57 (3.5 pays)

CONTRACT PERIOD:  5/8/21-6/30/21

If distribution to more than one chartstring:

SUID#:  098765-4321

NAME:  Harry, Debbie

COMPENSATION AMOUNT (Contract):  $25,555.20

     $10,222.08 on pr01161-001-01

     $7,666.56 on pr01234-001-01

     $7,666.56 on 11-21825-98765

SEMI-MO RATE:  $8,518.40 (3.0 pays)

CONTRACT PERIOD:  5/16/21-6/30/21

 CUSE Grant Program Submission Deadline: 5:00 PM, Thursday, February 24, 2022

JANUARY 25, 2022

Update for Sponsored Graduate Awards Processing from Graduate Awards and Sponsored Accounting

Graduate Awards and Sponsored Accounting have worked together to determine efficiencies in processing paperwork for sponsored assistantships. Going forward, a department should only use the attached Sponsored Tuition Form if the award includes a tuition chartstring with a project tail AND >0 credit hours. If you are paying for a student’s wages with a sponsored award but there are no tuition charges or the tuition charges are not being charged to a chartstring with a project tail you do NOT need to send to sponsored accounting for pre-approval. In these cases, please use the standard TA_RA recommendation form (Department Funded, see attached). Also, if you are only changing the chartstring that the PIN is being charged to, this happens via the chartstring change form. It is not necessary to send type of change to Graduate Awards for processing.  

FY 2021 Indirect Cost Recovery Return to Faculty 

AY 2021-2022 Dean's Office Internal Grants Awarded

2022 CUSE Grant Program Request for Proposals

Spring 2022 Trainings and Presentations from the Office of Research

Building Strong Proposal Budgets11/17/2021RecordingSlides

The SOURCE Fall 2021 Grantees and Spring 2022 Programs Announced 

NOVEMBER 23, 2021

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),   Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (Economics), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

SOURCE Update 

OCTOBER 26, 2021 

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (Economics), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

AY 2021-2022 Dean's Office Internal Funding Programs

Call for Proposals for Appleby-Mosher funding for faculty research and Roscoe Martin funding for graduate-student research went out on October 21. Proposals are due November 22.

No programmatic changes from last year, including the following reminder:  Under the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, affected research activities, including those that involve travel and/or face-to-face contact with human participants, must adhere to restrictions and modifications as described in the University’s Return to Campus Research plan.

Applicants are asked to apply via the Syracuse University Application Portal (see below) instead of by email as in years past. 

Requests for extensions to spend funds are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.

Syracuse University Application Portal

Managed by the Office of Research, the Syracuse University Application Portal (InfoReady) is an online platform that streamlines the process of applying for internal funding opportunities and limited submission opportunities. Jill is one of several InfoReady system administrators for the Application Portal; contact Jill with questions or to explore using the portal for internal funding programs within Maxwell. (See above for Appleby-Mosher and Roscoe Martin as current examples, though the competitions will disappear after the application due date of 11/22/21.) 

Upcoming Office of Research Events

Please remind your faculty! Below are upcoming Office of Research events, which were announced in its October newsletter.  Most past events are recorded and can be found on the Office of Research Trainings webpage.



The SOURCE: Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement 

Among other activities, The SOURCE awards funding to faculty to hire undergraduate research assistants: https://research.syr.edu/source/for-faculty/source-funding-opportunities-for-faculty/

Jackie N. spoke with Kate Hanson (SOURCE director) about how faculty currently receive funds (moved into research account) and new policies and processes in development where the SOURCE will follow the CUSE model to provide a SOURCE account code. Jackie will keep us posted if and as she learns more. 

SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (Economics)

Follow-up to Office of Research presentation, “Working with the Office of Sponsored Programs”

Syracuse University Postdoctoral Scholars Program

To further strengthen our identification as a student-focused and very-high-research-activity (Carnegie R1) university, Syracuse University will invest up to $1.4 M over two years to support up to 20 new postdoctoral scholars through its Invest Syracuse Initiative. 

Fall 2021 Research Administration Conferences

Consulting Agreements

Per the Administrator New Award Checklist, under Non-SU Collaborators:  

Forward Funding

AUGUST 24, 2021

In attendance: Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (Economics), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)  

JULY 27, 2021

In attendance: Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office),  Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Tara Slater (Economics), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)  

New Rebudgeting Spreadsheet from OSP

Reminder: Maxwell Administrator New Award Checklist on Answers

Internal Communications Committee Update

Update on Research-Related Travel

NSF | Updates to Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 

NSF has released a new PAPPG to be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021. Significant changes include:

NIH | Reminder: Implementation of Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page

JUNE 8, 2021

In attendance:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc:  Peg Austin (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

FY22 Fringe Benefits Rates 

Internal Funding Program Updates

2021 CUSE Grants 

CUSE Grant Program Page,  /wiki/spaces/osp/pages/162039155

2020 Roscoe Martin and Appleby Mosher Awards

Under the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, affected research activities, including those that involve travel and/or face-to-face contact with human participants, must adhere to restrictions and modifications as described in the University’s Return to Campus Research plan.

NSF Spring 2021 Virtual Grants Conference - Recordings Available Online 

Effort and Effort Reporting 

https://bfas.syr.edu/comptroller/resources/effort-reporting/

https://bfas.syr.edu/comptroller/resources/effort-reporting/effort-reporting-faqs/

https://policies.syr.edu/policies/administrative-and-financial/effort-reporting-and-summer-salary-policy/

https://bfas.syr.edu/comptroller/resources/training/effort-reporting-training/

https://bfas.syr.edu/comptroller/resources/effort-reporting/effort-reporting-glossary/

Format/Location for Summer Meetings

APRIL 27, 2021 

In attendance:   Peg Austin (CPR),  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science)

cc:  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

New Tuition Rate

The graduate tuition per-credit-hour rate has increased from $1,683 (FY21) to $1,734 (FY22) (see 3/30/21 email from Mary Pat). Grant proposals budgets should use the new per-credit-hour rate. 

FY22 Fringe Benefits Rates 

Not yet released/posted. Keep an eye out here: https://bfas.syr.edu/budget/ (scroll down to Links section). 

PD in RA: Building Budgets, IRB Overview, Post-award Grants Management

Upcoming sessions: 

April 28Building Strong Proposal Budgets (SU Office of Research; Peg Austin on the panel)

May 4 - An Overview of the IRB: Policies and Procedures with Jeanne Diederich (Maxwell's Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry; register here)

May 5 -  Managing Your Sponsored Funding (SU Office of Research)

Internal Funding Programs 

MARCH 24, 2021

Dean's Office Summer Project Assistantships 

Applications due April 21. RFP sent via email to all Maxwell faculty on March 17 and posted here

PD in RA: Building Budgets and Post-award Grants Management

  1. Reminder about upcoming Office of Research sessions:

    April 28 - Building Strong Proposal Budgets

    May 5 -  Managing Your Sponsored Funding

  2. Please continue to share about the RA professional development in which you participate; see here for a curated listing. 

Reminder: Additional Approval Requirements Still in Effect for Research during the Pandemic 

Additional approvals are still required for any Syracuse University Travel (SUT) and for face-to-face human participant research. See here for full guidance, or refer faculty and students to Jill. 

Reminder: Tuition on Grants and Voluntary Cost Share

From August 2020 meeting: 

FEBRUARY 23, 2021

In attendance:   Peg Austin (CPR),  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science)

cc:  Juanita Horan (Moynihan),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Grants Management of Internal (within SU) versus External Grants 

Discussions around (1) the fact that as Maxwell faculty get a greater number of internal grants, there are additional administrative tasks that fall to department, center, and institute staff; and (2) process differences around restricted funds like Appleby-Mosher versus other accounts. 

Effort Reporting 

Certification Calendar 

Certification PeriodCertification WindowEffort Period of Performance
Fall 2020February 22, 2021 – March 12, 2021Faculty: August 24 – December 31

Staff: August 16 – December 31

Helpful Links

Additionally, Jacquie shared a document to the Maxwell Admins listserv with navigation instructions to accompany Kelly Moshier's email of 2/22/21. 

GA Rate for AY2021-22

Per an email from Holly Johnson on 2/19/21, the Maxwell Research Policies are updated as follows: For the 2021-22 academic year (AY), rates for a full AY (fall and spring) 20-hour graduate assistant (GA) are $22,000 for PhD students and $17,000 for MA students, with 24 credit hours of tuition. For a 10-hour GA for the full academic year or a 20-hour GA for one semester, calculate rates and credit hours by half. For a 10-hour GA for one semester, calculate rates and credit hours by one-fourth. To budget for out-years, increase rates by 3%.

Reminders: NSF Proposal Workshop, CUSE Grant Program 

JANUARY 26, 2021

In attendance:   Peg Austin (CPR),  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Debbie Toole (Geography), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc:  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Amy Schmidt (CCE),  Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

New Campus-level Grants Trainings and Workshops for Spring Semester

Full listing here and registration links here.  In particular, please consider attending and encouraging faculty to attend the following sessions: 

Reminder: Tuition on Grants and Voluntary Cost Share

From August 2020 meeting: 

Reminder: University Travel Policy: High-Risk Destinations

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

In attendance:   Peg Austin (CPR),  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

cc:   Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

University Travel Policy: High-Risk Destinations

Faculty Additional Compensation

OCTOBER 27, 2020

In attendance:   Peg Austin (CPR),  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI),  Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell)

cc:  Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Essential Travel  

University-sponsored travel must be approved by the relevant chair, associate dean for research and the interim vice president for research.

Syracuse University has eased existing restrictions on travel deemed essential to an academic or business purpose of the University. For faculty, researchers, postdoctoral scholars and graduate students, essential travel is defined as travel required to (1) preserve the safety of a research subject and cannot be postponed; or (2) preserve the continuity and results of a research activity and cannot be postponed. 

In order to travel: 

FY 2020 Research Expenditures, Awards, and Proposal 

The Office of Research will post its FY 2020 Annual Report here in the coming weeks. 

AY 2020-2021 Dean's Office Internal Funding Programs

Call for Proposals for Appleby-Mosher funding for faculty research and Roscoe Martin funding for graduate-student research went out on October 2. Proposals are due November 16.

No changes from last year, with one exception noted in the cover email:  Under the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, affected research activities, including those that involve travel and/or face-to-face contact with human participants, must adhere to restrictions and modifications as described in the University’s Return to Campus Research plan.

Requests for extensions to spend funds are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis.

New Student Resources Added to the Maxwell Research Home Page on Answers 

See here

Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020

In attendance:   Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA),  Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

cc:  Peg Austin (CPR),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

Resuming Face-to-Face Human Participant Research 

National Listing of Institutional and Agency Responses to COVID-19 and Additional Resources

Hiring GAs

There really aren’t any guidelines for when to hire since so much depends on the particular needs of the faculty.  Part of what also plays into the timing, especially on the full GAs is who they are looking for.  Do they want a newly recruited student (if so, they should be working with their home department in that case) or do they need an ABD student who won’t need tuition? For the latter, it probably makes more sense to start looking after April 15th when most incoming students/GAs will be solidified and departments should have a good idea what their needs for the department will be for the fall.  If they want a new student, then they should be working with their home department earlier in the spring/late winter depending on the admissions cycle.  All that said, I think April 1st is a little early for having fall GA letters out, at least for returning students.  I don’t usually even start sending letters for returning students until after April 15th. I think May 1st for fall assistantships sounds reasonable.  For summer, I actually think May is a little late, especially if they are going to be working right after classes end in early May. 

 Also, it’s more typical for faculty to hire RAs for a full academic year.  We get some that are fall/spring, but they are less common.  Especially for students who would still be funded by their home department otherwise, it makes things a lot easier to do full academic years and not splitting whenever possible.  I think it’s easier for the faculty as well, although of course it depends on their funding situation.  In the case where they are splitting and need a spring-only GA, they probably are going to want to get this nailed down at the same time as the fall assistantships.  It’s really going to depend on what students are available and meet their needs.

Standing Invitation for Peer Demos 

   Award acceptance and project startup (7)

   Award management, e.g., monitoring award expenditures, monthly financial reports (6)

   Award close-out (6)

   Maxwell internal funding programs (6)

   Reviewing sponsor guidelines (6)

   Budget development (5)

   Cost share (5)

   Identifying potential funding sources (4)

   Effort (4)

   Financial Conflict of Interest Policy: what and why (4)

   Maxwell research resources, e.g., ICT (4)

   IRR Form: how and why (3)

AUGUST 25, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR),  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science)

cc:  Karen Cimilluca (ASI),  Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

Grant Proposal Budgets and IRRs

A. Reminder: Dean Van Slyke does not review Internal Routing and Review (IRR) forms; rather, the Dean has delegated authority to Andrew London, in his capacity as associate dean for research, to review and approve. 

B. Clarification/New Process: Per Maxwell Research Policies, budgets that include voluntary cost share require discussion and approval early in project planning and budget development—that is, well before the IRR routes for signatures. Examples include: 

In such cases, please send an initial draft of the internal budget to Jill Ferguson for review; as needed, Jill with consult with Andrew for pre-approval of the budget. 

In general, voluntary cost share should be a rare exception. As such, in most cases, budgets will not require pre-approval ahead of the IRR. 

C. Reminder: Please including supporting documentation and/or a note in the IRR routing email for situations such as the following:     

JULY 28, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Karen Cimilluca (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc:  Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Tenth Decade Project Special Call for Proposals 

New Shared Resources Added to the Maxwell Research Home Page on Answers  

Faculty and Staff Resources 

Finding Funding 

New! Funding Opportunities

Proposal Development Resources 

Proposal Library (Open Grants)   

NSF Application Toolkit

Grants Administration 

Administrator New Award Checklist 

Maxwell Research Administrators Monthly Meeting Notes  

Professional Development Opportunities in Research Administration 

Research

About 

New! Maxwell Research Policies 

Maxwell Internal Grant Programs 

New! Tenth Decade Project

Entering Payroll

JUNE 23, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Karen Cimilluca (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc:  Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Chartstring Changes Crossing Fiscal Years  

Per the following email from OSA, a prior issue with Chartstring Changes crossing fiscal years has been resolved. You can now enter chartstrings that cross fiscal years.   

From: Cathleen P Hayduke <cphayduk@syr.edu>
Sent: Thursday, June 4, 2020 1:16 PM
To: Kelly A O'Connor <kaocon02@syr.edu>; Melissa A Wike <mawike@syr.edu>; Liz Bull <ewbull@syr.edu>; Lynn Roundy <leroundy@syr.edu>
Cc: Toni M Besaw <tbesaw@syr.edu>; Cathleen P Hayduke <cphayduk@syr.edu>
Subject: Chartstring Changes

 Hello All,

 I want to share an update with all of you regarding Chartstring changes crossing fiscal years. The prior communication from Brian has now been amended.

 Prior:

Brian gave us the following instructions:

This fiscal year end dates would be as follows:

 Semi-monthly employees- on sponsored funds please input an end date of 6/30/20 for the sponsored chartstring and an effective date of 7/1/20 for the non­-sponsored chartstring.

 Weekly employees- on sponsored funds please input an end date of 6/24/20 for the sponsored chartstring and an effective date of 6/25/20 for the non­-sponsored chartstring

After discussions with Brian, Jim / HR, Mike, and myself, it was decided that since the Chartstring Changes inability to cross fiscal years last year has been resolved, we can now allow the crossing of fiscal years. If you recall, there was an issue with the effective dated rows and the processing of items using sponsored chartstrings that crossed fiscal years. This issue has been resolved.

 What this means, is that departments can now enter chartstrings that will cross fiscal years. The current limitation is: chartstrings can be entered that will either end one year after the current fiscal year (6/30/21), or the project end date, whichever occurs first.

This change is effective immediately. This changes should allow for improved workflow and management of sponsored awards.

Please feel free to share this with your department administrators.

 If anyone has any questions, or concerns, or wishes additional information, please let me know.

 Thank you,

Cathy Hayduke

Director, Office of Sponsored Accounting


Revised Travel Policy for Faculty and Staff 

NSF Application Toolkit: Standard Application Guidelines

MAY 26, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science),  Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Karen Cimilluca (ASI), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell)

Reminder: University's Fiscal 2020 Year-End Accounting Closing Procedures and Dates

Refer to May 19 email from Sponsored Accounting and May 15 memo from the Comptroller’s Office, which includes important information regarding requirements and deadlines to support the University’s fiscal 2020 year-end closing. Note that Sponsored Award deadlines differ from non-Sponsored deadlines.  

Reminder: Effort Reporting Certification Window is June 1-19

Overview

Certification Calendar 

Certification PeriodCertification WindowEffort Period of Performance
Spring 2020June 1, 2020 – June 19, 2020Faculty: January 1 – May 7

Staff: January 1 – May 15

Procedures

Off-campus Access to the Effort Reporting System (ERS)

Check-in on COVID-related Research and Effects of Shutdown on Active Projects

Maxwell Research Answers Page

Jill demoed this new internal resource, including how to:

Please send comments, questions, and suggestions to improve on and expand the pages. 

APRIL 28, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Karen Cimilluca (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC)

cc: Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Effects of COVID-19 Shutdown on Active Projects 

In each of your units, which active projects have been affected by the shutdown and how? (e.g., requesting no-cost extension, delayed fieldwork, other requests/inquiries to sponsors)

Related reminder: Guidance for Researchers and follow-up 4/24/20 email from ADR Andrew London

Waiting for further guidance from sponsors and OSP, but presumably yes.  

Waiting for further guidance from sponsors and OSP, but presumably the reimbursement should not come from the grant but rather another internal source such as the PI's faculty research account. The airfare credit could then be used at a later date for any research project, and grant funds could be re-budgeted to faculty summer salary, additional GA hours, etc., if appropriate for remaining effort/tasks on the project. However, this could raise concerns from faculty about having to pay from faculty research funds expenses that would otherwise be covered by a grant (current or future). 

Professional Development Opportunities in Research Administration

All: Please email Jill with information about the kinds of grants administration PD you have participated in and would recommend. Discussed initial leads, including OSP Awareness Sessions, Excel Training and Certification Program, LinkedIn Learning, SRAI, and NCURA. See Professional Development Opportunities in Research Administration Answers page for details.  

MARCH 24, 2020

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Jackie Nocevski (Campbell), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

cc: Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE)

SU COVID-19 Guidance for Researchers 

Guidance for Researchers and follow-up Maxwell email of 3/24/20 (appended  below). Important takeaways:  

Subject: RE: Guidance on Research / Please Circulate to All Faculty, Graduate Students 

From: Andrew S London <anlondon@maxwell.syr.edu
Sent: Tuesday, March 24, 2020 4:59 PM
To: Andrew S London <anlondon@maxwell.syr.edu>; Douglas V Armstrong <dvarmstr@maxwell.syr.edu>; Stuart S Rosenthal <ssrosent@maxwell.syr.edu>; Thomas A Perreault <taperrea@maxwell.syr.edu>; Norman Alan Kutcher <nakutche@maxwell.syr.edu>; William D Coplin <wdcoplin@maxwell.syr.edu>; Matthew Cleary <macleary@maxwell.syr.edu>; Prema Ann Kurien <pkurien@maxwell.syr.edu>; Renee de Nevers <denevers@maxwell.syr.edu>; Brian D Taylor <bdtaylor@maxwell.syr.edu>; Robert Bifulco Jr <rbifulco@maxwell.syr.edu>
Cc: Jill S Ferguson <jsfergus@maxwell.syr.edu>

 Maxwell Research Community,

 In accordance with the recent Guidance for Researchers from the Syracuse University Office of Research, the following is intended to provide additional information to assist with next steps for all ongoing research in Maxwell:

 For the purposes of assessing and managing impacts due to COVID-19, ongoing research falls into one of four categories, listed below. Principal investigators (PIs) should be certain about which categories their research activities fall into and thus the appropriate course of action for all project personnel, including faculty, staff, graduate students, and undergraduate students. For any project or activity where the determination is unclear, please contact Jill Ferguson or Andrew London in the Dean’s Office.

1.    Essential campus-based research

Effective immediately, PIs must scale back research activities to a minimum and report the essential research activities for approval to remain operational.  

2.    Non-essential campus-based research

Effective immediately, PIs must pause all research activities conducted by all project personnel (faculty, staff, and students) until further notice.  

3.    Non-essential human subjects research involving in-person data collection activities

Effective immediately, PIs must pause all research activities conducted by all project personnel (faculty, staff, and students) until further notice.  

4.   Research that can be conducted remotely (including human subjects research that limits participant interactions to online or remote communication, telephone contact, remote monitoring, remote data collection or secondary data analysis)

May continue as before

For any other questions about the impact of COVID-19 on research (e.g., late applications, salaries and stipends, travel, conference grants, no-cost extensions), please email your department/center research administrator, OSP research administrator (if externally funded), and Jill Ferguson in the Dean’s Office.

 Continued best of luck with your research, and take care,

Andrew

Dean’s Office Summer Project Assistantship Application Deadline

Applications due April 17

Administrator New Award Checklist: Current Final Version Date 3/24/20

Final version (dated 3/24/2020) posted in Word and PDF versions to MS Teams under “Files” and to the shared Dropbox folder.

FEBRUARY 25, 2020

In attendance: Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Peg Austin (CPR)

cc: Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Juanita Horan (Moynihan)

Off-campus Access to the Effort Reporting System (ERS)

From ERS FAQsERS is an administrative function within MySlice that can only be accessed from on campus or via a secure Syracuse network. If off campus, a VPN or similar secure remote connection must be obtained to access the system. If additional assistance is needed, please on contact your DSP (technical support personal) within your home department.

Summer Project Assistantship Programs across Maxwell

NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF-20)

 NIH FY2020 Salary Cap 

Administrator New Award Checklist: Revisions to Draft 

The current draft is here, including the following revisions based on meeting discussion: 

Jill will continue to circulate and revise, aiming for a final version to approve at the March meeting.

Graduate Research Assistantship Stipend Levels

Graduate research assistantship stipend levels seem to be the only Maxwell-specific rate that research administrators and faculty need to know in addition to OSP’s Syracuse University Identifiers and Financial Information.

Holly Johnson sent the AY2020-2021 rates to the Maxwell Admin Assistants distribution list on 2/25/20.

All: Please share with your research faculty for use in proposal budgets. 

JANUARY 28, 2020

In attendance: Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Peg Austin (CPR)

cc: Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Debbie Toole (Geography), Amy Schmidt (CCE)

Staffing Updates 

Policy Review: Special Considerations for Graduate Assistants – Fringe Benefits and Tuition

 https://sponsoredprograms.syr.edu/develop-and-submit-proposals/the-specifics/budget-development/preparing-your-budget/personnel-compensation/fringe-benefits/ 

There are two fringe benefit rates for Graduate Assistants.

1) The federal rate must be used on all federal awards and on non-federal awards where tuition is a direct charge. The federal rate may be charged on some non-federal awards provided that the student hasn’t previously received tuition support using the non-profit/foundation fringe benefit rate. In cases where the non-profit/foundation rate is waived, no tuition may be provided to the student.

2) The non-profit/ foundation rate may be used for graduate assistants proposed on non-federal awards for which tuition is not direct charged, but is an allowable cost. The higher fringe benefit rate may not be used for sponsors that disallow tuition as a direct cost.

 University Fringe Benefit Rates FY2019

https://bfas.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/University-Fringe-Benefit-Rates-for-Fiscal-2020.pdf

 Jill is detailing clarification on this topic to disseminate soon and discuss again at the February meeting. 

Administrator New Award Checklist: Revisions to Draft

All: Please review (marking edits, comments and questions with Track Changes) the current draft of a proposed Administrator New Award Checklist, saved here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1eknn2ky5mbcklu/AAD8jusLG2NDx1o6UTZd1YRda?dl=0

DECEMBER 17, 2019

In attendance: Peg Austin (CPR), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Sunju Raybeck (Campbell), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office)

cc: Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Debbie Toole (Geography), La’retta Castro (ASI), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Anthony Terrinoni (ASPI)

Initial Efforts to Develop Administrator New Award Checklist 

Award Acceptance and Project Startup

The action item from the November meeting was to work toward a shared resource for initiating a new award at the department level. During the December meeting, we discussed the process of award review, negotiation, and acceptance/execution in OSP. We identified key differences in the SU process compared to that represented in the VCU checklist example.

We noted that compliance considerations (e.g., IRB-approval for human subjects research, financial conflict of interest [FCOI] disclosure, responsible conduct of research [RCR] certification) should be incorporated into the Maxwell checklist.

Next step: Jill will make next-round revisions and redistribute to the group for comment. The following documents (saved to the Maxwell RAN shared folder) remain the basis developing this internal resource document; other examples are welcome and encouraged.

Maxwell Internal Funding Programs: 2019 Awards from the Appleby-Mosher Fund for Faculty Research and Roscoe Martin Fund for Dissertation and Thesis Research

For the 2019 cycle, 23 faculty members received Appleby-Mosher funding, and 43 graduate students received Roscoe Martin funding.

Jill is working with the Maxwell Communications Team on a formal announcement/news article. If you would like a list of your unit’s awardees in the meantime, email Jill.

SU Office of Foundation Relations

FYI re: SU Office of Foundation Relations: https://corporationsandfoundations.syr.edu/about/office-of-foundation-relations/services/

Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects Research 

FYI re: Institutional Review Board approval for human subjects research: https://researchintegrity.syr.edu/human-research/

NOVEMBER 26, 2019

In attendance: Amy Schmidt (CCE), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Roxanne Tupper (PARCC), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Jill Ferguson (Dean’s Office)

cc: Peg Austin (CPR), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA), Sunju Raybeck (Campbell), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Debbie Toole (Geography), La’retta Castro (ASI)

Report from National Science Foundation (NSF) 2019 Fall Grants Conference (Jill)

Presentation slides and webcasts available here.

Policy Update

Proposal Preparation

 Award Management

Award Acceptance and Project Startup

Review and comment on OSP resource:

Award Management Aids for PIs and Support Staff

Can/should we further develop this as a Maxwell shared resource? Are there other models? 

Additional OSP guidance to consider and possibly incorporate:

Clarification on Manually Terminating Positions in Payroll

Discussion for clarification from last meeting         

OCTOBER 22, 2019

In attendance: Sunju Raybeck (Campbell), Amy Schmidt (CCE), Jacquie Meyer (Political Science), Juanita Horan (Moynihan), Peg Austin (CPR), Katrina Fiacchi (CPR)

cc: Debbie Toole (Geography), La’retta Castro (ASI), Kathy Forrest (ASI), Alexandra Punch (Lerner), Heather Macknik (PAIA)

End Dates on Fund Accounts

Forward Funding

Maxwell Internal Funding Programs

Campus-wide Programs and Initiatives

Award Acceptance and Project Startup

We tabled this topic for the next meeting, both given the productive conversation noted above and to hopefully include additional group members in this discussion in November.