Introduction to Post-Award

Once a formal award letter, check, or contract has been received and executed by the university through the Office of Sponsored Programs and a fund number has been issued, Principal Investigators (PIs) can begin the work outlined in his/her externally funded project and expending research funds.

Managing the work of your award, tracking expenses, and complying with an award’s federal, university, and/or sponsor requirements is post-award administration. Post-award administrators play an integral role in successfully performing funded research projects by offering expertise in financial accounting and contract administration and serving as liaisons with academic departments and sponsors, the pre-award office, the Controller’s Office, and the Purchasing Department.

Their various duties include sponsor billing, post-award budget revisions, administering no-cost time extensions and cost transfers, subcontract processing, cost share monitoring, and award and contract close-out.

Responsibilities Chart

PI Responsibility	Post-Award Responsibility
Monitor day-to-day fiscal performance of project Monitor progress toward technical research objectives Understand any restrictions placed on expenditures by sponsors Along with Department, ensure cost share commitments are fulfilled and expenditures documented Complete Request to Issue Subcontract, if appropriate Prepare and submit final technical report	Review and approve cost transfers initiated by PI Review project account statements for allowable charges Secure prior approvals from sponsor Review, approve, and set-up cost sharing fund and documentation for sponsor Prepare and execute subcontract agreement Prepare and submit final fiscal report

Post-award administrators are assigned by sponsor and by your institution, college or department organization number. There are a couple of ways to determine who your post-award administrator might be on a particular project: the Project Authorization Notice (PAN) will have the administrator’s name at the bottom of the notice or you can go to the OSP Contact Us page.

If you have suggestions, comments, or questions on how post-award services can be more responsive, please call or e-mail Kamala Upadhyaya at 231-9372 or ukamala@vt.edu.

OSP FAQs