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December 8, 2009 |
In this issue: |
Noon Hour Closure of RSO Campus Tower OfficesBased on operational considerations and effective immediately, the hours of operation for the offices of the RSO in Campus Tower are 8:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (8 a.m. - 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. - 4 p.m. during summer hours). Visitors who arrive at the RSO main entry door during non-operational hours may ring the doorbell to gain assistance from staff.
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Tri-Agency Financial Monitoring Visit DelayedThe Tri-Agencies (NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR) regularly schedule monitoring visits at Canadian universities to ensure an institution’s research administration policies and processes are in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding on the Roles and Responsibilities in the Management of Federal Grants and Awards. Earlier this year, the Tri-Agencies sent the University of Alberta notification that it intended to hold its next financial monitoring visit in March 2010. Over the past year, the Research Services Office has been focused on the implementation of a new grant management module for the administration of research grants, including those provided by the Tri-Agencies. This work culminated with the launch of Grants 2.0 on June 23, 2009. Since the launch, the RSO has been working through a variety of transition and implementation issues that have stretched its available resources. Recognizing the impact of this transition on the RSO, senior administration at the University of Alberta wrote the Tri-Agencies requesting a delay in the monitoring visit. The request noted the major process changes underway at the RSO and suggested that a delay would enable the University to fully implement all the Grants 2.0 processes. Thus, when the audit did occur, it would be focused squarely on these newly adopted research administration processes. Recently the University received a reply from the Tri-Agencies indicating that the financial monitoring visit would be delayed six to 12 months to ensure the impacts associated with the major system changes at the University would be fully implemented and operational. The Tri-Agencies will propose a new date for the visit in future communications. The RSO will ensure to advise the research community when the new date has been set.
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Grants 2.0 BacklogGrants 2.0, the PeopleSoft based, integrated end-to-end system solution for the creation, tracking and processing of research grants and contracts at the University of Alberta, has been in operation for just over five months. In the time period immediately following the launch, a backlog of research projects awaiting processing accumulated, and steps needed to be taken to deal with this backlog. Tracking of the backlog formally commenced on September 21st. At that time, 1,762 projects were on the backlog list. To be included on this list, a project had to have either:
Addressing the backlog became the RSO’s number one priority. Additional resources, from within and outside the RSO, were assigned to facilitate final processing of these projects. Significant progress has been made. As of December 1st, 1,228 projects have been finalized and SpeedCodes issued. Another 152 projects require only their final quality assurance check before they can be finalized. The remaining 382 projects are still in negotiations with sponsors or are awaiting additional documentation, such as ethics approval. While the backlog has been the focus of the RSO’s efforts, new awards (over 1,000 since September 21st) have been steadily coming in to the office. These too are being worked on and, as of December 1st, 533 of these new awards have been fully processed and SpeedCodes issued. With the backlog now in hand and new awards being processed on a more timely basis, the RSO is reallocating resources to deal with other ongoing financial matters, such as invoicing and the preparation of financial reports. The RSO will continue to keep the research community advised of progress on all these fronts.
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Authorization of Research ExpendituresThe Research Services Office is reminding Project Holders that they (or their authorized delegates) are required to approve all expenditures charged to research projects. This requirement is pursuant to the Tri-Council Memorandum of Understanding and the University of Alberta’s Research Administration Procedure (Roles and Responsibilities). RSO already meets periodically with administrators to ensure this requirement is understood, and we now include a reminder in all Notification of Awards that we send to researchers. RSO is also planning to include a reminder on the Researcher Home Page.
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New Fund Codes for ResearchThe launch of Grants 2.0 saw the introduction of two new externally restricted Fund Codes to the General Ledger Chart of Accounts. Fund 531 is intended to be used for "CSHBA" projects, which are those projects that do not receive a budget for researchers to spend against until funds are received by the University of Alberta. Fund 535 is intended to be used for "BUDBA" projects, which are those projects that are provided with a budget in advance of the receipt of funds for the researcher to spend against. All projects that existed prior to the launch of Grants 2.0 will remain in Fund 530.
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Federal Government Security ScreeningsThis information is important for Researchers/PIs who apply for funding or respond to Requests for Proposals to perform research or service for the Government of Canada. Certain Departments in the Canadian Federal Government direct the Canadian Industrial Security Directorate (CISD) to conduct security screenings prior to U of A researchers applying for funding, prior to the University being able to see, negotiate and handle the agreement to bring the funding in and/or prior to conducting the research or service. Recently, these requests from the Federal Government for Designated Organization Screenings and Document Safeguarding Capability Screenings have been brought to the attention of RSO. RSO consulted the appropriate bodies on campus. The conclusion was reached that due mainly to the type of information being requested, it is not possible for the University to comply with the requirements associated with security screening. When these clauses are found in a proposed agreement:
2. Provided the Government agrees to this amendment, the security screening must be discussed with the researcher. The researcher/principal investigator (PI) is the only one who can agree to disclose the personal information requested in the security screening process. If the researcher/PI agrees to the security screening, he/she is the only person who can work on that contract. RSO has developed an acknowledgement form that researchers need to sign if they agree to submit to the security screening requirements. The researcher cannot compel his/her staff to undergo security screening. If the Government does not agree to amend the agreement and/or the Researcher does not agree to the acknowledgment, the University cannot enter into the Agreement with the Government of Canada. >> Security Screenings Acknowledgement Form
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New NSERC Intellectual Property PolicyAs of December 1, 2009, all Intellectual Property Agreements arising from or related to an NSERC Award must contain the mandatory elements outlined in the new NSERC IP Policy. The RSO is updating templates to reflect the new requirements. The templates will be posted on the RSO website when they are completed. The posting of these templates will be communicated in a future issue of Research FUNDamentals. The new IP Policy requires two changes to the RSO templates:
2. Every effort must be made to deliver the maximum benefit to Canada. (Not contained in prior versions of RSO template). The new IP Policy lists several elements that must be addressed in IP Agreements arising from or related to an NSERC Award. For clarity, it does not dictate the way that IP must be owned or dealt with in an agreement. The manner in which the University deals with IP pursuant to its policies and collective agreements falls within the possible range of arrangements for access to research results developed wholly or partly using NSERC Funds that are accepted by NSERC, so the University is compliant with the new NSERC IP Policy.
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Alberta Research and Innovation ActChanges to Alberta’s research and innovation system will better align resources, making the system more responsive to researchers and entrepreneurs, more accountable to Alberta taxpayers, and more competitive in the global economy. Five new Alberta Innovates agencies will take effect January 1, 2010. The five agencies will be Alberta Innovates - Bio Solutions, Alberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions, Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions (formerly AHFMR), Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures and Alberta Research and Innovation Authority. The new organizations will come into being on January 1, 2010, when the Alberta Research and Innovation Act and regulation come into force. The new organizations realign 10 former provincially funded research and innovation organizations. A stronger and more aligned provincial research and innovation system will enable the system to focus on Alberta’s strategic priorities, and be proactive in delivering on those priorities. More information about these organizations will be made available by Alberta Advanced Education and Technology. >> Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
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