EXTENSION GRANTS AND CONTRACTS

Grants are an increasingly important resource for WSU Extension. As more traditional sources of funding become less dependable, new revenue streams will need to be found. Everyone in Extension is strongly encouraged to seek outside funding to support the programs that they consider high priority.

Request for Proposal (RFP) guidelines can be obtained from the Office of Grant and Research Development (OGRD), Extension Administration, or the various agencies or other entities that put them out. OGRD's home page at http://www.ogrd.wsu.edu/ is an excellent source for finding funding.

Steps for Submitting Extension Proposals

• Principal Investigator (P.I.) prepares proposal text and rough draft of budget. There is strong support in Extension to help faculty be successful in acquiring and managing grants. Department specialists work with their department finance/budget manager on budgets that are then approved by the CAHNRS Business and Finance Office (BFO) grants administrator. County personnel work directly with the grants administrator (who is also their finance/budget manager) at 509-335-2867 for help with budgets.
• Budget must be approved by grants officer in the CAHNRS Business and Finance Office, FAX 509-335-2926. This should happen two weeks prior to the grant deadline.
• Budget is finalized and incorporated into proposal where appropriate.
• P.I. completes and signs REX form. (Contact your finance/budget manager or the grants administrator for an easy electronic version of the Extension REX form.) P.I. then obtains approval and signature from county or department chair, center director, or branch campus dean.
• Complete proposal packet is prepared as follows: A signed REX form; original and required number of copies of proposal for agency, plus 3 copies - 1 for CAHNRS and 2 for OGRD; previously approved draft copy of budget with grants administrator's initials; and the RFP.
• Proposal package is submitted to grants administrator. This should be done at least 5 working days prior to deadline to ensure ample time for review and processing. Express mail is recommended for sending to Pullman from off campus.
• Grants administrator reviews proposal for adherence to RFP guidelines, acceptability of budget and matching, and authorized signatures. When approved, proposal package is delivered to Extension administration for review and signature by dean/director's office.

What Happens After the P.I. is Finished with the Packet?

• After review and signature by dean/director, proposal is returned to grants administrator who signs for the CAHNRS dean.
• One copy of the proposal package is retained for CAHNRS-BFO files and logging in the database of Extension proposals. The rest of the package is forwarded to OGRD.
• OGRD does the final review of the proposal. Once approved, a cover letter is prepared indicating that this is an authorized proposal from WSU. Proposal is forwarded to the agency.
• OGRD assigns a tracking number to the proposal, enters the proposal on their Information Management System, and retains two copies for their files.

NOTE: OGRD is the only WSU entity authorized to submit proposals.

All further correspondence regarding the proposal and any subsequent award information should be sent to OGRD.

Steps in Processing Award Documents

• WSU receives the award document (grant, contract, cooperative agreement, subcontract, Memorandum of Agreement, letter, etc.)
• Award goes to the Office of Grant and Research Development (OGRD). OGRD logs it in and forwards to CAHNRS Business and Finance Office (BFO) for review and approval.
• In BFO, grants administrator receives the award. The P.I. is contacted and provided a copy for review. (If P.I. is located in a department or research and extension center, the copy is forwarded to their finance/budget manager who should provide the P.I. with a copy.) Once approved, award is given to CAHNRS Administration to initial signature page. If Extension Director's signature is required, paperwork is forwarded to be signed.
• BFO assigns an account code, a copy of the award is made and a file is set up. The original and all copies of the award are forwarded to OGRD.
• Award is reviewed by an OGRD grant coordinator for compliance with WSU policies. If everything is acceptable, the director of OGRD signs the award for the University.

NOTE: No one other than the Office of Grant and Research Development is authorized to accept and sign an award for WSU. P.I. should NEVER sign an award.

• If the award was already signed by the agency when received at WSU, it is now an executed agreement.
• If the award was not yet signed by the agency or if changes are necessary, it goes back to the agency for signature or approval of any changes. The agency will sign and return to WSU. This is now an executed agreement.
• Once executed, OGRD retains a copy for their files, forwards a copy to the department/P.I., and forwards the original agreement, REX form, proposal, and all other information to Sponsored Projects Finance Office (SPFO).
• SPFO sets up the account in the university master account table, allocates the budget and sets up a file.
• SPFO oversees the post-award maintenance, including all billing and financial reporting, expense monitoring for adherence to grant guidelines, verification of cost sharing, and grant close out.

Managing the Project

Getting Started
Once the award has been received and we have start date, Extension can set up a "guarantee" account and get coding so the project can be started while the award works it's way through the WSU system to formal account setup. If you wish to do this, contact your departmental fiscal person (specialists) or the BFO grants administrator (counties) to have it done.

Be sure you follow normal hiring and purchasing procedures to incur any expenses on your grants. Make all purchases with a proper purchase order. Always have the grant coding and the proper hiring processes completed or the person assigned on the grant before starting someone working on the project. It does not happen automatically, you have to initiate the process.

If the grant budget includes a subcontract, you'll need to have a "Subcontract Information Sheet" completed and forwarded to OGRD to initiate the issuance of that subcontract. This does not happen automatically. Always have a signed subcontract with a subcontractor before requesting them to start work.

Monitoring Your Project Fiscally
Know what you budgeted and what your grant allows. If you need to purchase equipment not originally budgeted or if you need to rebudget the grant for some other reason, you need to determine what the grant will allow to be done internally at WSU, and when must go to the agency for approval. Any changes that need agency approval should be initiated by the P.I. and be forwarded through the BFO grant administrator to OGRD for forwarding to the agency.

The P.I. will receive monthly budget statements. Watch for incorrect charges and the proper posting of expenditures. If anything is out of line or there are questions, contact your finance/budget manager for clarification. Any errors need corrected as quickly as possible, and no later than 90 days after the posting.

P.I.s should monitor grant employees' time and use of annual leave. All annual leave earned on a grant is to be used during the life of the grant. There are generally no funds available in a grant to pay off annual leave at closeout. If the employee does not use the leave and there are no funds remaining in the grant, or if the grant does not allow leave payoff, the department will have to pay for it.

Cost sharing is an often overlooked area that needs to be monitored. Whatever was committed to in the proposal will have to be met and documented. Cost sharing of WSU faculty's time is documented through the Effort Certification Report system. If someone originally budgeted to work and cost share on the project does not end up working on the project, it is the responsibility of the P.I. to ensure that whoever takes over that portion of the work provides documentation of their time through effort certification. It may be an increase in the time of someone else on the grant, or someone new. Always let your finance/budget manager know of any changes. If the cost sharing is from local agency in-kind services or volunteers, that has to be documented for entry into the WSU accounting system.

Project Close-out
As it gets towards the end of the grant, it is important to keep a close eye on all purchases so the grant is not overspent. If the grant account is overdraft, the P.I. has to pay for those over-expenditures. It is also important to avoid late purchases that may be disallowed. For something to be purchased on grant funding it must be for use on that grant project. It is hard to justify any large purchases in the last month or so of a project.

Be sure all expenditures are in and paid in a timely manner for final billing. If a vendor is late in billing WSU for a cost, and the project is closed before the vendor invoice is received, the department/P.I. will be responsible for payment of that expense.

Be sure that cost sharing is all met and documented. If not, the agency can, and probably will, request repayment of a portion or all of the grant funds.

Be sure all final reports are filed. Agencies generally will not pay the final bill until reports are filed. If not filed, the agency can, and probably will, request repayment of the grant funds.