Nova Southeastern University

Nova Southeastern University's Office of Grants and Contracts provides technical support in each phase of obtaining and managing awards from developing a concept for a project, through the activities of the project, to final reporting at the close of the project.

The services provided at the pre award phase are identification and dissemination of funding source information; liaison with funding sources; assistance with identification and conceptualization of projects/programs; assistance with preparation of pre-proposal or proposal; including budget preparation, review and submission of proposals; completion of assurances/certifications.

The Office of Grants and Contracts searches and reviews grant announcements and post them on its web site under Funding Opportunities. On a regular basis office staff is also available to assist you in completing a customized search. You can also explore different organizations in your area of interests. Please visit the Resources of our web where you will find various grant related information with a number of useful links.

• Read the complete program solicitation and description.
• What is the deadline?
• Is special access required for an electronic proposal module?

The Grant Officers (Pre-Award) in the Office of Grants and Contracts are responsible to assist you in all aspects of grant preparation and submission. Each Grant Officer is assigned to specific colleges and centers. To find out your assigned Grant Officer please visit the Grants and Contracts Staff page on our web site.

• Completed and signed Proposal Approval Record (PAR) Form
• Completed and signed PI/PD's Responsibilities Form
• Completed and signed Disclosure of Financial Conflict of Interest Form if you are submitting a PHS or National Science Foundation application
• Completed and signed Waiver of Facilities and Administrative Costs if the sponsor has a cap on F&A cost rates
• A budget which reflects appropriate F&A and fringe benefits have been applied.
• Special forms, biographies, publications, site description, experience, and letters of commitment/support.

The time necessary for review of an application varies with its size, complexity, completeness, and accuracy, care taken in its preparation and prior review, and availability of OGC staff. To allow for necessary corrections and revisions and for greater assurance that sponsor deadlines will be met, allow at least five full working days for OGC to review the proposal.

Proposals which contain exceptional or unique features including cost sharing commitments, conditions that necessitate legal review, etc., may require additional lead time.

Direct costs are those costs that can be identified specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy. Costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances must be treated consistently as either direct or F&A costs. Where an institution treats a particular type of cost as a direct cost of sponsored agreements, all costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances shall be treated as direct costs of all activities of the institution

Indirect cost rates, also known as Facilities and Administration (F&A), cost rates, are Federally negotiated rates that allow a grantee institution to recover certain costs incurred for joint or common objectives and therefore cannot be specifically identified with a particular sponsored project. These costs include general administration, building operation and maintenance, depreciation, and similar costs.

NSU's Facilities and Administrative costs rates are based on salaries and wages which exclude fringe benefits.

You will need to fill out a form Waiver of Facilities and Administrative Costs which should be signed by the appropriate individuals granting approval to waive NSU's negotiated F&A rates.

Current fringe benefit rates may be found on the OGC Web under NSU Fact Sheet

College and non-sponsor resources provided in support of sponsored programs; includes contributed effort and matching funds.

17th, 20th, & 22nd

To get the institutional information please visit NSU Fact Sheet on our web site.

The Grant Officer assigned to your college/center can assist you in the preparation of the proposal budget. Please allow reasonable lead time.

The interval of time, usually 12 months, into which the project period is divided for budgetary and funding purposes.

The total time for which support of a project has been programmatically approved. A project period may consist of one or more budget periods.

Effort expended on a sponsored project the sponsor does not compensate for; a form of cost-sharing.

The one individual designated by the applicant organization to direct the project or program to be supported by the grant. The principal investigator also referred as Project Director is responsible and accountable to applicant organization officials for the proper conduct of the project or program. Typically, this is a faculty member or administrator, who submitted a proposal that was accepted and funded by an external sponsor.

In addition to the principal investigator, Key Personnel are defined as individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of the project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not salaries are requested.

Consultant payments on sponsored projects must represent compensation to individuals who are NOT NSU employees and who render independent services that are needed for the performance of a particular project. Normally, consulting needs can be met from resources within the University community. However, if the expertise needed for the project is not available within NSU, then an outside consultant may be charged if all of the following criteria are met:

1. The consultants have professional skills or other special expertise related to the specific work on the sponsored project.
2. The skills or expertise of the consultant are not available within the University.
3. The consultant has a written agreement that clearly states the nature of the services to be provided; and
4. The amount paid to the consultant is reasonable in relative to the services provided, (some agencies cap the daily rate that can be paid for a consultant, and therefore, the OGC should be contacted for further guidance.)

Principal Investigators are advised to explain in the proposal narrative or budget justification that the specific skills or expertise of the consultant either do not exist within the university or are not readily available.

Also referred to as a subcontract or sub recipient agreement. A contract issued under a prime contract, agreement, purchase order, or grant for the procurement of purchased program-related tasks. Issuance of Sub-Award Agreements under a federal prime award is subject to compliance with federal law and all Sub-Award Agreements are subject to the terms and conditions of the prime award and the normal purchasing requirements of Nova Southeastern University .

Obtain documentation from each sub recipient's authorized official, including an itemized budget, with justification, a statement of work to be performed, and description of the sub recipient's qualifications to do that work, along with a letter of commitment signed by the authorized official. Many federal agencies require a completed cover sheet, certain certifications signed by the sub recipient's authorized official, and a completed budget form for the subcontract budget. The total cost of the subcontract is rolled up into your budget on a subcontract line (other costs). NSU F&A is calculated on the first $25,000 of each subcontract.

Subcontract: a formal agreement with an organization (not an individual) to perform specific tasks in support of the proposed project independent of the PI.

Consultant: an outside expert (i.e., non-NSU employee) in some aspect of the scope of work of the proposed project who serves on the project for a limited amount of time as an individual under the supervision/coordination of the PI. NSU personnel normally cannot serve as consultants on an award made to the University. Discuss any requests for exception to this policy with the Office of Grants and Contracts well in advance of submitting the proposal

Service Agreement: an agreement that generally results in the delivery of a product to the

University, such as translations, reports, position papers, abstracts, training, and web pages. Service agreements may be issued to either individuals or companies.

Subcontract: proposal (including statement of work), signed by person authorized by organization to make the commitment; detailed budget, including subcontractor's fee (if allowable) and indirect costs. Documentation must accompany the proposal to the sponsor.

Consultant/Collaborator: letter of collaboration (expertise to be provided, rates) and C.V.

Documentation must accompany the proposal to the sponsor.

The University policy and procedure entitled, Cost Sharing should be consulted and is available at If you have additional questions please contact the Office of Grants and Contracts staff

I plan to submit a proposal to a program that only accepts one (or a limited number of) proposal(s) per institution. What should I do?

The Office of Grants and Contracts should be contacted as soon as possible in the process to learn if any other university units intend to submit a proposal to the same competition. The OGC will contact all parties to determine if there are opportunities for collaboration and attempt to have parties reach consensus on which unit should take the lead and/or submit the proposal. If no decisions can be reached, the issue will be brought to the attention of the respective deans for resolution.

The method of submission is governed by (1) the sponsor's guidelines and (2) timing. Proposals may be mailed through the US Postal Service, sent by Federal Express, hand-delivered, faxed, or submitted electronically, which in some instances may need to be submitted by OGC. When the review process is completed and the authorized institutional official has signed the proposal, the investigator is called to pick up the proposal for transmission to the sponsor. When the OGC has received the proposal well in advance of the deadline, the investigator may request that it be transmitted by the OGC. Submission arrangements should be discussed and decided during the initial stage of working with OGC.

Yes. Please visit our Online Tutorial for detailed information.

Please Note: Should you have any question or concern regarding IRB issues, please visit our IRB web site or contact the IRB Administrator for further assistance.