Glossary - Grants Management

A Principal Investigator (PI), also referred to as the Project Director (PD), is the person designated on the grant application as the individual judged by the University to have the appropriate level of responsibility and authority to oversee the programmatic and administrative aspects of the proposed project. As a general rule, PIs should be full-time faculty members. However, in certain instances, management staff or affiliated Research Foundation employees can also serve as Principal Investigators.

The project budget is the financial plan for an award. When a grant application is submitted to the Sponsored Program Operations office, the Pre-Award and Contract Services department reviews the proposed budget in order to insure that:

• Anticipated costs were reasonable, allowable and pertinent to the proposed project
• Fringe benefit and indirect cost rates were accurate and correctly applied
• Cost categories were consistent with the Research Foundation Accounting System
• Any costs to be provided by the institution in the form of cost sharing are clearly identified and approved

Once a project has been funded and negotiations with the sponsor are complete, the Principal Investigator is required to ensure that project funds are expended in a timely manner consistent with the approved budget and in compliance with funding agency regulations and Research Foundation policy.

The scope of work is the plan of operation. It describes not only what will be done, but also how the objectives will be accomplished in order to meet the goals outlined in the proposal. The Principal Investigator is expected to carry out the activities and meet the timelines specified in the grant application. It is important to note that usually the scope of work cannot be changed without first obtaining the approval of the sponsoring agency. Funding agencies vary with respect to the procedures that need to be followed and the forms that need to be filed, to request a change in the overall project plan. The approval of the Operations Manager or designee is also required. The Sponsored Program Operations Grants Administration department will handle submitting the request to the sponsor when a change in the scope of the project is warranted. Contact the Grants Administration department for more information: Lisa Gatti at gattila@buffalostate.edu.