1. When do I close my project?
2. Do I need to notify Research & Grants Administration if I decide to be away from the campus on an interim or permanent basis?
3. Where do I get information on completing the application packet for the Institutional Review Board?
4. Where can I obtain the Institute’s 501 (c) (3) status document?
5. Where can I obtain the Institute’s current annual report and/or certified financial statements?
6. What is Financial Conflict of Interest?
7. What is Misconduct in Research?
8. What is Intellectual Property in Research?
9. What is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request?
10. If your grant agency sends you a letter related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), what should you do? 

Frequently Asked Questions

Policy/Compliance Related questions

1. When do I close my project?
   Project Closeout is a critical step in project completion. In Project Management, the purpose of project closeout is to assess the project, ensure completion, and derive any lessons learned and best practices to be applied to future projects. Sponsors have their requirements for project closeout. For example, for NSF projects the PI needs to submit a final report. Likewise, there are institutional matters that have to be taken care of like completing financial transaction, returning borrowed instrument(s), etc.
2. Do I need to notify Research & Grants Administration if I decide to be away from the campus on an interim or permanent basis?
   Yes. Please notify Research & Grants Administration if you: (1) withdraw from the project entirely; (2) are absent from the project during any continuous period of three months or more; (3) are substituted with an alternate individual This rule applies to a budget period, not a single quarter.
3. Where do I get information on completing the application for the Institutional Review Board?
   Please refer to the IRB web page.
4. Where can I obtain the Institution’s 501 (c) (3) status document?
   Please contact the Research & Grants Administration.
5. Where can I obtain the Institution’s current annual report and/or certified financial statements?
   Contact the Research & Grants Administration.
6. What is Financial Conflict of Interest?
   Financial Conflict of Interest can be defined as:
   1. A situation that has the potential to undermine the impartiality of a person because of the possibility of a clash between the person's self-interest and professional interest or public interest;
   2. A principle in which outside activities, relationships or financial interests of a recipient are determined to be proper or improper to prevent an individual from appearing to be motivated by private gain.
7. What is Misconduct in Research?
   Simply stated, misconduct in research is
   1. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the relevant discipline for proposing, conducting or reporting research
   2. A material failure to comply with University, federal or state policies regulating the use of human subjects, the welfare of laboratory animals, or other aspects of the conduct of research.
8. What is Intellectual Property in Research?
   Investigators need to consider the expectations of the sponsor related to intellectual property. Some sponsors seek control over publications and documentations, or require ownership of all intellectual property resulting from the research. Therefore, the investigators must be aware of the expectations of the sponsoring agency prior to engaging in the proposal and/or the project.
   The University's collective-bargaining agreement with the faculty contains provisions relating to intellectual property.
9. What is a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request?
   The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request is a request to your grant agency by another institution for a copy of your award winning proposal. The grant agency will contact you or the Research & Grants Administration to see if any information on the proposal should be redacted. Suggestions with justifications can be provided to the grant agency. However the grant agency will make the final call.
10. If your grant agency sends you a letter related to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) what should you do?
    Contact the Research & Grants Administration immediately. The Assistant Provost will work with RMU Counsel to resolve the matter. All efforts will be made to redact propriety information. As a Federally-funded HRSA grantee, you are accountable to the American public. They have a right to know how you are spending their tax dollars. Hence the grant agency will have the final say. The grant agency will redact what is permissible by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).