OSR Training Library

CBT: Submitting Prior Approvals and Budget Revisions
The Office of Sponsored Research is pleased to announce updates for two important research administration processes: Prior Approval Requests and Budget Revisions. New tools have been developed to streamline both processes for department users with a new form for each process that can be used universally across all projects. This Computer Based Training (CBT) walks users through all the steps required to using the new forms. The new forms and accompanying quick reference guides and instructions may be found in Forms & Tools (link to forms page).

Effort Certification and Reporting Technology (ecrt) Training
Certifying personnel effort on sponsored research projects is a regulatory requirement under constant scrutiny by the Office of the Investigator General, NIH, and other federal agencies. The ecrt training resource provides the training and resources to complete the required reporting.

CBT: Grants.gov Workspace
This Computer Based Training (CBT) provides users a guide to working in Grants.gov Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grants team may simultaneously access and edit different forms for a federal grant application.

National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Training
The NCURA Life Cycle of the Award webinar series offers training on several broad research administration topics that are relevant to many institutions. Individuals who complete the webinar series will gain insight and knowledge of the award lifecycle from proposal development through award management, and become familiar with a variety of compliance topics essential to research administration.

Symposium for Research Administrators
The annual UNC Symposium for Research Administrators is a forum used to provide campus department administrators the most current information on policies, regulations, and best practices for conducting research at the University.

Past Training Opportunities

• Society of Research Administrators (SRA) Training: Basics of Research Administration

Dates: April 27-28, 2017 and July 27-28, 2017
The purpose of this training is to provide participants with a broad overview of the various aspects involved in research administration. The 2-day intensive course will discuss all areas of research administration:

• Finding funding
• Pre-award
• Award acceptance
• Compliance
• Post-award

ecrt

Research Systems Training

RAMSeS Training
RAMSeS is the proposal submission system and award management system used for administrative management of all research agreements at the University.

Click here to access the RAMSeS Campus User Guide.

Cayuse Training
This is a proposal creation system, which corresponds with Grants.gov for submitting funding applications for specific Federal agencies.

• Introduction to Cayuse 424
• Cayuse 424 User Guide

ConnectCarolina Training
Training is provided by ITS, in collaboration with other central offices, on how to use the various applications within ConnectCarolina and InfoPorte for HR, Finance, Student Administration, and Research related activities. Click here for access to training for Research Administrators.

Upcoming Training

Calendar coming soon!

External Training Resources

• National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Education Opportunities
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grants Training
• National Institutes of Health (NIH) eRA Commons User Guides
• National Science Foundation (NSF) Toolkit
• Grants.gov User Help
• Society of Research Administrators International (SRA) Education Opportunities

Training for Researchers and Research Administrators

Office of Clinical Trials Training

• Clinical Research Updates
  Provides the most recent updates pertaining to clinical trials at the University, which was presented at UNC’s NRP June Meeting.
• Clinical Research Personnel Training

This training provides guidance and an overview on working as a clinical research personnel at the University.

• Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
  GCP is the international ethical and scientific standard expected in the design, conduct, performance, monitoring, auditing, recording, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials. Effective October 1, 2014, all UNC-CH investigators and research staff who are involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of clinical trials involving human subjects AND a drug, device, or biologic are expected to document completion of GCP training.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Training
COI Training is required for all individuals involved in research at UNC-Chapel Hill. The training will inform the individual of the University’s policies on conflict of interests, individual disclosure responsibilities and the Federal regulations on financial conflict of interests. Training must be reviewed and completed at least every four years.

Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Training
EHS provides guidance and training on how to understand and comply with regulations regarding biological, chemical, radioactive and other hazardous material used in research.

Finance Training
Training and documentation provided by the UNC Finance Office for ConnectCarolina and related finance applications, such as InfoPorte and ePro.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) Training
Training for campus personnel regarding protected health information (PHI) and its transmission.

Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Training
IACUC provides oversight of all animal subjects used in research at the University in compliance with Federal regulations.

Office of Human Research Ethics (OHRE) Training
Training provided for the ongoing educational process for Institutional Review Board (IRB) members, the staff of the IRB Office, campus researchers and their related administrative team on the ethical concerns and regulatory and organizational requirements for the protection of human subjects research.

• Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)
  All faculty and staff involved in Human Subject Research at the University must complete required CITI training related to the protection of human subject research.

Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS) Training Portal
This resource includes training from various central offices and centers involved in research at the University and provides a training tracking system for users.

Research Compliance Learning Community
A resource offered by the Research Compliance Program that includes training resources and contact information to aid campus researchers and department administrators involved in research at the University.

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training
A resource offered by the Research Compliance Program that includes the University’s Plan for Training in RCR along with helpful information for other research related resources.

• Center for Faculty Excellence Guide for RCR
• NC TraCS RCR Training Schedule
• Office of Postdoctoral Affair’s RCR Training Schedule

PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Download this guidance document.

Purpose

This guidance provides the standard of conduct for organizational conflicts of interest related to procurement actions using Federal funds in compliance with §2 CFR 200.318(c)(2). An organizational conflict of interest exists where a financial relationship between the University and an external entity compromises the integrity of institutional decision-making. Due to relationships with a parent company, affiliate, or subsidiary organization, the University may be unable or appear to be unable to be impartial in conducting a procurement action involving a related organization. The intent with this guidance is for the University to provide clear standards aimed at preventing any procurement organizational conflicts of interest from compromising its objectivity in the performance of its responsibilities.

Process

1. Office of Sponsored Research (OSR)

University

Identified procurement activities with affiliated entities of the University on Federal awards and those sponsors requiring Federal standards will be reviewed. The Conflict of Interest Program will be notified of the need for review on these actions.

Subawards

As part of the subrecipient process, subrecipients are required to complete the subrecipient commitment form, and all applicable terms and conditions are flowed down in the executed subaward agreement, indicating compliance where applicable.

2. Conflict of Interest Program (COI)

Review will be conducted under the standards set by Federal regulations and those used by the State of North Carolina. A bidding process shall be required for all situations in which a sole source justification is not necessary. Purchases can be made under N.C.G.S. 143-129(e)(g) which allows for purchases of apparatus, supplies, materials, or equipment to be made using sole-source exception when: (i) performance or price competition for a product are not available; (ii) a needed product is available from only one source of supply; or (iii) standardization or compatibility is the overriding consideration. In addition to these standards, the review may take into consideration other standards as applicable.

The review is not intended to replace or bypass the typical University review processes administered by the Office of Sponsored Research, the Division of Finance or other applicable University offices.

This review will be conducted by the COI Officer and the Director of Internal Audit or their designees. Documentation of their review will be maintained by the COI Program. A decision on the identified procurement activity will be required before procurement activities will be processed.

References

• Uniform Guidance (General Procurement Standards): §2 CFR 200.318(c)(2)
• N.C. General Statute, Procedure for Letting of Public Contracts: N.C.G.S. 143-129(e)(g)

RAM TRACKER TRANSPARENCY

Download this guidance document.

Purpose

Research Award Management (RAM) Tracker was created to assist OSR staff and leadership with day-to-day management of proposal and award transactions, providing real-time visibility into the status of transactions as they make their way through OSR. The RAM Tracker transparency feature enables individuals with access to proposals and/or awards in RAMSeS to view key RAM Tracker information via the Events tab on the Proposal Routing Status and Project Administration screens, as outlined below.

RAM Tracker Records listing

• Displayed via Events tab on the Proposal Routing Status screen and the Project Administration screens.
• Visible to anyone with access to the Proposal and/or the Award – contact the Backbone Role Manager to request access.
• List displays RAM Tracker ID, Project ID, OSR Receipt Date, Status, Transaction Type, Current Owner.
• RAM Tracker records are listed in reverse chronological order (newest at top).

RAM Tracker Record pop up

• The pop up for a particular RAM Tracker record may be accessed by clicking the RAM Tracker ID hyperlink from the RAM Tracker Records listing
• Information contained via the pop up includes:
• RAM Tracker Details: RAM Tracker ID and Title, Project ID/Project #/Proposal # (as appropriate), Sponsor name, Department, Lead PI, Responsible SPS, Current Owner, Date Created, Current Status, Transaction Type, Compliance Review Pending, OSR Receipt Date
• Transaction Status Overview: Log of status history including start and end dates for each status and a checklist of “In Process Activities” or “On Hold Reason” (as appropriate). List of Transaction Status definitions included as follows:
• OSR Receipt: A pending award or award-related action has been created and is being assigned to a Sponsored Project Specialist for review.
• SPS Review: A pending award or award-related action is currently under review by a Sponsored Project Specialist.
• Review: A pending award or award-related action is currently under review by a Research Administration Manager.
• SAM Review: A pending subaward action is currently under review by a Subaward Manager.
• SAS Review: A pending subaward action has been assigned to a Subaward Specialist by a Subaward Manager for creation or correction.
• Subaward Pre-Review: A pending subaward action is under review by a Subaward Specialist and being drafted.
• Negotiation: A pending award or award-related action is currently under negotiation between OSR and internal and/or external parties.
• On Hold: A pending award or award-related action is currently on hold pending action and/or information by/from a non-OSR Research Administration party and the Sponsored Project Specialist can do no additional work until that is resolved.
• Subaward Post-Review: A partially executed subaward action is under review by a Subaward Specialist and being prepared for final execution.
• Sent to Data Management: A pending award or award-related action has been fully processed by a OSR Research Administration staff member and has been sent to the OSR Data Management team for final processing.
• Completed: A pending award, award-related, or subaward action has been fully processed by all work units within OSR.
• Budget: Budget start and end dates and Transaction Amount; Subaward Site/Team Receipt Date
• Notes: List of RAM Tracker notes, including date of note, author of note, and message. Notes are listed in reverse chronological order (newest at top).

 


 

Proposal Routing Status screen, Events tab

• The Proposal Routing Status screen is displayed for all post-submission statuses (i.e., it is not displayed for Unsubmitted or Reopened proposals).
• RAM Tracker records are displayed via the Events tab for all proposals in statuses other than Dept Approval in Process, Not Funded, and Withdrawn.
• RAM Tracker records are listed via the Proposal Routing Status screen if the proposal number is referenced in the RAM Tracker record.
• Anyone with access to the proposal may view the Events tab, including the proposal Owner, proposal personnel, the proposal’s Primary Award Contact (designated via the IPF General Info screen), and those assigned the role in Backbone of IPF Approver or Proposal Data Access for the proposal’s administering or approving departments.
• Non-Admins, Read-Only Admins, and Admins all see the RAM Tracker transparency/campus view via the Proposal Routing Status screen Events tab.
• NOTE: Admins see the usual Admin/RAM Tracker listing via the Proposal Administration Events tab. (The Proposal Admin Events tab is not displayed for non-Admins or Read-Only Admins).

 

Project Administration screen, Events tab

• The Project Administration screen is available to anyone with access to the project’s award(s), including award personnel, the Primary Award Contact, and those assigned the role in Backbone of PS Project ID Manager or Award Data Access for administering or approving departments. (NOTE: Individuals with access to a proposal do not automatically have access to its associated awards).
• RAM Tracker records are displayed via the Project Admin Events tab up until the project end date has passed and the final financial report has been submitted.
• Non-Admins and Read-Only Admins see the RAM Tracker transparency view, and Admins see the usual Admin/RAM Tracker listing via the Project Admin Events tab.

 

RAM Tracker attachments – via Proposal Routing Status screen, Attachments tab (non-Admins, Read-Only Admins, Admins)

• Documents uploaded to proposal RAM Tracker records may be viewed by non-Admins, Read-Only Admins, and Admins via the Proposal Routing Status screen, Attachments tab. Non-Admins and Read-Only Admins see “All Parties” access documents only. Admins see both “All Parties” and “Admin Only” access documents.
• Proposal RAM Tracker attachments are grouped by RAM Tracker ID# in descending order (newest RAM Tracker records at the top). Multiple attachments uploaded to a given RAM Tracker record are listed in descending order (most recently uploaded attachments at the top).

 

RAM Tracker attachments – via Proposal Admin screen, Attachments tab (Admins, Read-Only Admins)

• Documents uploaded to proposal RAM Tracker records may be viewed via Proposal Admin, Attachments tab by Admins and Read-Only Admins. Read-Only Admins see “All Parties” access documents only. Admins see both “All Parties” and “Admin Only” access documents.
• Proposal RAM Tracker attachments are grouped by RAM Tracker ID# in descending order (newest RAM Tracker records at the top). Multiple attachments uploaded to a given RAM Tracker record are listed in descending order (most recently uploaded attachments at the top).

 

RAM Tracker attachments – via Project Administration, Attachments tab

• Documents uploaded to RAM Tracker records may be viewed via Project Administration, Attachments tab by non-Admins, Read-Only Admins, and Admins. The Project Attachments tab is a “master” list of all documents uploaded across all areas – as such, both proposal and project RAM Tracker attachments may be viewed. NOTE: For projects with multiple proposals, RAM Tracker attachments for all proposals are displayed via the Project Events tab.
• Only RAM Tracker attachments designated with “All Parties” access may be viewed by campus/non-Admins and Read-Only Admins.
  RAM Tracker attachments are grouped by RAM Tracker ID# in descending order (newest RAM Tracker records at the top). Multiple attachments uploaded to a given RAM Tracker record are listed in descending order (most recently uploaded attachments at the top).