Pi and Grant Transfers: Procedures

Internal Processing Activities

The PI and Department Administrator should complete the WMC Grant Transfer Request Form and obtain concurring signatures from the PI and Department Chairperson. The PI or Department Administrator will then forward the completed Agency Relinquishing Statement, the internal Grant Transfer Request Form, and any applicable attachments to the Grants & Contracts Office.

Grants & Contracts will review the request forms and then jointly review the PI’s research portfolio with the Department Administrator to determine any necessary action steps or remaining issues. If Grants & Contracts or the Department identifies open issues related to the transferred award or related subawards at any time during the transfer process, they should work together, and with the Finance Office, if necessary, to complete open items. When Grants & Contracts or the Department reaches a resolution related to these open issues, they circulate this resolution to all relevant parties, including the PI, Finance, and the new institution, as necessary. Potential questions or open issues to consider include:

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  Will any junior faculty members, such as graduate students, transfer to the new institution with the PI? If these individuals will still be working on the project, the PI and the new institution will need to set up a subaward with WMC once the grant is transferred.
  
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  Are there any Intellectual Property concerns? Grants & Contracts will coordinate with the Office of Technology Development if there are any inventions involved.
  
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  Was any equipment purchased with the grant, and will it be transferred to the new institution? If so, the PI must include a detailed list of the equipment as an attachment to the request.
  

Grants & Contracts will also contact all subrecipients to let them know there is an anticipated change to their contract end date, and they will issue an amendment to terminate the contract once the relinquishment date is known. Grants & Contracts should obtain signed amendments from the subrecipients as soon as the end date is known to terminate WMC’s legal and financial liability for the research. The new grantee institution and the PI will establish a new subaward agreement with the subrecipient.

The Grants & Contracts Office will review and institutionally endorse the Agency Relinquishing Statement and Grant Transfer Request Form. Grants & Contracts will forward this paperwork to the Finance Office. Finance will determine the amount of unexpended or unobligated funds to be included on the Agency Relinquishing Statement. The estimate should be conservative to ensure that there are sufficient funds retained to meet all obligations that may develop. Finance will then work with the Department Administrator on any outstanding financial issues such as personnel and payroll changes. If the change includes the transfer of equipment, the Department Administrator will make appropriate adjustments to the online equipment inventory and send a memo to Fixed Assets, noting the relinquished items and tag numbers.