The process of transferring awards from one institution to another is not a simple matter and requires negotiation between the sponsor, the old institution and the new institution. The negotiations are carried on by the two sponsored projects offices in consultation with the principal investigator. Matters of concern are the form of transfer, determination of the unobligated balance, differences in F&A rates and the funding gap created by the time required to closeout and re-award the grant. The time involved can be several months depending on the complexity of the project being transferred.

PI coming to Duke

New Faculty Transferring Awards to Duke
To transfer awards received at another institution to Duke, a new faculty member must prepare a new proposal for each sponsored project. These proposals usually consist of:

• A revised budget showing Duke salaries, fringe benefits, and F&A costs.
• A budget justification.
• A project description that usually consists of a progress report and a description of the work that remains to be done on the project at Duke.

The transfer can take several forms:

1. New award to Duke - When an award is to be transferred in its entirety to Duke, the principal investigator's previous employer must formally relinquish the award and state the unobligated balance, and a new, Duke, proposal must be submitted to the sponsor. The sponsor then awards the grant to Duke.
2. Subcontract to Duke - When only a portion of the work is to be transferred, a new principal investigator is named at the former institution (with the concurrence of the sponsor) and a proposal is submitted to the principal investigator’s former institution which will then issue a subcontract to Duke.
3. New award to Duke with a subcontract back – When the majority of the work will take place at Duke but some remains at the old institution, a principal investigator at the old institution submits a proposal to Duke which is then incorporated into the proposal Duke submits to the sponsor. When the award arrives at Duke, a subcontract is written to the old institution.

F&A Rate Issues
If a project is being transferred in its entirety to Duke and if Duke's F&A rate is significantly higher than that of the principal investigator's previous employer, Duke will accept a lowered rate for the remainder of the budget year. It is expected that the full rate will be used in proposals for all subsequent years of the project.

When only a portion of the work is to be transferred, if adding a subcontract to Duke places a burden on the original project budget, Research Support is willing to negotiate F&A rates with the principal investigator's former institution.

PI Leaving Duke

Faculty Transferring Awards to a New Institution
Depending upon the type of award, the sponsor's policies, the relationship of the project to Duke, and the expectations of the principal investigator's new institution, there are several options for the disposition of active awards when the principal investigator leaves the University.

Option 1: Awards may remain at Duke in their entirety when the project is tied closely to the University. For example:

• The purpose of the award is to develop a new course designed to fill a niche in Duke's offerings.
• The grant is for equipment.
• The primary purpose of the grant is to fund students. For example, a training grant may have a group of students at Duke in various stages of training.

Option 2: In some circumstances the award may be transferred entirely to the principal investigator's new employer. This is the most likely outcome when the project is identified exclusively with the principal investigator and does not fund graduate students or other personnel.

Option 3: The project may remain at Duke, and a portion of the project may be transferred to the principal investigator's new institution through a subcontract.

Option 4: Conversely, the award may be moved with its original principal investigator, and a subcontract may be issued to Duke for the work remaining here.

Principal investigators should discuss the status of their awards and their plans for the future with their sponsors. Research Support will discuss the transfer with the sponsor's administrative staff to find out how the sponsor would like to proceed.

Procedures for Transfers
Procedure 1/Option 1: The entire project, with a new principal investigator, stays at Duke which continues to receive funding directly from the sponsor.

• A new Duke principal investigator must be identified and approved, in writing, by the sponsor.

Procedure 2/Option 2: The entire award, relinquished by Duke, is transferred to the principal investigator's new institution.

• Funds available for transfer – the unobligated balance - must be identified.
• Research Support, representing Duke, must formally relinquish, in writing, the project. (NSF and NIH have forms for this process.)
• The project will be closed at Duke in accordance with Duke and sponsor policies.
• Upon receipt of a proposal from the investigator at his or her new institution, the sponsor will re-issue the award to the new institution.

Procedure 3/Option 3: A project stays at Duke which continues to receive funding directly from the sponsor. A portion of the work is transferred to the principal investigator's new institution using a subcontract.

• The sponsor must approve a new Duke principal investigator.
• The Duke budget must be revised to include a subcontract and F&A cost issues must be negotiated by Research Support.
• Using the figure provided by Duke, a subcontract proposal must be prepared by the departing principal investigator's new institution and submitted to Duke.
• The subcontract and new budget must be approved by the sponsor.
• When approval is secured, Research Support will issue the subcontract.

Procedure 4/Option 4: The project is transferred to the principal investigator's new institution which will receive funding directly from the sponsor. The new institution will issue a subcontract to Duke.

• Funds available for transfer – the unobligated balance - must be identified.
• Research Support, representing Duke, must formally relinquish the project. (NSF and NIH have forms for this process.)
• Duke must identify an appropriate principal investigator and submit a subcontract proposal to the departing principal investigator's new institution, based on figures provided by the new institution.
• Any F&A cost issues must be negotiated by Research Support.
• The sponsor will re-issue the award to the new institution which will then issue a subcontract to Duke.

Identifying Funds Available for Transfer
The principal investigator and the department must work closely with the Office of Sponsored Programs to calculate the dollar amount that is unspent and available to be transferred. If Duke relinquishes too much money, because, for example, an outstanding commitment wasn't made known, it is very difficult to get that money back. Likewise, if Duke underestimates the funds to be relinquished, there is no mechanism for moving excess funds at a later date.

F&A Cost Issues
When a budget is revised to include a new subcontract, the cost of the subcontract should be included in the indirect cost calculations. However, the institution preparing the new subcontract proposal could also reasonably expect to include F&A costs in its calculations. This creates a burden on the original budget. Any reduction of direct costs to cover the F&A cost burden could affect the outcome of the project and would probably not be allowed by the sponsor. ORS will negotiate a fair distribution of F&A cost recoveries with its counterpart at the principal investigator's new institution. In practice, this usually means that each university will accept a lower rate for the project.

Equipment Transfers

Title to equipment never rests with an individual faculty member. Award documents will state whether title is vested in the sponsor or the university. If title rests with the University, written permission must be secured from the appropriate dean and the Provost before the equipment can be released.

If the sponsor or another government entity owns the equipment, written permission must be secured from the agency before the equipment can be sent to the principal investigator's new institution.