Dear Members of the BC Research Community,

Welcome to the second edition of the OSP newsletter, which was designed and prepared by the Office for Sponsored Programs (OSP) to help members of our research community better understand and enhance the research and sponsored programs at Boston College.

Much is changing in sponsored programs administration at Boston College. In this fall edition, we have highlighted issues of particular interest to departmental administrators. Included are articles about a project OSP is working on in conjunction with FMS to develop a new process for tracking mandatory cost sharing in PeopleSoft Financials, a process flowchart to assist you in processing expenses under the new expenditure review policy, and some frequently asked questions about our federally negotiated rate agreement, which contains a new F&A rate for "Other Sponsored Activities."

If there are topics you would like to see covered in the next edition of our newsletter, please contact us. In future editions we hope to highlight some of the exciting research activities on campus as well. If you'd like your sponsored project featured, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

OSP is working in conjunction with FMS to develop a process to track mandatory cost sharing in PeopleSoft Financials. This project is expected to go live early 2007. The revised cost share policy is in the process of being reviewed and will be distributed in the near future.

Mandatory cost sharing is defined as required contributions on the part of the University which are explicitly stated in the sponsor's program announcement and are identified and/or incorporated by reference in the sponsored project award document. If the University offers cost sharing in the proposal or application over and above the sponsor's stated requirements and the sponsor incorporates the proposal or application by reference in the sponsored project award document, the offered cost sharing becomes mandatory.

Soon, a new form will accompany PI notifications of major project events such as award, continuation, and extension. The form was developed to serve as a quick reference sheet, containing much of the essential information about your sponsored program. When receiving a new award, it remains critically important to read and understand the award document and the related terms and conditions. The new project action notification form will provide easy day-to-day access to information such as the PeopleSoft chartstring, start and end dates, and OSP contacts related to the grant. See a sample of this new form here. more

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