Required administrative procedures and processes to be followed when submitting proposals to all external sponsors are outlined below.

Note: The Office of Research fulfills several functions at AUS in the development and submission of proposals to external sponsors.
First, the Office of Research offers a variety of support to faculty members in the preparation of proposals. These services are summarized below in Section 4.1.
Second, the Office of Research is also responsible for routing proposals through the administrative sign-off process. This process is described in Section 4.3.
Third, the Office of Research is responsible for monitoring compliance of research grants to rules and regulations of sponsoring agencies and to US government regulations governing sponsored research at US universities as described in Sections 2.0, 3.0, 5.0 and 7.0.

4.1 Services Offered to Faculty Members during Proposal Planning and Development

The Office of Research assists faculty members pursuing external research funding during proposal planning and development. This assistance includes:

• Identifying potential funding sources for faculty projects or research
• Assisting in making initial contact with potential sponsors
• Reviewing and editing concept notes, pre-proposals and letter proposals
• Locating application guidelines
• Formatting and packaging proposals
• Developing a proposal budget

The Office of Research also provides important institutional information that could increase the likelihood of developing a fundable proposal. This information could include:

• AUS’s previous history with the sponsoring agency
• Current contacts within the agency and specific persons to contact
• Other AUS proposals in the pipeline to that agency and their status
• Pitfalls to avoid

4.2 Prior Approvals

In all cases, prior approval is required before a faculty member makes formal contact with a potential sponsor.

Faculty members should notify their chairs, deans and the Coordinator of Research of their intentions to contact formally an external funding agency or to submit a proposal to that agency.

Formal contact is defined as the submission of letters of inquiry, concept notes, white papers, pre-proposals, memoranda of understanding/agreement, proposals and any form of budget discussion. (Formal contact does not mean conversations with colleagues, meetings at conferences, telephone calls to potential research sponsors and brief requests for information that are the routine exchanges among professionals.)

4.3 Routing, Review and Administrative Approvals Process for Grant and Contract Proposals Submitted to External Agencies

All proposals must be reviewed and receive institutional support by AUS administration before being submitted to external funding agencies—whether these agencies are public, private, local, national or international.

All proposals are submitted to potential sponsors through The Office of Research .

AUS’s proposal administrative review process follow these steps:

Step 1: Proposals are first submitted to the appropriate dean’s office for review. The dean or his/her designee will recommend the proposal for submission by signing the AUS proposal and budget review forms (available at http://www.aus.edu/academic/gup/forms/index.php#graduate).

Step 2: After receiving recommendations from the dean’s office, proposals should be submitted to the Office of Research.

The Office of Research reviews proposals with respect to AUS policies and regulations governing sponsored programs and with respect to the potential funder’s application guidelines and other required regulations.

Faculty members should submit the following items to the Office of Research. These items must be submitted before a proposal can be circulated for administrative review and approval, and before being submitted to external sponsors:

• The complete proposal including technical proposal and budget

• AUS Proposal Routing and Review Form should be filled out by the principal investigator or project director (faculty or staff member conducting the research or leading the effort). It must be signed by the principal investigator/project director and the appropriate department chair and dean. When faculty from more than one academic department participate in the proposed project, all appropriate department chairs and deans must indicate approval by signing the AUS Proposal Routing and Review Form prior to submitting the proposal to the Office of Research. The AUS Proposal Routing and Review Form is posted at http://www.aus.edu/academic/gup/forms/index.php#graduate

• Budget Review Form should be filled out by the principal investigator/project director and reviewed and signed by the dean’s office. The AUS Budget Review Form accompanies the proposal when the proposal is circulated internally for administrative review. (It can also be used as the budget form for the proposal if the sponsoring agency does not have a required format). The Budget review Form is posted at http://www.aus.edu/academic/gup/forms/index.php#graduate

Note: If your potential funder has a required budget form or format—and most do—you may use that form for administrative routing instead of the AUS Budget Review Form.

• Signed and dated Conflict of Interest Form. Also see Section 7.0 for a discussion of AUS policies governing conflict of interest.
• IRB or ACC application if research involves human subjects or animals (see Section 4.4 below, and Section 2.0 and Section 3.0 of this guide for discussion of AUS policy on the protection of human participants and animals in research).

Note: Proposals may be submitted before the research has received IRB review and approval, but research involving humans must not be conducted until the research has received formal IRB approval.

• Other forms as necessary (for example, application guidelines and specific forms used by individual sponsors).

Step 3: After the Office of Research’s review, the proposal will be processed through the administrative review process. The proposal will be forwarded to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) with the recommendation that it be approved. Proposals involving UAE government agencies and businesses headquartered or operating in the UAE will also be reviewed by the Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs.

Step 4: Once the proposal receives VCAA approval, it will be submited to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration (VCFA) for financial review. The VCFA’s office reviews the proposal budget for budget accuracy and for financial implications for the university.

Step 5: When the VCFA’s office has recommended financial approval of the proposal, the Office of Research will write a cover letter for the proposal that the Chancellor, VCAA or his/her designee will sign. This cover letter will indicate that the University has reviewed and approved the proposal and is officially submitting it to the sponsor.

Note: With very few exceptions, almost all research funding agencies—private foundations and public sponsors of research and creative endeavor—require such institutional approval before proposals will be reviewed and funded.

The amount of funds requested and the proposed start date for the project will be noted in the cover letter. This letter will also indicate that the principal investigator/project director should be contacted about programmatic or technical issues and that the Coordinator of Research should be contacted on all other matters, including negotiating terms of an award.*

Note:

• Proposals must be submitted to the dean’s office at least one week before the proposal is submitted to the Office of Research for administrative approval.
• Proposals and full review packages as stipulated in Step 2 above must be submitted to the Office of Research for administrative routing at least one week before the external proposal deadline.
• The Office of Research will NOT process and submit any proposal that does not have dean approval as evinced by a signed AUS Proposal Routing and Review Form and Budget Review Form, if required.

4.4 Institutional Review of Research Involving Human Subjects and Animals

AUS complies with regulations of the US Department of Health and Human Services for the protection of human subjects involved in research (45 CFR 46 as amended and published in the Federal Register on June 18, 1991).

AUS applies the principles of human and animal subject protection to all research conducted at AUS—whether the research is conducted by faculty, staff or students, whether it is subject to US regulations or whether it is externally funded, internally funded or self-funded.

Therefore, all research proposals and protocols involving human subjects (this includes interviews, questionnaires and surveys) and animals must be submitted to the AUS Institutional Review Board for review and approval before the research is conducted.

The make up and review processes of the AUS IRB and ACC are described in Section 2.0 and Section 3.0, above respectively. Applications to the IRB or ACC are submitted through the Office of Research.

4.5 Signature Authority for Grant and Contract Agreements

A grant or contract represents a legal and binding agreement between AUS and the sponsoring agency—whether that agency is private, public, local, national or international.

* After the proposal is approved and the cover letter signed, the Office Research will make the required number of copies, submit the proposal to the funding agency and circulate internal copies. In cases where electronic submission is allowed or required, the Office of Research will submit the approved proposal electronically.

Note: Only the Chancellor of the University, or his/her designee, can sign a grant or contract agreement.

Further, it is contrary to the regulations of the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Department of Immigration/Ministry of Labour for an employee to provide tuition and/or consultancy outside of university hours and premises unless: (a) AUS approval has been granted and (b) the grant, contract and/or consultancy agreement has been signed by the Chancellor of the University or his/her designee.

4.6 Information Required in all AUS Grant and Contract Agreements

Most sponsoring agencies have specific grant agreement or contract templates and requirements that will be provided to AUS upon acceptance of the proposal and award of the grant or contract.
If the sponsoring agency does not provide a grant/contract agreement template, a grant or contract agreement between AUS and an external funding agency must include the following information, as a minimum:

1. Official registered name of the sponsoring agency and address
2. Name of contact within sponsoring agency (person who will oversee the project within the sponsoring agency), and contact details:
• Telephone:
• Facsimile:
• E-mail:
• Address if different from above
3. Name and address of the American University of Sharjah
4. Faculty member leading project or serving as principal investigator
5. List of project deliverables
6. Reporting requirements of grant or contract agreement
7. Project schedule and summary of activities
8. Budget, including:
• Percentage of salary and benefits of the involved faculty and staff covered by the grant, contractor consultancy
• Indirect cost rate charged against the grant (generally 27%).
9. Payment Terms: The grant or contract must be made payable to American University of Sharjah.

4.7 Post-Award Administration

The Finance Department, on receipt of the signed contract or grant, will create a fund within its chart of accounts specifically for this project (222xxx for contracts and 223xxx for grants).

This fund will be separate from all other accounts. The cost center used in coordination with the fund will be that of the relevant dean’s office cost center. Individual accounting lines within the fund will follow those stipulated within the grant or contract agreement.

The principal investigator receiving the grant will serve as budget manager of the grant, authorized to spend against the funds (within the purchasing, expensing and approvals policies and procedures and limitations of AUS and the sponsoring agency).

The budget manager will also be responsible for all grant and reporting requirements to the granting agency and the University.

If applicable, the Finance Department will notify Human Resources Services of the percentage of salary and benefits of the involved faculty and staff to be charged to the project fund and the period of time this charge is necessary as stipulated in the grant or contract agreement and as allowed by the sponsoring agency.

The budget of the fund will span the period of the project, which could be less or more than one year. The period could commence or terminate any time within a fiscal year. Funds will be carried over from one fiscal year to another as required and as allowed by the specific sponsoring agency.
Budget and expenditure information will be made available to the principal investigator through online access. Finance will additionally report monthly and as requested to the principal investigator/budget manager, the Office of Research, and the appropriate dean on budget expenditures. The principal investigator/budget manager is responsible for meeting the financial reporting requirements of the sponsoring agency.

4.8 Meeting the Requirements of the Sponsoring Agency

When a proposal is accepted by a funding agency, it becomes the principal investigator’s “contract” with that agency. The principal investigator/project director is now responsible for achieving the goals and objectives of the work outlined in the proposal—and for meeting all reporting requirements and delivering all products promised—within the timeframe and budget of the grant or contract agreement.

Note:

• The principal investigator/project director or faculty member leading the effort is responsible for meeting all technical reporting requirements and project deliverables. Assistance is available from the Office of Research and from the Office of Finance and Administration.
• Copies of all technical reports and project deliverables must be submitted to the sponsor through the Office of Research.