Subgrants

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Collaborations among researchers from multiple institutions are common. RAS helps University of Alberta researchers send funds to or receive funds from co-investigators at other institutions. We call this a subgrant.

Key Points

  • the sponsor's terms and conditions or guidelines must permit transfers of funds to other institutions via subgrants or subcontracts.
  • the amount of funds to be transferred and the recipient's name should be listed in your application's budget, in the notice of award, or specifically approved by the sponsor.
  • you are responsible for notifying RAS to initiate the preparation of the subgrant letter or contract. Funds will not be released until certification requirements (human ethics, animal use, biohazards) are met by the recipient.
  • the recipient is responsible for providing the lead institution with scientific and financial reporting in accordance with the sponsor's terms and conditions. The lead institution then reports to the sponsor.
  • due to the high volume of internal collaborations, subgrant transfers between U of A co-applicants are not permitted.

Steps to Issue a Subgrant

  1. The principal investigator logs in to the Researcher Home Page, completes and signs the Request for Issue of a Subgrant form, and sends the form to their Research Partner. 
  2. RAS prepares a letter of agreement or contract between the U of A and the recipient institution and sends this document to the research office of the recipient institution for signing.
  3. The research office of the recipient institution signs the letter of agreement or contract, verifying that the recipient institution will administer funds according to the sponsor's terms and conditions and that funds will not be released until certification requirements are met (human ethics, animal use, biohazards).
  4. Upon receipt of this signed letter of agreement or contract, RAS transfers funds to the recipient institution.
  5. The University of Alberta remains fully accountable for all funds received from the sponsor, including the subgranted amount. RAS requests financial reporting from the recipient institution as required by the sponsor. Non-financial reporting remains the responsibility of the University of Alberta principal investigator.

Steps to Receive a Subgrant

  1. If the lead institute hasn't provided a letter of agreement or contract, the principal investigator contacts their Research Partner to request a letter of agreement or contract between their institution and the U of A regarding incoming funds.
  2. RAS receives, reviews, and signs this letter of agreement or contract, verifying that RAS will administer the funds according to the terms and conditions of the sponsor, and that funds will not be released until certification requirements are met (human ethics, animal use, biohazards).
  3. Because the U of A requires co-applicants to receive institutional signature on requests for funding, RAS will have a copy of the application on file and will be able to proceed with authorizing a project for the funds. RAS will notify the co-applicant by email when the project has been set up.
  4. If the applicant has not obtained U of A signatures (i.e., deans, chairs, etc.) on the application, they need to complete the University of Alberta Signatures form, sign it and obtain their chair's and dean's signature before taking the application to RAS for review, signature and project authorization.
  5. RAS will notify the co-applicant by email when the project has been set up.

Additional Information

Tracking the Status of a Request

You can track the status of your request using the Grants Life Cycle icon, accessible through the Researcher Home Page. Instructions for completing the online form and using the Grants Life Cycle can be found in the Guide to Researcher Home Page.

You can view the status of a subgrant request, along with the name and contact information of the Contract Specialist (Agreement Administrator) assigned to the file, can be viewed by navigating to the Researcher Home Page (RHP), searching for the project in the Project Search box at the top of the RHP, clicking on the “open book” icon in the Grants Life Cycle column beside the relevant Project ID, and then clicking on the Sub-grant link.

Requesting Changes to an Existing Outgoing Subgrant

Changes to existing subgrants, if allowable by funding agency terms, can be requested using the online subgrant request form accessible through the Researcher Home Page. Instructions for completing the online form can be found in the Guide to Researcher Home Page.