CSWR Services to Researchers
Staff at the Center for Social Work Research (CSWR) work with School of Social Work researchers to ensure that proposals and projects comply with Sponsor guidelines, UT policies, and the requirements of UT Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). We encourage researchers to meet with us as soon as they decide to submit a proposal or contract so that we can advise on budgeting issues and UT policies relevant to sponsored research.
CSWR offers the following services to assist researchers with securing and implementing sponsored research:
Pre-Grant / Contract Services
Preparing & Submitting Proposals
- Meet with PI to review Sponsor guidelines, UT / external submission requirements, and to establish timeline for submitting to OSP for approval
- Prepare budgets and budget justifications that comply with sponsor and OSP policies
- Prepare proposal application forms and assemble "boilerplate" to Sponsor specifications
- Coordinate receipt of application materials from collaborators and subcontractors
- Submit proposal or contract to OSP, and serve as liaison between PI and OSP
- Submit proposal or contract to Sponsor, and serve as administrative liaison between PI and Sponsor while decision is pending
Post-Award Services
Accounts & Expenditures
- Meet with faculty upon award to review budget and purchasing, hiring, and travel procedures
- Work with UT Accounting to set up accounts and allocations, and serve as liaison between PI and the Accounting Department
- Process purchase orders, travel requests, vouchers, cash advances, payments for services, and Procard purchases
- Provide financial reports to PI's
- Provide financial reports to funding agencies
- Maintain bookkeeping and monthly account reconciliation for all CSWR accounts and sponsored projects
- Prepare year-end account statements for UT
Personnel
- Assist faculty with recruiting and hiring personnel, and assist new hires with personnel forms, keys, and space
- Make new and renewing personnel appointments
- Prepare bi-annual project personnel certifications as required by UT policy
IRB Support
- Assist faculty with submitting UT IRB (Institutional Review Board) applications, continuing renewals, and amendments
- Coordinate IRB proposal review with the Department Review Committee
- Assist faculty and new personnel with filing their human subjects certification
Below are a few UT policies to remember as you develop proposals for sponsored research:
Prior review: UT policy requires that proposals and contracts must be reviewed and approved by OSP prior to submission to Sponsor. OSP review generally takes at least 4 days.
Indirect costs: UT policy requires that all proposals and contracts include facilities and administrative costs (F&A, also known as indirect costs) based on UT Austin's federally-negotiated rate of 50% of direct costs. Exceptions may be made, subject to OSP approval, if the Sponsor has a written policy applicable to all potential proposers that deviates from these rates.
Tuition Remission for GRAs: In accordance with UT policy, sponsored projects that employ Graduate Research Assistants (GRAs) must be provide tuition remission, unless tuition remission is not allowed by the granting agency.
IRB Approvals: If your research involves human subjects, please be aware the UT OSP will not release awarded funds until IRB approval has been obtained. The timeline for IRB approvals, along with deadlines for submitting IRB applications for full-board review, can be found at Dates and Deadlines - ORSC Human Subjects.