Once Pitt receives your award, the activation process in PERIS begins. Depending upon your sponsor, award documents may be transmitted directly to you, to the Office of Sponsored Programs or to other offices at the University.
We detail the process below, including which offices are involved and who is responsible for which tasks.
Overview of the Award Activation Process
- If OSP receives your award directly, they will send a notification to your post-award administrator referencing the original proposal number. This notification is followed almost immediately by another notification that includes the University Award Number. NOTE: The issuance of an “AWD” number does not mean that the award has been activated, nor is it an indication that work on the project may begin and costs may be incurred. Rather, it simply acknowledges that an award document has been received.
- The post-award administrator in our office then reviews the award documents for any unusual terms, changes to the budget or any other discrepancies from your proposal submission. At the same time, your post-award administrator ensures that all compliance reviews and approvals are in place, including CITI Training Modules, IRB, IACUC and IBC approvals and any other applicable internal approvals.
- After the award has been reviewed, and all compliance documents and approvals have been obtained and uploaded into PERIS, the post-award administrator enters the award budget into PERIS. In most cases, this will be identical to the proposal budget; but in situations where the budget has changed since the proposal stage, either due to sponsor-requested changes or other changes to the project, the post-award administrator will incorporate these changes into the budget that is entered into the system, ensuring that the correct subcodes are used for each cost type.
- The completed award package is then routed to the Office of Sponsored Programs. OSP reviews the files for accuracy, completeness and compliance, and requests changes as necessary. After any necessary changes have been made, OSP approves the package and forwards to Sponsored Projects Accounting (not to be confused with our office).
- In the final step in the activation process, Sponsored Projects Accounting creates the account number for the main account and any subaccounts. At this point, the post-award administrator will notify the PI that work on the project may officially begin and costs may be incurred.