Transferring Funds

• Signatures (yours, your chair's and/or your dean's, and possibly sponsors, collaborators, etc.)
• Copy of the application, including the budget and scope of work
• Copy of the Notice of Award.
• Submission and approval of a new ERSO file
• Depending on your agreement, there may be other requirements as well

Collaborations among researchers from multiple institutions are becoming increasingly common. The following outlines the process involved in transferring funds between institutions for use by co-investigators. These transfers are called subgrants and are handled by Research Finance and the research office at the other institution(s).

Key Points

• The sponsor’s terms and conditions or guidelines must permit the issuance of subgrants or subcontracts.
• The amount of funds to be transferred and the recipient’s name should be listed in the application’s budget.
• Due to all the steps and correspondence required between institutions and, potentially, sponsors, researchers should allow up to two months for subgrant transfers.
• The principal investigators and co-investigators are responsible for finalizing the budget, and the principal investigator is responsible for notifying his/her research office to initiate the preparation of the subgrant letters or sub-contract.
• Funds will not be released until certification requirements (human ethics, animal care, biohazards) are met.
• The recipient of a subgrant must be either listed as a co-applicant on the application or on the Notice of Award and/or approved by the sponsor.
• For both incoming and outgoing subgrants, the principal investigator named by the sponsor will be responsible for the non-financial reporting.
• The lead institution is responsible for financial reporting.

Steps to issue a subgrant:

1. Research Finance prepares a letter of agreement or contract between UWindsor and the recipient institution and sends this document to the research office of the recipient institution for signature.
2. The research office of the recipient institution signs the letter of agreement or contract verifying that the 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).
3. Upon receipt of this signed letter of agreement or contract, Research Finance transfers funds to the recipient institution.
4. UWindsor is fully accountable for all funds, including the subgrant. Research Finance requests financial reporting from the recipient institution as required by the sponsor. Non-financial reporting remains the responsibility of the principal investigator.

Steps to receive a subgrant:

1. The principal investigator contacts their research office to request a letter of agreement or contract between their institution and UWindsor.
2. ORIS receives reviews, and signs this letter of agreement or contract, verifying that ORIS/Research Finance 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 care, biohazards).
3. Because UWindsor requires co-applicants to receive an institutional signature on requests for funding, ORIS will have a copy of the application on file and will, therefore, be able to proceed with authorizing a project for the funds. If the applicant has not obtained UWindsor signatures (i.e., deans, heads, etc.) on the application, they must submit an ERSO file for review and approval.
4. ORIS will notify the co-applicant by e-mail when the project has been set up.