Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Faculty Release Time and Faculty Direct Pay?
When should costs be budgeted at off-campus rather than on-campus F&A rates (IDC)?
What is the difference between a subcontract and consultant?
What is a vendor?
How long in advance of the Sponsor's deadline should the proposal reach ODURF?
How do I determine the dollar amount of a course for salary purposes?
Will adding cost-share to my proposal increase the chances of funding?
Does ODURF help me determine budget for non-personnel items?
Can someone else sign off on the Proposal Transmittal Form (bluesheets) for the Principal Investigator?
Who is responsible for uploading the files to NSF FastLane?
Do I need to apply to IRB/IACUC before proposal submission?
When should I contact the Licensing Manager for Intellectual Property or Technology Transfer concerns?


What is the difference between Faculty Release Time and Faculty Direct Pay?

Faculty Release Time is time that ODU faculty and staff members are paid from the Department and/or College to work on a sponsored program. This time is then reimbursed from the project.

Faculty Direct Pay is pay that is issued directly to faculty who are working on a sponsored project. 9-month faculty are eligible to earn up to 3 months of Direct Pay during the summer semester. 12-month faculty may be eligible to earn Direct Pay depending on the terms of their employment contract.

When should costs be budgeted at off-campus rather than on-campus F&A rates (IDC)?

The Off-Campus F&A rate (also known as indirect cost rate) applies for activities performed in facilities not owned by the institution or to which rent is directly allocated to the project(s). The Off-Campus rate should be used when greater than 50% of the "physical" work is being done at an off-campus site.

What is the difference between a subcontract and consultant?

Subcontracts are agreements with other entities ("Subrecipients") for a substantial programmatic contribution to the project. Subcontracts require specific approval of the sponsor thus your proposal must include, at minimum, a work statement, budget and subrecipient institutional official's endorsement for the services to be performed. Subcontracting arrangements are shown in the proposal to provide a clear delineation of the work to be performed by each organization and its cost. There also must be a complete budget itemizing the direct and indirect costs for each subrecipient. Upon award to the Foundation of the grant or contract, a subcontract will be awarded to the subrecipient institution.

Consultants are experts outside the University and Foundation who bring a particular expertise to a project that is otherwise not available within the institution. University faculty members are normally not eligible to receive compensation from the Research Foundation for consulting services on sponsored projects. Federal cost principles do allow consultation in unusual cases, and in those instances the faculty should be listed as project personnel. Federal agencies specifically prohibit the payment of consultant fees from federal monies to persons employed by the federal government. The Internal Revenue Service provides guidelines for determining if an individual should be categorized as a consultant or employee.

What is a vendor?

Vendors include companies from which goods and services are purchased. The goods or services are provided to many different purchasers, and often occur in the course of the vendor's normal business operations. Vendors are not involved in the programmatic work of the project, and do not prepare project deliverables or technical reports.

How long in advance of the Sponsor's deadline should the proposal reach ODURF?

Proposals must reach ODURF at least full five working days before the Sponsor's deadline.

How do I determine the dollar amount of a course for salary purposes?

ODURF cannot assist in calculating this amount. The Faculty member should consult his/her Chair and/or Dean to determine this amount

Will adding cost-share to my proposal increase the chances of funding?

There is no evidence that cost-share will increase the chances of funding. Some sponsors may require cost-sharing, and in these cases, the weight of the cost-share will be considered as appropriate to the sponsor's requirements.
Keep mindful that all cost-share expense must be tracked and reported.

Does ODURF help me determine budget for non-personnel items?

ODURF does not provide assistance for budgeting non-personnel items. The Principal Investigator should consider the scope of work and sponsor requirements when determining how much to budget for non-personnel items.

Can someone else sign off on the Proposal Transmittal Form (bluesheets) for the Principal Investigator?

Only with prior approval and under limited circumstances may another individual sign on behalf of the Principal Investigator. The PI should consult his/her assigned GCA well in advance of the deadline date to make these arrangements.

Who is responsible for uploading the files to NSF FastLane?

It is the Principal Investigator's responsibility to load all forms except the budget and budget justification into FastLane. The PI may work with his/her GCA to obtain assistance if needed.

Do I need to apply to IRB/IACUC before proposal submission?

While an application to IRB or IACUC is recommended, it is not a requirement of ODURF. If an award is made involving Human Subjects or animals, an account will not be set up until ODURF has received the IRB/IACUC approval.

When should I contact the Licensing Manager for Intellectual Property or Technology Transfer concerns?

Please contact Zohir Handy, Licensing Manager, (757) 683-5052, zhandy@odu.edu. He will be able to inform you of the proper requirements.