IV. Research, Scholarship, and Creative Endeavors

Research Administration

The assistant vice president for research and director of sponsored programs has responsibility within the office of the senior vice president for research for overseeing the operation of the University's administrative support systems for faculty and staff engaged in grant and contract activity. The Administrative Committee on Research (ACOR) provides advice and assistance to the assistant vice president in the development and administration of research policies, programs, and procedures that apply to all University organizations.

Sponsored Programs

Faculty often require more financial resources to conduct their research than are available through general operating funds. In these cases, faculty are encouraged to seek additional funding from external sources. The solicitation of funds that will be awarded to the University to support a faculty member's project (a sponsored project), however, must be conducted through appropriate University offices, such as the Office of University Development or the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Assistance in project planning, budget building, and proposal preparation is available from a variety of offices and individuals, including the associate deans for research, University institute and consortium research directors, chancellors or directors of academic affairs, and departmental staff.

The Office of Sponsored Programs provides resources to the college research offices as well as individual faculty in locating funding opportunities for their projects by employing a number of national databases and services. Faculty can also search for current funding opportunities with tools available at www.research.psu.edu/osp.

All proposals and awards for sponsored projects at Penn State must be processed through the Office of Sponsored Programs at University Park or the Office of Research Affairs in the College of Medicine. Proposals and awards must be reviewed and approved by University research administration to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and University policies and procedures, especially any that involve human research participants. Faculty are not empowered to submit proposals, accept grants, negotiate terms, or execute contracts on behalf of the University.

Faculty can obtain more information on seeking external funding and processing proposals from the OSP website at www.research.psu.edu/osp.

Faculty Responsibilities

While sponsored funds may allow a great deal of freedom to conduct a project, they also carry a concomitant level of responsibility for proper stewardship. Each sponsored project must have a designated leader, a principal investigator or project director, who has the primary obligation to see that the terms of the grant or contract are fulfilled. To assist faculty in this responsibility, the University provides administrative services and has established procedures to help meet both sponsor and University administrative requirements. Faculty should contact their college research office for additional information.