Procedures for the acceptance of offers for grants and consultancies to be managed by the ANU

Introduction

These procedures must be followed by University administrators for the review, negotiation and acceptance of offers for externally funded grants and consultancies to be managed by the ANU. This guide applies specifically to research agreements and contracts as described in the Externally-funded Grants, Consultancies and Contracts Policy and Externally-funded Grants, Consultancies and Contracts Procedures.

Section 1 explains the University Delegation for officers authorised to accept research funding contracts and agreements on behalf of the University.
Section 2 sets out procedures to be followed for administering (including reviewing, negotiating and accepting) research contracts and agreements.
Section 3 sets out additional procedures to be followed where:

1. The grant or consultancy funds are to be shared between two or more University budget units.
2. The grant or consultancy funds are to be shared with external collaborators.
3. The grant involves cash or in-kind contributions from sources outside of the administering budget unit.

Related documents:

• Research Policies, Procedures, Forms and Guidelines
• 2009 ARC Acceptances

Available Support

The Research Office is responsible for developing and maintaining the policy and procedures for the management of externally funded grants, consultancies and research contracts. Research Office support includes the Research Development Forum, Lunchtime Seminars, ad hoc advice on strategic issues, advice on University policies and procedures, and advice on delegations issues.

ANU contracts specific training is available from the Legal Office who are also available to provide advice to College Research Offices on specific contract related issues, including advice on negotiation and advice on amending specific clauses.

1. University Delegation to Accept Research Contracts or Agreements

1. Grant Agreements & Research Contracts
   Authority to sign all grant agreements and research contracts that DO NOT involve the commercialisation of IP.
   Up to $1,000,000: College Dean, Head of Budget Unit
   No limit: Director Research Office, DVC, Vice Chancellor
   Please note that University wide contracts such as ARC, NHMRC are reviewed and accepted on behalf of the University by the Research Office.

2. Consultancies
   Authority to sign consultancy agreements (which may involve the sale of IP)
   Up to $1,000,000: College Dean, Head of Budget Unit, Director Research Office
   No limit: DVC, Vice Chancellor

3. Collaborations with University Contributions
   Authority to determine the level and extent of the University’s involvement in a CRC, partnership, joint venture or other formal research collaboration where the University contributes cash or in-kind
   Up to $5M: DVC
   No limit: Vice Chancellor

4. Commercialisation
   Authority to sign all contracts involving the commercialisation of IP within portfolio responsibilities
   Up to $5M: DVC
   No limit: Vice Chancellor

Please note that none of the above delegations are transferable.

1.1 Authority to submit Grant and Consultancy Applications.

Please note that a separate delegation exists for Grant and Consultancy Applications:

Authority to submit applications for grants, research contracts, or consultancies on behalf of the University to any funding agency

• VC, DVC, Director Research Office, Director OSR

Please see the Delegations website for details of all Delegations under the Research Management and Research Services category.

The Research Office provides advice to administrators who are in doubt about who the University Delegate is for a particular contract or agreement.

2. Procedures for Administering, Reviewing and Negotiating Research Contracts and Agreements

2.1. Areas responsible for reviewing and negotiating research contracts

1. College Research Office
   The College Research Office is responsible for the review, negotiation and project management of all research contracts and agreements in their area (with the exception of contracts and agreements that the Research Office or the Office of Commercialisation is responsible for: see below). Where researchers have a pre-existing relationship with a client or external collaborators, a team-based approach to review and negotiate a contract or agreement should be used by the College Research Office and the researcher. Once a College Research Office has finalised the review and negotiation of a contract, they are responsible for providing advice to the Delegate about its suitability (or otherwise) for signature.
   Where a contract is being reviewed and negotiated by the Research Office or the Office of Commercialisation, the College Research Office is responsible for providing advice to the reviewer on issues that the area is not satisfied with or any other identified problems (e.g. if contract clauses are incompatible with project management plans, details of an award are incorrect, changed circumstances of investigators, etc.)

   College Research Office staff may seek advice from the Legal Office on more complex contract and negotiation issues, however the Legal Office normally does not review or negotiate contracts on behalf of a College Research Office.

2. Research Office
   The Research Office reviews and negotiates contracts and agreements relating to “batches” of grants from a scheme that are covered by a single agreement (e.g. ARC and NHMRC schemes), and some other contracts of importance to the University as requested by the DVC (e.g. involving major collaborations, major research facilities or the establishment of centres).
   The Research Office provides advice on policy issues to College Research Office staff, but does not review or negotiate contracts on their behalf.

3. Office of Commercialisation
   The Office of Commercialisation provides advice on, reviews and negotiates contracts and agreements relating to projects whose outcomes may include commercially valuable intellectual property, including projects involving commercial industry partners (including CRC agreements), and IP agreements.  The Office also manages the ANU’s relationship with ANU Connect.

4. ANU Enterprise
   The strategic purpose of ANU Enterprise is to generate funds for research at ANU. ANU Enterprise can be contracted to assist College research managers with the negotiation of consultancy agreements.

5. Legal Office
   The Legal Office provides advice to the College Research Office (or Research Office) on more complex legal contract and negotiation issues, however the Legal Office does not normally review or negotiate research-funding contracts on behalf of a College Research Office.

6. Important:
   The University Delegate makes the final decision about whether a contract or agreement will be signed. Administrative and research staff involved in negotiating contracts and agreements must advise the funding organisation/client of this.
   For audit and legal reasons, contract negotiations and outcomes MUST be documented in writing (i.e. on the RO-AC1 form, by correspondence with the funding organisation/client or by signed file note where verbal negotiations have been undertaken).

   Only the University Delegate has the legal authority to sign contracts or agreements on behalf of the University

2.2. Procedures for accepting grants, contracts and consultancies which are the responsibility of the College

2.2.1 Offer of grant or consultancy received

1. The funding organisation/client may send an offer of grant or consultancy to the applicant, the College Research Office, the Research Office or the Office of Commercialisation (the offer will usually be sent to the area who submitted the application).

2. The area receiving the documentation:
• Contacts the College Research Office to advise it that the offer has been received.

• Send a copy of the offer documentation to the College Research Office (if it does not already have a copy)

3. The College Research Office enters the basic award data into ARIES:
• Total $ awarded
• Start/end dates

• Progress step (to indicate that the offer has been received and forwarded to the area responsible for review).
  

4. The College Research Office will advise the researcher of details of the offer and set-up a meeting with the researcher to discuss the process involved in accepting the offer, the terms and conditions of the contract/agreement, and project management issues (see step 2.3) All documentation (including any further internal acceptance documentation) is then sent to the area responsible for reviewing and negotiating the contract (see 2.1 above).

2.2.2. College Research Office meets with researcher/s

1. The College Research Office will discuss:
• The processes involved in accepting the grant or consultancy (as described in these procedures)
• The terms and conditions of the contract or agreement
• Project management issues

2. There may be a need to hold this meeting in conjunction with the area reviewing the contract/agreement (e.g. for particularly large or complex projects).

3. Before this meeting the College Research Office should have undertaken an initial review of the documents. The College Research Office needs to be familiar and satisfied with the terms and conditions regardless of whether another area is responsible for reviewing and negotiating the contract/agreement, so that the researcher/s can be adequately advised, the reviewing area can be adequately advised of any local and researcher concerns, and the project managed appropriately.

4. Terms and conditions of the contract or agreement

The College Research Office must explain the terms and conditions of the contract to the researcher/s. The purpose is to (a) ensure that the researcher/s understand and are able to meet their responsibilities to the funding organisation/client; and (b) to consult with the researcher/s about any aspects of the contract that may require negotiation with the funding organisation/client. Advise the researcher/s that they must read the documents carefully before the meeting, and come prepared with any queries, problems, etc. that they may have. If there are co-investigators on the grant/consultancy who cannot attend the meeting, the researcher should discuss the documentation with them also.

Points to consider include (not exclusively):

• Budget issues. For example for consultancies have overheads etc been fully costed?
• How is the payment of fees and or salaries to be managed?;
• Intellectual Property Issues;
• Funds awarded lower than requested, or costs have increased since the application was submitted;
• The researcher/s want to revise the research plan;
• The researcher/s are concerned that the terms and conditions imposed by the funding organisation/client will impact on their ability to undertake the project, a research student’s ability to have their thesis examined, their ability to publish outcomes, etc;
• The level of cash or in-kind contributions needed from the Department, School/Faculty/Centre, University, partners have or may be changed (increased or decreased);
• Availability or eligibility of specified researchers, students or support staff has changed.

5. Project management

The College Research Office must discuss the project budget with the researchers to determine whether revisions are necessary and if revisions require internal and/or external approval. It must also advise researchers about any spending conditions (i.e. funding organisation exclusions, timing of expenditure to fit payment schedules, etc), set budget review dates for the duration of the project, and confirm researcher awareness of due dates for technical reports. If the project involves the appointment of staff or students, the researcher/s should be given advice on appointment procedures, salary/scholarship rates, etc or be referred to the appropriate officer for advice. Payment of salaries/stipends should be fully explored, and implications for account management should be taken into consideration.

After the meeting, the College Research Office must:

• pass on any concerns about the contract/agreement to the area responsible for review and negotiation (preferably by direct contact: if desired, these concerns may be documented in ARIES as a document attachment or a note).
• enter a progress step in ARIES to indicate that this meeting has occurred (not required, but highly recommended).

2.2.3 Contract review

College Research Offices are expected to develop and maintain expertise in contract review and negotiation. It is a University requirement that every contract be reviewed by appropriate staff in the College Research Office prior to making a recommendation to the appropriate delegate.

1. The contract is then reviewed. The area reviewing the contract/agreement uses the RO-AC1 form Contract/Agreement Checklist section to document the review and negotiation process. It is a University requirement that this review and any negotiation MUST be fully documented and kept on the University file.

2. The Contract/Agreement Checklist is designed to cover most issues that need consideration. In summary, the following perspectives need to be considered:
• concerns raised by the researcher/s and the College Research Office
• legal and financial
• University policy
• project management
• risk
• issues related to collaborations, partnerships, other Parties (i.e. other signatories to the contract

The ANU Research Contracts Manual is available to assist administrators undertaking the review function [Under Construction by Legal Office].

3. The Legal Office provides advice as required to staff undertaking the review function. The Research Office and Legal Office do not normally review or negotiate contracts on behalf of College Research Offices. Requests for advice must be specific about the issue/clause of concern, and not comprise of a request for a contract to be reviewed or negotiated.

4. If necessary, the reviewer negotiates aspects of the contract or agreement with the funding organisation/client. All negotiations must be documented either by formal correspondence or (if negotiation is undertaken verbally) by signed file note, including the outcome of negotiations. It is particularly important to document negotiations that have resulted in a final contract or agreement that does not comply with University policy or practice, so that
• the Delegate will know that appropriate effort has been made to protect the interests of the University as part of their consideration of whether or not they will sign the document.
• there is an adequate paper trail if legal action arises in the future or if the project is audited.

5. Staff negotiating a contract or agreement must advise the funding organisation/client that the University Delegate has the final say on the document being accepted by the University (i.e. the University Delegate may require additional changes/negotiation be undertaken if they are not satisfied with the contract).

6. Where the results of negotiation result in a final contract or agreement that still does not comply with University policy or practice, the reviewer must document their opinion of the potential risks to the University in accepting the contract or agreement.

7. The contract reviewer may also use ARIES to document negotiations with funding organisations/clients and may attach electronic documents to the relevant ARIES record (including the contract/agreement). This process is not mandatory; however it can be a very useful tool allowing all those involved to keep track of progress.

8. When the contract or agreement is finalised, the reviewer completes and signs the sections “Negotiation of the Contract/Agreement” and “Recommendation to the College research manager and Delegate” on Form RO-AC1: including the Contract/Agreement Checklist (i.e. the form already used in the contract review process).

2.2.4 Contract approval

1. Internal approvals on the RO-AC1 form

1. When a contract or agreement has been finalised, the reviewer prepares the following documentation package (appropriately organised and tabbed for ease of reference):
• Memo to the delegate recommending the contract for signature and outlining what is included in the package and what needs to be done with it.
• RO-AC1 form:– Authority to Accept External Funding (including Contract/Agreement Checklist)
• A letter of acceptance ready for the delegate to sign (use standard template)
• Final contract or agreement (required number of copies)
• Documentation of negotiations and outcomes
• The grant application/tender
• Any other relevant documentation and advice

2. The contract approval package is circulated for internal approval in the following order:

• First-named investigator (or the “principal researcher” for project management and administrative purposes): to complete and sign the “Investigator Certification” section of the RO-AC1 Authority to Accept External Funding form.
• Head of Department (if there is no Head of Department, please indicate in tick box): to complete and sign the “Head of Department: Updated Certification and recommendation to the Dean/Director and Delegate” section of the RO-AC1– Authority to Accept External Funding form.
• College research manager: to complete and sign the following sections of the RO-AC1– Authority to Accept External Funding form – “College research manager Consultation and Undertaking”, “College research manager: updated advice to HOD, Dean/Director and Delegate” and “College research manager Recommendation to the Delegate”.
• Director: to complete and sign the “Dean/Director: Updated Certification and recommendation to the Delegate” section of the RO-AC1 Authority to Accept External Funding form.

3. If the Director has instructed that the contract or agreement NOT be accepted by the University, then the College research manager must advise the researcher of the reasons.

4. At this point either:

• Further negotiations may be undertaken with the funding organisation/client, or
• The College research manager will contact the Funding Organisation/Client and formally decline the offer of funding (and update ARIES to indicate the offer was not accepted).
2. Delegate approval on the RO-AC1 form and certification of the contract/agreement

When all other internal approvals have been obtained the contract approval package is submitted to the University Delegate for consideration and approval (or otherwise). If the University Delegate is the Director Research Office, DVC or the Vice Chancellor the package must be submitted through the Research Office.

The University Delegate:

Completes and signs the “Delegate Certification” section of the RO-AC1– Authority to Accept External Funding form.
If a decision has been made to accept the funding, the Delegate signs, initials and arranges witnessing of the relevant copies of the contract or agreement.
If a decision has been made not to accept the funding, the Delegate’s office will advise the College research manager of the reasons for the decision. At this point the College research manager may either:
Undertake further negotiations with the funding organisation/client, or
Formally decline the offer of funding and update ARIES to indicate the offer was not accepted.

3. Submission of contract/agreement to funding organisation/client
   The Delegate will send the signed documentation back to the College Research Office, who will then send the relevant original contract/agreement copies to the funding organisation/client.
   The College Research Office updates ARIES including upload a copy of the fully executed contract
   That area will then submit a full copy of the contract approval package to F&BS Special Purpose Funds with a memo asking that an account be set up.
   Both the College Research Office and the first-named researcher will retain a set of the contract approval package.

2.2.5 Activating the grant/consultancy account

1. After Special Purpose Funds receives the contract approval package, it will:
• Update ARIES as appropriate
• Arrange for the creation of an “S” or “Q” account to hold the funds
• Arrange for the creation of an official “S” or “Q” account file
• Activate the account and advise the College Research Office of account details

2. The University’s original copy of the executed contract/agreement (that has been signed by all parties) must reside on an official University file, i.e.:
• On the official “S” or “Q” account file, or
• On the official University Subject file (e.g. for contracts/agreements covering batches of grants such as NHMRC/ARC)
• A pdf copy is uploaded into ARIES by the College Research Office

Staff arranging for the creation of official files must ensure that University Records are aware of “sunset” clauses or other reasons that a file should not be destroyed after the statutory period (e.g. for commercial reasons). Such files should be marked either “never to be destroyed” or “only to be destroyed with approval of X [Legal Office, DVC, etc]”.

3. After the College Research Office is advised of account details, it will ensure that any required approvals (ethics, safety, etc) are in place before allowing any funds to be committed against the account.

4. The College Research Office in liaison with the Researcher is responsible for ensuring day-to-day management of the project and its related finances is undertaken in accordance with the executed contract and relevant University and local policies.

2.2.6 Contract variations after project commencement

1. The College Research Office must check and then follow the variation conditions outlined in the contract regardless of whether the variation is requested by the investigators or the funding organisation/client. This normally involves a requirement to formally request a variation from the funding organisation/client.
2. Variations requested by the funding organisation/client must be discussed with the investigators to ensure (a) that the investigators understand the implications of the variation, and (b) to ensure the investigators are satisfied with the variation and that it will not affect their ability to complete the project.
3. The Delegate to sign a formal variation to a contract is the same as the Delegate who signed the head contract.
4. Approved variations must be entered in the relevant ARIES record.
5. If there are significant changes to the level of funding (in the considered opinion of the College research manager), the full acceptance process must be repeated (including completion and signature of the RO-AC1 form). If changes to the level of funding are not significant, or if the variation is minor (e.g. extension of time to submit a final report, changed end-date, etc.) a repeat of the full approval process is not necessary.
6. After the variation is approved, all documents must be placed on the University “S” or “Q” account file.

 

3. Additional Procedures

3.1. Grant or consultancy funds are to be shared between two or more University budget units

1. At the meeting between the researcher/s and the College research manager described at 2.3 above, the researcher/s must advise of how they have agreed to attribute research income between budget units for the purpose of the Higher Education Research Data Collection (i.e. attribution to be used for calculating DEST block grant income for each budget unit involved).
2. The College Research Office completes RO-AC4 form (Grants/Consultancies: Agreement for income shared between two or more ANU budget units) and circulates it to the Head of each involved AOU for approval. The College Research Office may request the researcher/s to arrange for these approvals.
3. If there is disagreement about how income should be attributed, they should be resolved by consultation between the researcher/s and Heads of the involved AOUs.
4. Once approved, the form must be submitted to the Research Office. The Research Office will record research income attribution on ARIES.
5. This process must be completed before the account is activated.
6. If any budget unit wishes to change the attribution of income after the project commences (e.g. if research plans are changed in subsequent years), the procedure outlined in this section must be repeated. Note that changes may not be able to be made retrospectively.

3.2 Grant or consultancy funds are to be shared with external collaborators

1. Many header agreements/contracts will set out the terms of the collaboration, including details of the distribution of funds between collaborators, whether the lead institution must subcontract a collaborator, etc. A header agreement/contract may include sign off from some or all of the collaborators, or only be executed with the administering university.
2. If the header agreement/contract sets out the full terms of the collaboration and the distribution of funds, and has been signed by all collaborating institutions, then the only additional action required is for funds distribution data to be entered into the relevant ARIES record.
3. If a subcontract is required, the College Research Office is responsible for arranging this in accordance with the requirements of the Funding Organisation (i.e. it must be consistent with the head agreement) and relevant University policies. This process should be undertaken as early as possible, and preferably before the project commences. Funds should not be transferred to collaborators until this process has been completed.
4. For ARC Discovery-Project Grants, ARC LIEF and NHMRC Project Grants ANU RO-AC5 (Agreement: Management of grant or consultancy between the ANU as administering institution and each collaborating institution) form or the Go8 agreed templates may be a sufficient form of agreement.
5. The Legal Office is able to provide advice and standard agreement templates to College Research Offices.

3.3 Grants involving cash or in-kind contributions from sources outside of the administering budget unit.

1. Many grants (especially large collaborative grants and infrastructure grants) involve the provision of cash and/or in-kind contributions from:
• The administering budget unit
• Other ANU budget units
• Central areas (e.g. the DVC Research Development Fund)
• Other organisations/institutions (e.g. collaborating universities, industry partners)

Such contributions are usually, but not always, specified and approved at the time of application. Please note that a written promise of contributions is not usually considered to be legally binding at time of application.

2. There may be reasons for contributors to want to change their level of contribution once an offer has been made, e.g.
• The amount requested in the application was not awarded in full
• Changed circumstances leading to a lower level of involvement in a project or changed access needs to infrastructure (e.g. if a named researcher has left)
• Changed financial circumstances of the collaborator, or changed management priorities (e.g. if an industry partner changes CEO or has been affected by market changes, etc.)

3. Once an offer has been made, the College Research Office (or the researcher/s, if requested) should advise all areas/organisations who have promised contributions of the amount awarded and confirm that the promised contributions will still be forthcoming. This should be done as part of the process of negotiating the agreement/contract and any required subcontracts, noting that changed contributions may require approval from the funding organisation.

4. Note the conditions imposed by those promising contributions (e.g. they may be subject to periodic reviews, dependent on a certain level of access to infrastructure, etc.) and by the funding organisation (e.g. the contract/agreement may specifically require cash contributions to be paid into the grant account and reported on).