ORSA Services

Street Address
1600 Millrace Drive Suite 106
Eugene, OR 97403
Phone: (541) 346-5131
Fax: (541) 346-5138
Research_Services@orsa.uoregon.edu

Mailing Address
5219 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-5219

The office building is open Monday through Friday from 8AM to 5PM.  Click on the "Staff" link for a listing of ORSA personnel phone numbers and e-mail addresses.  Please call ahead for arranging drop off or pick up of items at ORSA after hours, or to schedule an appointment after hours.

Services

The UO Office of Research Services and Administration (ORSA) works with the University community -- especially faculty principal investigators (PIs) and department grant administrators (DGAs) but also including UO administrative officials, business managers and affiliated organizations such as the UO Foundation -- to provide services in two main areas:

1) Proposal Preparation and Clearance --from application materials and budget assistance, to final review, official endorsement, and submission of proposals to funding agencies, public and private, for support of research, instruction, and public service projects.

2) Grant and Contract Administration --from inception by review, negotiation, and acceptance of awards, account set up, and contract and subcontract preparation, through the award's administration, financial reporting, and final closeout.

We invite you to contact ORSA (main office 6-5131) for assistance with any of the activities described here.

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Proposal Preparation and Clearance

All proposals submitted -- in hard copy or electronically -- by UO faculty, students or staff to external funding sources (public and private sponsors) must be reviewed, cleared and endorsed by ORSA on behalf of the University prior to submission. The following activities are handled by and through ORSA:

 

• Application forms and guidelines, required proposal certifications, and institutional information required by sponsors such as audit reports or tax ID.
• Assistance with proposal budget development, preliminary review and approval (expedited by fax or e-mail) of budgets before final proposal clearance. Budget instructions and rates are posted on ORSA's web site and updated annually.
• Compliance areas such as human subjects or animal use are certified on proposals as approved or pending approval by institutional committees.
• Final institutional review, signature, and transmittal letter for all proposals to ensure compliance with federal, state and University rules and regulations.
• A UO Proposal Clearance Form with the appropriate signatures must accompany each proposal throughout the clearance process. The form is available on ORSA's web site, in most departments, and by calling ORSA.
• Mailing of the proposal if all required copies are provided before the deadline.

Our staff can assist at every step of the proposal clearance process, which is described in detail in the Grant Administration Manual on the web.
Review and approval by ORSA of complete and final proposals usually take a day or less(!) provided there are no major problems with any aspect of the proposal. For electronic proposal submission, final proposals are required 24 hours in advance of the submission deadline. Early contact with ORSA staff is strongly encouraged to help ensure efficient and timely clearance and submission of all types of applications.

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Grant and Contract Administration

Awards are made to the University as the official grantee, or in special circumstances (for some private funds, only) to the UO Foundation on behalf of the University. The PI is responsible for the technical work but does not receive the award directly. ORSA manages grants and contracts for the University as follows:

 

• Receives, reviews and provides institutional acceptance of the official award document, both hard copy and electronic notices.
• Establishes a new fund account and assigns an Index number in the UO's financial system Banner FIS Grants Module in which the PI can charge expenditures and view details and balances for the project.
• Works with the PI, department grant administrators and funding agency staff to manage the award fiscally and programmatically throughout the project period.
• Prepares both subcontracts and contracts, including fixed-price and cost-reimbursement.
• Reviews and signs all contractual documents for sponsored projects.
• Prepares and files financial reports and submits periodic billings according to award requirements.
• Monitors agencies and advises PIs regarding changes in federal regulations and University policies on grant administration.
• Reviews, approves and notifies agencies of requests from PIs for administrative actions, including no-cost extensions, pre-award expenditures, grant transfers, rebudgeting, and official changes in PI.
• Reconciles account for final close-out, and submits final financial report to sponsor, along with other final documents such as equipment disposition and inventions reports.

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