Division of University Research – Office of Sponsored Programs

Grant Transfer Overview

Grant awards are made to institutions and not directly to Principal Investigators (PI). When a PI moves from one institution to another with active grants, both institutions must agree to a grant transfer and follow any terms of the grant agreement regarding transfer of said grant. Transfer processes and responsibilities are detailed below.

Transfers to Rowan University (Transfer-In)

To begin the transfer-in process, PIs must:

1. Notify the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) staff at their departing institution, former department chair/Dean, and granting agency to receive pre-approval of the transfer. 
2. Provide their former institution’s OSP with their Rowan OSP Proposal Specialist’s contact information. 
3. Provide their Rowan Proposal Specialist 90 days prior to transfer’s effective date a listing of all grants they intend to transfer to Rowan University along with any equipment, subawards, transfer of personnel, facilities needed, etc.  
4. Contact the Rowan Office of Research Compliance (ORC) 90 days prior to transfer’s effective date for any grants that involve human subjects research, animal use activities, biological hazardous agents/materials and rsDNA, and existing research conflicts of interest. ORC will provide guidance as to what steps and applications are required to continue the work at Rowan University. 

Relinquishment by former OSP

The former institution must initiate the grant transfer process with the funding agency: it is the PI’s responsibility to work closely with the former institution on relinquishment. Delays in relinquishing a grant can result in a delayed project start at Rowan, research activity disruption, disruptions in personnel support, or even unilateral closeout by the funding agency if the grant expires before the transfer is finalized. Depending on the sponsoring agency, certain forms may be required from the former OSP during the relinquishment process (e.g. a relinquishing statement and final financial statement). Rowan OSP is not responsible for relinquishments that are delayed by the former institution, inaccuracies in the relinquishment documents, or costs incurred by the PI during the relinquishment and transfer process. If any complications arise during the relinquishment process, the PI should contact their former OSP.

Transfer-In Process for Rowan OSP

Once the grant is relinquished and a transfer amount is determined, the PI should work with Rowan OSP on required transfer documents. These documents vary by sponsor but a Proposal Specialist will advise (e.g. institutional approvals, an updated scope of work, updated budget using Rowan’s F&A rates, new subaward agreements). It is the PI’s responsibility to provide timely information and required forms to Rowan OSP. If any complications arise during the transfer-in process, the PI should contact the Division of University Research.

Upon completion of all required documentation, the sponsor (according to their policy) will issue to Rowan a new Notice of Award that will indicate the direct and indirect costs remaining on the award for use at Rowan, the start date of the transferred award, and other terms and conditions of the award. Once the transfer approvals are complete and Notice of Award issued to Rowan, any transferred equipment is now considered owned by Rowan and subject to Rowan University's asset tagging. All research funded equipment transferring to Rowan that requires network connectivity (i.e. requires an IP address) must adhere to all Rowan technology policies and will need to be checked in with the campus Information Resources & Technology (IRT department so the appropriate network configuration and software (e.g. antivirus, encryption) can be installed. This is the responsibility of the PI.

Transfers from Rowan University (Transfer-Out)

When a PI leaves Rowan University to another institution, they should obtain pre-approval for the transfer from their department chair, dean, and granting agency and notify Rowan’s OSP. This includes downloading and submitting to Rowan OSP the Transfer Out memo found on the Rowan OSP website. The PI should also provide Rowan’s OSP contact information to the OSP at their new institution, ideally 90 days prior to the move to the new institution. The PI must work with Rowan OSP to formally request a transfer with the funding agency. Depending on the sponsoring agency, certain forms may be required of each institution. For example, a relinquishing statement and final financial statement will likely be required from Rowan, and---upon relinquishment---documentation will likely need to be completed by the new institution (e.g. an updated scope of work, updated budget using their F&A rates, new subaward agreements, if applicable). It is the PI’s responsibility to work with both OSP offices to complete the transfer, providing timely information, required forms for both institutions, and following up as necessary. Upon completion of all required documentation, the sponsor (according to their policy) will issue a new Notice of Award to the new institution which will indicate the direct and indirect costs remaining on the award, the start date of the award, and other terms and conditions of the award. 

Once the transfer approvals are complete and Notice of Award issued, any transferred equipment is now considered owned by the other institution. Normally any equipment purchased using grant funding will transfer to the new institution at the cost of the new institution. Any university funds used as a match to purchase equipment should be evaluated for current value and that cost should be covered by the new institution. If equipment to be transferred includes licensed software provided by Rowan, Information Resources & Technology (IRT) will reimage the system to ensure all Rowan licensed software and security technologies (e.g. antivirus, encryption) are removed prior to the transfer of equipment to the new institution. The PI is responsible for backing up their research data and working with the vendor or new institution to reinstall any software required for use with the grant. When a PI moves to another institution and requests transfer of equipment to the new institution, the following standards will apply:

• Equipment purchased with federal funds may not be transferred to a for-profit institution.
• If an active grant is being transferred to another academic institution, equipment purchased on that grant may be transferred to the new institution in accordance with the terms of the grant.
• Equipment purchased with federal funds on a grant that is no longer active will be released only if the department chair certifies that the equipment is not useful to the other investigators in the department.
• For more details, see the Fixed Asset Policy of the Senior Vice President for Finance and CFO is available here.

The PI and department administration must identify, list, and categorize research materials, including location of research materials, and then the PI should certify the statement in writing. PI should provide Rowan’s OSP contact information at the new institution. Rowan OSP will prepare appropriate relinquishment document and get appropriate approvals according to the terms of the grant agreement, including details of direct costs, equipment, etc. that will be transferred to the new institution.  Sponsor will likely provide confirmation of close out with Rowan and new Notice of Award to new institution.

Transfer-Out Checklist:

It is the responsibility of the PI, in conjunction with their Rowan department administrator, the Division of University Research, Facilities, and IRT to ensure the following are reviewed, identified, and completed as required:

• Adherence to sponsor guidelines, policies, and procedures (all involved parties/units)
• Obtaining transfer pre-approvals, if necessary (PI)
• Submission of relinquishing statements (OSP)
• Close-out of grant funds, cost transfers, and payroll reallocations (OSP Post-Award)
• Subaward management including agreement modification or termination (OSP Pre- and Post-Award)
• Personnel management and disposition of grant-funded staff (PI and dept. administrator)
• Identification and listing of equipment related to grant or grants to be transferred (PI and dept. administrator)
• Review of research materials to protect any patent filings that have been derived from the research (PI and Office of Technology Commercialization)
  • Research materials, defined as a physical or electronic record of data and/or results that embody the scientific investigation, include the following: 
    • Research proposals, protocols, grant applications, progress reports
    • Laboratory notebooks, records, clinical trial records, emails and computer files
    • Cell lines, chemical compositions, specimens, and animals
    • Publication materials
• Review of research materials that include Protected Health Information (PI, Cooper Medical School at Rowan University’s and/or School of Osteopathic Medicine’s respective departments)
• Completion and submission of Final Invention Statements, Material Transfer Agreements, and licensing agreements related to patents and patent filings and protection of intellectual property (PI and Division of University Research)
• Identification and listing of hazardous materials (PI, Facilities, Office of Research Compliance)
• Identification and listing of research and teaching animals (PI, Facilities, Office of Research Compliance)
• Identification and listing of human subjects (PI and Office of Research Compliance)
• Closure of any existing, current Rowan approved IRB, IACUC, or IBC application after all other documents are complete, such as but not limited to a Materials Transfer Agreement or Data Transfer Agreement (PI and ORC)