• PI Effort
• Effort Certification
• Vacations
• Volunteer Researchers

PI effort

Most sponsors assume that PIs have teaching, research, and service-related duties during the academic year. For example, a PI who primarily conducts research probably also serves on committees, has administrative duties, or advises students. In addition, federal sponsors will not pay for time spent preparing proposals. Their auditors do not accept the argument that the employee prepared the proposal during nonworking hours. For these reasons, PIs cannot devote 100% effort to a sponsored project, unless it is an equipment or training grant (these are exempted by the federal government).

PIs are also responsible for using monthly and daily reports to monitor the financial aspects of their projects. Therefore, principal investigators are expected to provide a minimum amount of effort (1%) at some point during the year in order to manage the project. Such effort, if not paid by the sponsor, must be cost shared.

Effort Certification
 
Employees on sponsored projects are required to certify the percentage of time (i.e., effort) they devote to sponsored projects. Refer to the University on effort certification for further information.
 
The federal government instituted effort reporting as a requirement for funding. The University's policy is to certify effort for all sponsored projects, whether federal or nonfederal. Effort reporting provides the means to verify that salaries and wages charged to sponsored projects reflect the effort devoted to those projects. The effort reporting system, EGMS, generates the documentation necessary to confirm that the labor charged to the sponsored project is reasonable and accurate. Effort reporting also helps ensure the recovery of salary-related costs.
 
The effort certification system is comprised of Effort Certification Statements that are generated from payroll each academic semester.
 
Corrections are made to Effort Certification Statements by processing a Historical Salary Adjustment (HSA).
 
Transfers for salary charges must be made before the Effort Certification Statement is approved. See the cost transfer procedures for further information.
 
A sponsor has the right to perform an audit at any time to ascertain whether effort certifications are accurate and complete. Adverse findings could have seriously damaging effects for the University or individuals responsible for the project.
 
For more information about EGMS and effort, see SPA's Web site at http://www.ospa.umn.edu/effort/index.html.
 
Time spent preparing proposals must be charged to appropriate nonsponsored accounts. Therefore any employee paid 100% from sponsored projects cannot submit any proposals (federal auditors will not accept the argument that the employee prepared the proposal during nonworking hours).
 
The responsibility for administering effort certification belongs to the departments. Departments must establish a well-defined certification process that is understood by all employees who work with sponsored projects.
 
Training Services provides classes to assist with conducting accurate effort certification. Contact them at (612) 626-1373 or access their Web site.
 
For further information:

• Effort Webpage.
• on effort certification statements, contact the Effort Helpline at (612) 625-7824.
• on HSAs, contact the Payroll Helpline at (612) 624-3869.

Vacations
Vacation time earned during the life of a sponsored project should be charged to that project prior to the project's expiration date.

Vacations are credited to the project account through the Accrued Vacation Transfer (AVT) process. To do this, use the electronic Journal Voucher document in Financial FormsNirvana and charge sub-object code of 9999-99. FFN will display a warning message during initial verification reminding users that by approving the documents, they are validating that staff earned vacation on the account during the dates listed. FFN will automatically route the new AVT documents to local Certified Approvers for their review.

Contact the Financial Systems Support Help Line at 612.624.1617 or fsshelp@umn.edu with questions concerning the AVT process.

Departments may call their SPA grant administrator to set up the 9999-99 transfer-code on sponsored accounts on an as needed basis.

Volunteer researchers:
Under certain circumstances, the University allows volunteer researchers to assist with conducting a project. The departmental human resources person must contact the Office of the General Counsel to obtain a draft agreement for this person. The agreement addresses certain issues, such as worker's compensation and intellectual property, that will impact these individuals.