FAQ

If you are interested in submitting a proposal or have any questions about starting the process, you may contact Jennifer Kinney or Carlos Gonzalez.

Jennifer B. Kinney
Associate Dean of Research
646-592-6006
jennifer.kinney@yu.edu

Carlos Gonzalez
Sponsored Programs Officer
646-592-6014
carlos.gonzalez@yu.edu

If you already have an award and have questions about award management, you may contact Stella Lu.

Stella Lu
Assistant Director, Post-Award Finance
646-592-6013

For additional Sponsored Projects Points of Contact, please refer to our contact us page found here.

A sponsored program is a research, training, instructional, or related project supported by external funds that are received by the University on behalf of a member of the University, and for which the University is accountable. Such funds are provided because of formal communication with the sponsor such as a letter, application, or other written proposal signed and submitted by an authorized University official through OSP.

Sponsored program proposals are submitted by OSP on behalf of the University for the individual(s) who will have primary responsibility for the project, should an award be made. With certain exceptions, submitting proposals to external sponsors, public or private, is an institutional rather than individual function. That is, the University, rather than the PI, acts as the official applicant and legally has responsibility for the performance and administration of any funded project resulting from the proposal. However, the PI has responsibility for the appropriate conduct and management of the project. Under certain circumstances, a PI may submit a proposal independently, as for specific fellowship programs or foundations. PIs should carefully check sponsor guidelines to ensure that no University clearances or commitments are required for submission. Ask the OSP if you are not sure.

All tenure-track faculty are eligible to be Principal Investigators on a project. For non-tenure-track faculty and other employees, eligibility will be determined by a) what is stated in the eligibility statement in the funding opportunity announcement FOA), and b) by consulting your dean/department head for approval. Please reach out to our office if you need help determining eligibility.

Yes, there can be multiple PIs on a proposal as long as you can justify the need for multiple PI’s and if the funding opportunity allows it. When there are multiple P’s on a proposal, one is usually designated as the lead PI and the rest are considered Co-PIs or MPIs.

For experienced applicants and simple proposals, we recommend at least 2 weeks to ensure we can review and obtain all institutional approvals. For more complicated proposals, we recommend notifying us at least 1-2 months in advance, so we can create a proposal development project management plan and timeline with you. The sooner you notify OSP, the more support we can provide.

Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs - also known as Indirect costs, Overhead costs, or Administrative costs - cover crucial aspects of research and sponsored programs, such as departmental administration, general administration, library costs, subscription and IT systems costs, building utility and maintenance costs. Every university has a rate that is determined by the federal government, based upon geographic and operational data.

Fringe Benefits are direct employee associated costs that must be charged to a sponsored project on top of any salary request. Fringe costs include health insurance, unemployment insurance, social security, retirement benefits, and tuition benefits. The federal government does not expect universities to calculate a unique rate for each employee based on what they elect. Instead, the federal government provides universities with a fringe rate based on the average benefit cost per employee across an employee class. We rely on our federally negotiated fringe rate for all full-time employees, but we honor a reduced rate for part-time employees who have fewer benefits.

Fringe rates are 27.6 for full-time employees and 11.4 for students and part-time employees. F&A rates are 50%. You can find more information here

If a sponsor caps indirects at a rate lower than 's federally negotiated rate, will typically honor the reduced rate cap. However, all requests for a reduced rate must be reviewed and approved by OSP and the Provost.

If a faculty member believes they will need to reduce their teaching load in order to focus on their research, then they may have a “course buyout”. All faculty members should consult with their deans about their course buyouts. Our policy on course buyouts can be found here.

Faculty members have an institutional base salary (IBS) defined in their appointment letter. Most faculty members are on a 9-month appointment, and their IBS is for their 9 months university effort (however, it may be paid over a 12 month period to ensure regular salary payments throughout the year). Faculty members are eligible to receive up to an additional 3 months of salary from external grant sources, the equivalent of 1/3 of their IBS. 

Selma Botman, Provost, and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

The majority of federal funding can be found on . However, if you have something more specific, you may go to a federal agency’s website to look for grants. The two most popular federal agencies within our institution is and . One of the best strategies for identifying grants is through professional networks and search engine optimization (SEO).