Post-Award Glossary of Terms
Release Time
Release time is defined as the time the department releases the PI from normal departmental duties (teaching, public service, etc.) to perform research. It is directly charged to a project instead of departmental funds.
Released time must be provided in the project’s proposal budget and budget justification, if allowed by the Sponsor. Charged effort should always reflect the actual time spent on the project. When a faculty member requests that their release time on a grant be counted towards cost sharing on a grant proposal, there is no exchange of funds between accounts
Effort reports, reflecting unpaid (cost-shared) and/or paid effort, must be reviewed and certified by faculty annually.
Summer Salary
Summer salary is defined as any compensation paid during the summer period to a faculty member in excess of his or her academic year salary. Summer period covers May 16 through August 15. A request for summer salary indicates a commitment to put forth the comparable effort on the particular project(s) during the summer, not the academic year. Effort expended during the academic year does not satisfy a commitment related to the receipt of summer salary.
All effort devoted and corresponding salary charged to sponsored projects must be in compliance with sponsor and University policies. Committed effort on a sponsored project should be devoted exclusively to the activity supported by that sponsored project. Other activities performed during the summer months, e.g. any administrative or academic activities, vacation, writing new proposals, may not be charged to sponsored projects. Faculty who will receive supplemental pay on sponsored research and all administrative staff who facilitate a part of summer salary must take the summer salary tutorial (https://go.ncsu.edu/reporter) every year.
While requesting summer salary, faculty need to provide the project number(s) and amount(s) of monthly allowable salary on the Supplemental Pay form if they wish to be paid.
- Maximum salary requested across ALL funding sources should not exceed 33.33% of annual base over the entire summer, and should not exceed 100% in any single pay period.
- Exceptions beyond 33.33% require Dean’s approval; but no exceptions allowed if any portion of pay on a ledger 5 account.
- Exceeding 90% effort on ledger 5 in any single pay period requires a monitoring plan and Dean’s approval.
Cost Sharing
Cost sharing is defined as the portion of project costs not reimbursed by the sponsor. In most cases, the cost sharing source will be university funding, but other sources are also used to meet the university’s cost share obligation.
Cost Sharing is only required when clearly defined in the funding opportunity notice.
Cash Contribution
An actual cash transaction occurs and can be documented in the accounting system. This includes allocation of compensated faculty and staff time to projects. Other examples of cash contribution include the purchasing of equipment by the institution or other eligible sponsor for the benefit of the project requiring cost sharing.
In-Kind Contribution
In-kind contributions are those wherein a value of the contribution can be readily determined, verified and justified but where no actual cash is transacted in securing the good or service comprising the contribution. Two examples of in-kind contributions are: (1) The donation of volunteer time valued at a rate that would be reasonable for the time devoted had the volunteer been compensated for the time. (2) The donation of non-institution space where such space would normally carry a fee for purposes other than supporting this particular project.
Third party/other cost share must be secured on company/institution letterhead signed by a company executive. Proof of received third party cost share must be confirmed by the PI and be accompanied by documentation from the provider.
Export Controls
Federal laws regulating the transfer of items, technology, and services to non-U.S. persons and entities. Export controls commonly refer to three distinct sets of regulations: the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) administered by the Department of State, the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) administered by the Department of Commerce, and the Foreign Assets Control Regulations (FACR) administered by the Department of the Treasury. Export controls serve several purposes: to restrict exports of goods and technology that could contribute to the military potential of U.S. international adversaries; to prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; and to advance U.S. economic and foreign policy goals.
Export controls impact the following activities:
- Shipping items from the U.S. to a foreign country
- Transferring technology, information, or technical data, to entities or individuals outside of the U.S.
- Sharing technology, information, or technical data with foreign persons within the U.S.
- Providing services to – or conducting financial transactions with – an embargoed or boycotted country, restricted individual, or entity.
Three often misunderstood facts about export controls:
- Export controls not only apply to sending materials, items or information to other countries but to the transfer of such materials, items and information to foreign nationals within the United States – this means to your foreign graduate students, postdocs and colleagues. Export controls may also apply to the visual inspection of controlled technology by foreign nationals.
- The penalties for export control violations are both civil and criminal in nature and may be applied to you personally as well as the institution under certain circumstances. These penalties include up to ten years imprisonment and fines reaching as high as $1,000,000 per violation.
- Acceptance of any “side-deal” restrictions on what you publish as a result of your research is not only a violation of university policy but erodes and often destroys the fundamental research exclusion. You will be personally liable for such violations of the export control regulations.