Change in Status/Effort on Sponsored Projects

Unless the sponsor's terms and conditions are MORE restrictive, the University follows the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) which requires PRIOR APPROVAL when there is a significant change in status, including absence, of the Principal Investigator and other Key Personnel. University procedure is that the PI is required to notify the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) or the Office of Industry Engagement (OIE) if the PI or other key personnel named in the NOA will withdraw from the project entirely, be absent from the project during any continuous period of 3 months or more, or reduce his or her time devoted to the project by 25% or more from the level that was approved at the time of award (for example, a proposed change from 40 percent effort to 20 percent effort constitutes a reduction of 50 percent).  The OSPA or OIE representative will then submit the request to the sponsor who must approve any alternate arrangement, including any replacement PI or other key personnel proposed by the grantee.

Please note that for calculating significant changes, effort changes are cumulative.

Example for calculating significant reduction:

• PD/PI effort in -01 year award = 6 Calendar Months (CM)
• PD/PI effort in -02 year progress report = 5 CM (~16% reduction, not significant)
• PD/PI effort in -03 year progress report = 4 CM (~33% reduction from -01 year*, significant reduction which must be reported in budget justification)
  • *While the reduction in effort from the -02 year to the -03 year in this example is only 20%, the reduction is calculated from the effort in initial competing year award.

Prior approval for a significant INCREASE in effort is not necessary unless the increase will result in a change of scope. However, any significant increase in effort must be documented and a notice sent to the respective OSPA/OIE office.

NIH Percent Effort to Person Months Calculator

Download the NIH Calculator (Excel Document)