HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

New Regulation Affects Sponsored Research

By Ken Gewertz

Gazette Staff

On April 1, a new regulation went into effect that will have an impact on the more than 2,000 principal investigators at Harvard conducting federally sponsored research.

The new rule concerns the period of time in which researchers are allowed to make cost transfers from one account to another.

These transfers, which must be allowable and appropriate according to federal guidelines, can be made no later than 120 days after the end of the month of the original transaction or the interval required by the sponsor, whichever is shorter.

According to Richard Pagett, director of the Office of Research Administration, the 120-day limit for cost transfers (an earlier version of which has been in effect for some time) is expected to be far more stringently enforced, forcing the University to monitor transactions closely. Lab directors and administrators must be cognizant of this stricter regulatory environment, Pagett said. Otherwise, they may be in for some costly surprises.

"Principal investigators, along with their departmental administrators, will have to make sure that sponsored research accounts are reviewed systematically and acted upon promptly. If not, it will be impossible to make transfers, and that could hurt researchers, their projects, and their departments," Pagett said.

According to Pagett, many administrators of research customarily examine their financial records only at the end of the fiscal year. This will have to change, he said. Otherwise, cost transfers that should have been made in the first eight months of the year will be disallowed.

"Late and frequent cost transfers can be interpreted by federal auditors as indicative of poor management," he said. "Auditors frequently assume such transfers have been made to cover overexpenditures or to simply use up unexpended balances."

Concerned about ensuring University compliance with increasingly rigorous federal requirements, Pagett last fall convened a working group of representatives from the major research faculties to review the University's cost transfer policy on sponsored research awards. The group has reviewed and rewritten the policy to bring it into compliance with new federal regulations.

"This new policy is designed to minimize losses for individual research projects and strengthen the University's position with federal auditors," Pagett noted. "The new policy is better organized, easier to read, and more user friendly, with a decision tree showing step-by-step action needed to ensure acceptability of cost transfers."

A copy of the new policy is available from Pagett's office. Those interested should call 495-1915.