Guidelines for Grant and Contract Management
201. Principal Investigator Eligibility
A principal investigator is a member of the academic staff or faculty who bears responsibility for the intellectual leadership of a project. The principal investigator accepts overall responsibility for directing the research, the financial oversight of the award's funding, as well as compliance with relevant University policies and sponsor terms and conditions of award.
Policy: Full time, salaried academics with the titles Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, Senior Scientist, Senior Research Associate, Research Scientist, or Research Associate with parenthetical rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor are eligible to serve as principal investigator on proposals submitted to any outside funding agency in support of research, training, or other sponsored activities.
In those rare occasions when one of the above titles is held by someone who is not or is no longer employed by The University, automatic PI eligibility is not granted. An individual who is not an employee but wishes to obtain approval as a Principal Investigator must follow the Procedure instructions described below.
Individuals without the titles listed above, including those with "Clinical" as part of their appointment title (e.g., Assistant Clinical Professor, Clinical Assistant Professor, etc.), and individuals not full time salaried academics at the University, are not eligible to serve as principal investigator except under the following conditions: (1) as co-principal investigator with an individual of appropriate rank, or (2) with approval from the Office of the Provost.
Procedure: An individual who wishes to obtain approval as a principal investigator from the Office of the Provost should follow these procedures:
- When an academic staff member without one of the above listed ranks considers
submitting a proposal as a principal investigator, a memorandum must be prepared
which provides a rationale for the individual to serve as principal investigator.
This memo, including a current c.v. for the proposed PI, must be endorsed
by the appropriate department chair. If the person has no prior experience
as a Principal Investigator, the memo should address how and by whom the person
will be mentored in the technical and project management duties of a PI. Further
the recommending department or unit should confirm that the appropriate administrative
and fiscal support staff and services are available to support the PI.
- This memorandum is to be submitted to the Dean's Office for that Dean's
endorsement - signature.
- After obtaining the Dean's approval, the memorandum must be forwarded to University Research Administration, which will obtain approval of the Office of the Provost.
November 2005
